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Originally Posted by transplant99
Right...to the majority of them, we absolutely should.
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So if the black community voted 51% in favour of this being offensive during their annual black person vote, you would argue it is indeed offensive but anything less doesn't count? Or how many minorities can a white person offend before they have to face backlash?
Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
I will ask this question...how does one dress up as another of a different color, without being that color? Or should dressing up as another race be shamed all together? Can black people dress as famous Asians for fun? Can indigenous dress as Middle Easterners for fun? Should Michael Jackson have been scorned for becoming lighter?
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You're right that it's not an exact science. It's a difficult situation, stemming from years and years of racial abuse and more recently an opportunity and platform for people to express their frustrations.
However, how much does the black makeup actually matter? With Howie, Simon and Heidi, they're either going to pick up on that being Mel B or not, regardless of blackface.
Get creative with your costume. Wear a sweater, roofie an unsuspecting woman and carry her around all night and everyone will know you're Cosby regardless of your complexion. If it's really important that you're dark, have some commitment and tan-tan-tan until you're sure to cancer. If the only way someone will identify you is if you have black makeup on, it's arguably not that identifiable of a costume. Or maybe if you're going for a group costume with a minority in it, have a minority who wants to dress up?
I get it, I probably would have been on your side a couple years ago. But at the end of the day, her decision to wear blackface offended a number of people. How many? I don't know, but as a teacher all it would really take is one of the marginalized students in her class. This wasn't a comedian pushing the edge and making it work.
We still have the right to offend, I'm a proponent of freedom of expression. We also have the right to be offended. We also have the consequences of being reprimanded for actions that cause offense, such as this teacher having to apologize. At the end of the day, I certainly agree that it's a stupid hill to die on but I see it from the other side and just don't see the need to cause offense.