DISCLAIMER: This post is about race and why it isn't in everything. If you don't want to have this conversation, don't read this post. Hell I didn't even want to have this conversation and somehow I was drawn in.
So by now because everything moves so fast on the internets we've heard about Serena and Kanye both flipping their wigs. I think Kanye acted like a complete a-hole. Serena was totally unprofessional. But I don't see why this has to be a race issue.
Someone on Facebook said Kanye should be banned from awards shows. I thought that was funny. One of their "friends" - don't know this person or how much of a friend they are vs. associate - had a comment that just needed replying to. Needed it.
Anyway, this person basically writes "I don't want to be labeled a racist but if it had been a white person doing that all hell would've broken loose!" Actually she said something to the effect of if it had been a black chick who'd won and a white entertainer had done that all hell would've broken loose.
My question is, why did you HAVE to take it there? Oh that's right. You didn't. Kanye is a butt. So I basically made the point that a-holes come in all colors and that being an a-hole is not about race. I also pointed out in her calling the one singer a chick and the other an entertainer people might feel she was being sexist. Not that I thought that, but my point was people judge what you say on the words that you use. Maybe that is naive of me but people sure as hell can't mistake when you interject race into the equation where it was not uttered before.
I was so annoyed! And then she writes back to say I haven't lived long enough because race is a factor blah blah blah.
So of course the friend deletes this post because it's getting contentious and he didn't mean for all that to happen. lol.
But she gets on another post talking about just for the record I'm not racist. I have a black brother in law and 80% of my daughter's school is black blah blah blah. Once again, I said it was about asshattery not race.
To which she replies:
NEWSFLASH: Kanye acted like an a-hole. Thank you. End of story. As much as other people want to talk about black people playing the race card, we aren't the only ones pulling it out...
I finally had to say "look. You want to have a race conversation. I'm not. I was having an a-hole conversation. If you have a bone to pick with a whole race of people, I'm not going to be able to help you."
So annoyed!!!! And Kanye - quit being a butt!
10 comments:
I agree, it isn't about race. It is about arrogance, rudeness, and being an idiot. I blogged about it and didn't mention color.
PussDaddy
They are saying Serena made racist Asian statements to the judge, although I can't confirm that. I have watched a lot of youtube videos and the closest I could come to hearing anything Serena said was her saying to the judge are you kidding I didn't say I would kill you.
PussDaddy
just my opinion - any sentence that starts with, "I don't want to be labeled a racist, but.." is probably a bad idea. Facebook has been very eye-opening to me, I now find myself painfully aware of everyone of my friends and family's views on politics/religion/race-frankly, some of it I would rather not know.
Grrrr. I had a similar FB exchange yesterday! A friend pointed out that Serena's behavior was deemed disgraceful however John McEnroe was deemed legendary for his frequent on-court outbursts. To which I agreed. Another friend commented she may have had PMS. To which I questioned if McEnroe had testiculitis or priapism. Then another friend added, you know Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are gonna be all over this tomorrow. I left the thread at that point. WTF? I know that was a race card dig, but if the issue is about Blacks pulling the race card-can I live, at least let ME pull it! The discussion at best was about sexism (albeit indirectly) and then we end up "there". Please people don't go "there." And Kanye, I love him...his assholery lends to his perpetual misery which equals more studio time and exceptional production work-atleast I keep trying to tell myself that.
pd- really? If she did, that is inexcusable. If she didn't, who the hell makes this stuff up? *shaking my head*
susie- whenever my mom says "I don't want to be labeled an elitist but..." I know something elitist will be coming out of her mouth. lol. I too have found Facebook to be quite a learning experience in ways I hadn't anticipated nor need. *shaking my head*
t- I get the gender conversation but wth with the introduction of race? *Shaking my head once again.*
If it makes you feel any better my twitter feed last night was full of "what an ass" comments and not a one mentioned race. : )
:D Why yes Mrs. Dragon - that does make me feel better!
Oh my goodness!
Unprofessional and rude, check. Competitiveness and fame gone sour, check.
However ... an excuse to bring race and unlikely scenarios (while reflecting ignorance and hate) into the picture ... uncheck. Ick.
And for the record, all hell has broken loose for these two. I last heard that Serena had been fined $10K, and the backlash against Kanye went as far as a comment from the President (which has been withdrawn, but nonetheless!)
Makes me sad. What century are we living in?
That being said, yes, Kayne, quit being a butt.
I know I'm way late (let's not talk about how I don't keep up with my blogroll, 'kay?) but I had to get this off my chest...
If something is actually a race issue, it's impossible to "play the race card." What you're doing is addressing the issue. Playing the race card is what we do when take a human issue and put it in an artificially racial context.
Kanye was a jerk. He was wrong. But he wasn't wrong because he's black or she's white. Race = irrelevant. The end.
On a side note, I am NOT the black amabassador to other races. None of us are. When I do something human (like eat, say something stupid, or get angry), it's unfair to assume that I'm standing in for all black people and doing what they would do.
Kanye didn't do what every black man would've done, so stop talking about his blackness in context of the Taylor Swift situation.
Thanks for the post, Nina!
Tell 'em why you mad Elizabeth! lol.
I think you put it very succinctly. Just because I'm eating, my lunch does not represent the whole black nation.
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