Recently, the pro wrestler Big E tweeted a picture of himself, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Sasha Banks and Rich Swann holding their respective WWE championship belts with the caption, “#BlackExcellence.” While wrestling is staged, having this many black champions at once is still an accomplishment, and marking the occasion with a photo is appropriate. But to some fans the hashtag, and the idea of celebrating something along racial lines, was a problem.
Big E, Woods and Kingston are the current WWE tag team champions as the group New Day, and they just broke a record for the longest reign of any tag team in WWE history. Banks and the newly crowned Swann, are also the champions in their respective classes – Raw Women’s and Cruiserweight.
They’re also all black, and black wrestlers have had an unpleasant history in the WWE. In our profile of Woods, who is also a gaming YouTuber, we noted that personas of black wrestlers are often steeped in racial cliches.
Black wrestlers are rarely given a fair shake in professional wrestling. Being black is often their only gimmick, and it manifests itself in humiliating ways. Kamala was a cannibal from Uganda. Cryme Time were street hoodlums who stole things. The New Day, as first conceived, was a gospel praise group. The trio were booed, vociferously, for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because they were taken seriously, but because they were not.
But New Day would transition from being a church group to a bunch of joyous nerds, gaining popularity and success with each sidelong reference to their geeky interests.
As someone who isn’t a fan of wrestling, it’s something I can enjoy without diving into the fandom. And that is because their success is already an expression of the idea of Black Excellence.
If you check the #BlackExcellence tag on Twitter, you’ll probably see a lot of pictures of young black men and women graduating from college. You’ll also see some bomb arse selfies, black celebrities winning awards and more often than not, recordings of Nina Simone’s, “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”
It’s a space for positivity, a place to cheer on your peers and celebrate their successes.
As Kingston would later say about the motivations behind the picture and caption Big E posted, “It does not come from a place of malice, spite, or gloating. It comes from a place of joy and a place of happiness … It is important for people of all races, but particularly people of colour, and especially the youth, to see that it is entirely possible to achieve your dreams and aspirations regardless of your race.”
There is something refreshing about seeing blackness portrayed as being fun or something one should have pride in. In video games this year there were two major black protagonists – Lincoln Clay from Mafia III and Marcus Holloway from Watch Dogs 2.
While Lincoln gets to shoot up the KKK in 1960s New Orleans, which frankly sounds fun as hell, I skipped that game in favour of playing as Marcus in modern San Francisco. Watch Dogs 2 exists in a world where race and racism is real, and the game acknowledges that Marcus is a black man.
When Marcus rolls up to the headquarters of the hacker group he just joined, Horatio, a fellow hacker and another black man, daps him and says, “It’s good to see another brother.” Where Lincoln opens the game by being shot in the head and goes on a roaring rampage of revenge, Marcus gets to play with drones and take selfies. He gets to be a young black man who can hold it down and enjoy himself without adversity primarily defining his story.
It isn’t to say that this is a realer or truer experience of being black in America than the narrative of Lincoln Clay’s more explicit racial struggle – it’s just one that also exists. Seeing irreverence and accomplishment is just as valuable as seeing a journey from bondage to freedom and is part of what those WWE wrestlers were celebrating.
Black lives don’t need to be defined by oppression, and the idea of celebrating Black Excellence is one rooted in showing black lives as more than just one thing.
But to some, the notion of talking about race at all is divisive. The very first response to Big E’s tweet is Twitter user @Badlandz saying, “if it was #WhiteExcellence you would see it as being racist,” and they were far from the only one to react that way.
I understand the instinct of thinking that it’s hypocritical to point out Black Excellence and not white successes, but that line of thought falls apart under further scrutiny.
Do you want to see some examples of white successes? You can look at the President-Elect of the United States, most of the Senate and the House, almost all actors and recording artists, and the majority of the staffers of the website at which I am currently employed.
Black successes are worth pointing out because fewer of them are lifted up in the first place. As Kingston says about the significance of five concurrent black champions in the WWE, “Historically in our nation, there was period in time where this would not have happened, followed by a long period of time where it became possible, but had not actually materialised. Now, we are in the time in which the possibility has become a reality.”
Comments
50 responses to “Pro Wrestler Tweet Gets People Talking About ‘Black Excellence’ ”
can’t wait to see the #WhiteExcellence tag show up. Love how people always have to find a way to divide themselves or segregate themselves from the rest of the species. Jolly good show.
#SithExcellence
That’s a pretty dumb thing to say in this context.
Agreed. It’s pretty dumb.
Ahem… #AllianceExellence
*Shrugs* Meh…
I ain’t bothered by it. To me it’s more akin to #Represent than #WhitePower, if that makes any sense.
I think that one race being able to say that their excellent while another is not allowed to is very hypocritical. We need to treat people the same. If black people are allowed to celebrate their accomplishments like this, then white people should too (Without fear of being called a racist). We should not treat different races differently. White’s should be able to do the same things as black (without repercussions) and blacks should be able to do the same things as whites (without repercussions).
I think it’s a bit more nuanced. Black people in the US feel like they are underrepresented in positive ways. So these sorts of celebrations aren’t out to highlight superiority of their race (and the inferiority of non-black people), but to showcase examples of success by people in the black community.
I also think their community would love to treat all races as though they were the same (except culturally), but they can’t avoid thinking about race because of news reports and differences in living, between the community they were brought up in and other communities.
Finally, feel free to feel proud of your heritage and nationality as long as you don’t treat other people any differently. Frankly, good on you if you do that. If everyone did, we wouldn’t have nearly as many problems.
Yeah, basically. People that cry “but why can’t I say white superiority?!” are completely missing about 300 years of context.
Well said.
Being chastised for taking pride in being white is the dictionary definition of bigotry, though. Just because some slavery occurred (which was prevalent in pretty much every culture around the world, and continues today in some corners of the world) does not give others the right to deny people pride in their culture and heritage.
The problem is the white supremacist connotations associated with ‘white pride’ that make it such a mine field. It will never, ever stop being a minefield unless white people take back the ability to declare their pride without being crucified in the (social and other) media as racists.
Double standards serve no one’s interest and lead to racial divisiveness in multicultural societies.
The middle east and Africa today are rife with slavery. Should we start chastising those of African or middle eastern descent for perpetuating colonialism, nationalism and systemic racism? That’s exactly what’s occurring, today, in real time, with no protections in place for minority groups and the Western world turns a blind eye. Based on your comment, one would surmise the answer to that question is “yes,” since if there’s any slavery or holding-down minorities perpetuated by your culture, you no longer have the right to be proud of it. “Well, that’s just a different culture and we need to be respectful of that,” the virtue-signalling white people say.
I’m an Australian of Lebanese heritage, and if I go back far enough I have Afghan heritage. Should I not have pride in my heritage due to slavery occurring today (rather brazenly, one may add) in Lebanon? Should I not have pride in that heritage due to the child slavery and sex trafficking in Afghanistan? Once again, based on your comment, the answer to that question is affirmative. But you won’t apply that standard to me.
You need to apply the same standards to everybody, else you merely look a sycophantic, obsequious asshole.
That sure is a whole lot of “I assume your comment means…”.
If you can’t see the difference between “I’m a member of a traditionally repressed minority and am proud of excelling in a field, such as education, where the stereotype is of this not being the case” and “I’m a member of the traditional hegemony and look at me I’m so proud for being white” then I don’t know what to say.
This is where I just cannot agree with libertarianism. Equality should be the end goal, not the starting point. Not everyone has the same opportunities in life. Being proud of being a member of the majority is different to being proud of being a member of a repressed minority.
And to answer your question, slavery in any culture is abhorrent. But you don’t see any African Americans, the topic of this story, currently engaging in slave mastery do you?
You’re still applying different standards to the same thing — a pride in yourself and your people — and attempting to justify it. You demonise one while exalting the other.
Why can’t they say they’re proud to be white? Again, it goes back to the persecution of minorities and slavery. You’re saying you can’t be proud of being white because of what happened during that time frame. If that’s not what you mean, then you need to choose your words more wisely, because that same thing can and does apply to almost every culture on the Earth.
Is a Finnish person who says “I’m proud of being white!” missing out on 300 years of context? Does this not apply to Finnish people, or only White Australians and Americans? What about a Finnish Australian or American? Half casts? Who does get and who doesn’t get to be proud of being a white European or having white Euro heritage? What if it was a black American, who is very statistically likely to have white european heritage? Where does the buck stop?
Is it only White Americans and Australians that aren’t allowed to be proud? And if so, does that also extend to British people in Britain? A native Briton, even? Would you be upset if a Gaelic Scot or Irishman declared their pride in being white? Are they also missing out on 300 years of context that occurred in a foreign country that they’ve no connection to in the slightest? That is the problem, and the problem that most people in the “why can’t I say I’m proud!” camp have.
Are we to rally against, say, those of Arabic descent in northeast Africa? (I’d say Egyptians, but I’m going to treat them like white people are treated in [current year] – they’re all the same!) Black people are treated extremely poorly there. There’s no contest between what goes on there today and in the past than in America today and in the past. They are literally called slave (zarbun) colloquially today. And that isn’t a “hey, look at that nigger!” with a snicker between two friends that can’t be heard, that is blase, open and heard by all, and said to their faces in public, when they’re not being called chocolata.
To quote my favourite leftwit comedian, “come on, it’s literally twenty-sixteen. It’s twenty-sixteen. Come on.”
So I shouldn’t be proud of being of Arab descent, right? It’s the same thing. The exact same thing. If a white person can’t be proud of their whiteness because of some persecution to a group that isn’t them, then I can’t be proud for my Arabness.
And yet, you all turn a blind eye and refuse to listen to them and their worries; they’re racists or xenophobes or white supremacists, after all, in the topsy turvy world of the Left’s Identity politics.
You’re right, this all part of a conspiracy by the nebulous, big bad “Left”. We’re here to take everything straight white males love and make you second class citizens.
We’re also ruining gaming.
I couldn’t care less about white people becoming second class citizens from a practical standpoint — I’m middle eastern — it ultimately wouldn’t affect me.
But I will acknowledge the erosion of their agency, individual merit and achievements, and right to be proud in their heritage and history.
What you are missing is that when it comes to representation, white is the default (in the West). White people don’t get to make an exceptional case of being proud of being white because for white people, every day is white pride day. They can speak and do as they will without having a filter placed on them. If they are good it’s not noteworthy, if they are bad is not the expected behaviour. Whites do not need to make banners and placards to pat themselves on the back for being so great (even when it’s warranted) as part of being white, because they are already getting that pat in the back by looking up at celebrities, politicians, millionaires, etc. who in great majority represent their race.
That’s why when a white person says something about “excellence” or “superiority” or whatever, linked to their race, it sounds racist: because it is such an oxymoron that you are inclined to believe that the person was trying to make a racist statement, rather than simply celebrating an achievement.
Oh for sure.
But they represent the race in great majority because that race is the great majority of the modern Western world, not because of some Western Imperialist conspiracy to hold the ‘other’ down (any longer, lol); though I presume you’re already aware of such, you’re a pretty switched on sort.
There might not be a Western Imperialist conspiracy, but institutionalised racism sure is still a thing.
Which institution(s), where, and how?
@thehasbrogamer come on dude, you know full well the context of Muslim and “illegal immigrants”. Fine, we’ll call it “people of Islam from Arabic countries” and “Mexicans”. Or call it prejudice instead of racism, so religion and other aspects are included.
I also don’t believe for one second it’s because of some downfall of the nuclear family. There are a million cases of perfectly functional families and children where there’s a single parent, or they’re divorced, or the parents are same-sex, or the father works away a lot of the time, or…etc. Why don’t we see equal amounts of unarmed young white men being shot from divorced or single parent white families, or same-sex families?
In any case, let’s say you’re correct and more crimes are being committed by black people because they’re from fractured families. Why do you think those black families are so fractured? We spent hundreds of years splitting them up and making that the norm for them.
You also didn’t respond to the part where African Americans are disproportionately punished for the same crimes. Or why they make up the vast majority of unarmed deaths. Where’s the violent crime in those deaths?
The 72% figure is also untrue, at least in the context you’re using it. The 72% (or 73%, if you want to be accurate) includes unmarried couples. It’s not only single parents.
This whole “everyone is born with the same opportunities, it’s black people’s fault for not doing the same thing as white people” is bullshit. Many of them are patently born into different circumstances. Circumstances that have arisen because of hundreds of years of prejudice and government sanctioned policies. Hell, the White Australia Policy existed until the 1960s.
Comment thread was too deep so couldn’t reply direct.
But okay.
The incoming US President’s Muslim register, immigration policies and “build the wall”. One Nation’s…everything. Our current government’s Nauru policies. Much of our police’s relationship with Aboriginals (see lock up rates, deaths in custody) . Much of the US police’s relationship with African Americans (see any one of a range of shootings of unarmed black men) .
Want me to keep going? Or are you going to yell “that’s just individuals, not institutions!”?
1 – Trump never suggested a Muslim register. Even shitty leftist websites like Washington Post and Never Trumpers like me admit that. The other insanity gripped leftists decided to make that up.
“After going through all of his comments from this past weekend, it seems that Trump definitely wants a database of Syrian refugees, and he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a database for all Muslims — though he isn’t actively calling for the latter.”
That’s straight from Politifact. Politifact of all places.
What he does want is a register of the refugees coming in to the country which, looking at places like France and Germany, is probably a good idea.
2 – Building a wall is about curtailing illegal immigration. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. I L L E G A L immigration. Not keeping the ‘other’ out. I’m not sure what hyperliberals don’t understand about this, it’s not a difficult concept to understand. Even the most extraordinary globalist and white guilt feeling leader in the world, Angela Merkel, is beginning to retreat from her open door policy.
3 – One Nation for the most part is indefensible. It’s extraordinary how Hanson claims to not be a racist and people actually believe her; some policies I can get behind like weed, euthanasia and a couple of others, but that’s about it. Hanson’s racial leaning change with the times; during the 90s her go-to was the Chinese and today it’s Muslims :^)
As a non-Muslim Arab by choice, the idea of Hijjra is pretty terrifying, I must admit.
4 – Aboriginal Australians having a much higher incarceration rate than white Australians is much more complex than ‘institutional racism’. To simply decry it as ‘institutional racism’ and wave your hand and be done with the topic is incredibly naive. Perpetuation of crime through poor parenting and social skills isn’t to do with racism, it’s to do with poor parenting. Growing up in a particularly poor area (the rougher parts of the 2560) this is something I’ve seen a hell of a lot of.
5 – The US police’s relationship with Afromericans? You mean the relationship where 12% of the population makes up majority of violent crime?
Blacks committed 52 percent of homicides between 1980 and 2008, despite composing just 13 percent of the population. Across the same timeframe, whites committed 45 percent of homicides while composing 77% of the population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Now I’m not one to confuse correlation and causation, but it’s interesting that Nigeria, a predominately black nation, has an extraordinary crime rate, while Denmark, a predominately white nation, has a much, much lower one.
As the countries become more of a multicultural melting pot, the crime rates even out to look like the US/AU/etc.
Not especially indicative of anything, but is an interesting tidbit.
Here are some more statistics from the FBI:
In 2013, the FBI has black criminals carrying out 38 per cent of murders, compared to 31.1 per cent for whites. The offender’s race was “unknown” in 29.1 per cent of cases.
What about violent crime more generally? FBI arrest rates are one way into this. Over the last few years of data – 2011 to 2013 – 38.5 per cent of people arrested for murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault were black.
There were almost 6,000 blacks killed by other blacks in 2015.
By contrast, only 258 blacks were killed by police gunfire that year.
The percentage of blacks arrested for crimes is consistent with police reports.
This is according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, as well as this 1985 study:
“Even allowing for the existence of discrimination in the criminal justice system, the higher rates of crime among black Americans cannot be denied,” wrote James Q. Wilson and Richard Herrnstein in their classic 1985 study, “Crime and Human Nature.” “Every study of crime using official data shows blacks to be overrepresented among persons arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for street crimes.” This was true decades before the authors put it to paper, and it remains the case decades later.
“The overrepresentation of blacks among arrested persons persists throughout the criminal justice system,” wrote Wilson and Herrnstein. “Though prosecutors and judges may well make discriminatory judgments, such decisions do not account for more than a small fraction of the overrepresentation of blacks in prison.”
This data disproves the notion that racism is what drives higher rates of arrests among the blacks than among whites or broader America.
According to Riley, “Black crime rates were lower in the 1940s and 1950s, when black poverty was higher” and “racial discrimination was rampant and legal.”
If it’s not racism and poverty that are blame for the high black crime rate, then what is?
According to Mac Donald, “A straight line can be drawn between family breakdown and youth violence.”
As economist Thomas Sowell points out, before the 1960s “most black children were raised in two-parent families.” In 2013, over 72 percent of blacks were born out of wedlock. In Cook County –which Chicago belongs to – 79 percent of blacks were born to single mothers in 2003, while only 15 percent of whites were born to single mothers.
Black and Hispanic police officers are more likely to fire a gun at blacks than white officers. This is according to a Department of Justice report in 2015 about the Philadelphia Police Department, and is further confirmed that by a study conducted University of Pennsylvania criminologist Greg Ridgeway in 2015 that determined black cops were 3.3 times more likely to fire a gun than other cops at a crime scene.
But hey, don’t take it from me and criminologists and psychologists and economists and the FBI and the black police chiefs – why not take it from an actual, living and breathing black police officer? http://www.jaystalien.com/index.php/2016/07/19/10/
Ever heard of Sheriff David Clarke or Professor Carol Swain? They have some very, very poignant words on the topic.
Muslim isn’t a race and neither is illegal immigrant.
These two are very similar occurrences and can be explained at the same time. This issue is not necessarily a race issue. Statistically, blacks commit a disproportionate amount of crimes. This can be because of many factors. Yes, it could be actual racism that keeps them poor which means they must commit crimes to live, that could be a factor for a minority of these people. Most of the time though, it’s due to their family. 72% of black children are raised in a single parent household, usually with the mother as the parent. Without a father, the mother must work for most of her day. The children will also lack a strong father figure. Due to both parents not being around, the children do not get the attention needed from them. In a lot of cases, these children will fall in with gangs. They get the attention they need and the gang leader acts as a father figure.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that this disproportionate number of blacks being arrested or killed is not usually a race issue, it’s an issue of their upbringing. If people want these numbers to go down, we must fix these problems right at the bottom level. We need to restore that black family.
1. Yes, he did.
“The next day, an MSNBC reporter asked Trump, “Should there be a database or system that tracks Muslims in this country?”
“There should be a lot of systems,” Trump responded. “Beyond databases. I mean, we should have a lot of systems.”
Trump then digressed to talk about a wall along the southern border, before the reporter interjected, “But that’s something your White House would like to implement.”
“I would certainly implement that. Absolutely,” Trump said.”
In 2015 Mr Trump said he said he would bring in “a lot of systems” that could track Muslims, after signing them up in various places across the country.
Also:
When asked by NBC whether Muslims would be legally obliged to register on the database, Mr Trump replied: “They have to be, they have to be.”
He then turned around and said he misunderstood the question.
2. You and I have very different ideas on illegal immigration then. How do you feel about Nauru? And Jesus Christ, white guilt? Next you’re going to call us all cucks and betas. Go and read Breitbart. I don’t understand why you come to Kotaku, which is basically notorious for being lefty SJWs.
And in another comment, “But I will acknowledge the erosion of their agency, individual merit and achievements, and right to be proud in their heritage and history.” Of white people. The dominant majority in Western societies, that make up the vast majority of C-level private company positions, and politicians.
3. I’m glad to see we agree on Pauline Hanson and One Nation. She’s reprehensible.
4. And the reason those background issues exist (poor parenting and socioeconomic situations) is because we as a country spent 200-odd years taking children from their parents, segregating people, counting them as less than human, taking away their land and food sources, and basically being imperialist fuckbags.
5. RE: African American representation in crime.
They make up 6% of the population but 40% of the unarmed deaths by police.
See also: African American males aged 15-34 being 2% of the population but 15% of police shootings.
White Americans make up 5 times the number of illicit drug users as African Americans, but 1/10th the incarcerated for drug offenses. African Americans are also sentenced to a similar length of time for drug offenses as white Americans are for violent offenses.
Wilson and Herrnstein also argued that biological predisposition played a factor in crime rates, so you’ll have to forgive me if I take everything from that study with a Red Sea worth of salt.
ALSO, did you actually just compare Nigeria and Denmark? HAHAHAHAHA. No fucking shit a third world, lower socioeconomic nation that came out from under colonial rule has a higher crime rate than a modern, high GDP, high standard of living country.
You’ll also notice that while Denmark currently has a conservative-liberal government, the foundations for much of the Danish welfare state that led to its current high standard of living, were set by the Social Democrats who were in government for much of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
I genuinely cannot be bothered arguing any more. GG, you can claim this as me being a poor loser SJW and you win.
I’m just gonna touch on because I can’t be bothered anymore either.
LOL NO HE DIDN’T
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/nov/24/donald-trumps-comments-database-american-muslims/
”
Sunday, Nov. 22
On ABC News’ This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Trump, “You did stir up a controversy with those comments over the database. Let’s try to clear that up. Are you unequivocally now ruling out a database on all Muslims?”
“No, not at all,” Trump responded. “I want a database for the refugees that — if they come into the country. We have no idea who these people are. When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this country, we don’t know if they’re ISIS, we don’t know if it’s a Trojan horse. And I definitely want a database and other checks and balances. We want to go with watchlists. We want to go with databases. And we have no choice.”
Trump’s exchange with Stephanopoulos seems to be the clearest explanation of his position. No, he would not rule out a database on all Muslims. But for now, he wants a database for refugees.
And Nauru? Good. They shouldn’t be here, we have an immigration process. If they’re eventually granted asylum, so be it.
“Wilson and Herrnstein also argued that biological predisposition played a factor in crime rates, so you’ll have to forgive me if I take everything from that study with a Red Sea worth of salt.”
> attacks person instead of arguments. typical.
EDIT: no, I said I wouldn’t argue any more so I’ll stand by that.
Yeah, my point is not even about racists. I was merely explaining why when a PoC (or a group of them) associates their race with a positive achievement is not seen as racist while the same statement by a white person would. PoCs can use all the representation and good press they can get in a white world, while white people don’t really need much more.
Why are you separating PoCs and Whites? Why are you allowing them a double standard? We won’t actually have equality until we stop giving people special treatment based on their skin colour. Raising one race while stomping down another is no equality, it’s racism.
@thehabrogamer Did you read my original post or just this latest reply? I already explained why. And please tell me, who is exactly getting “stomped” in my scenario (and in reality?)
@thehasbrogamer
If you honestly think white people are being “stomped down”, then you need some perspective.
@hotcakes
What else can I call it when white people aren’t allowed to be proud of themselves, their heritage or their accomplishments without being called racists? Everybody should be allowed to celebrate their own race without repercussions.
@pylgrim
Yes, I did read your original post and I find your reason ridiculous.
No, it’s not. Every day is just a regular old day. If every day WAS white pride day, then Whites wouldn’t be called out for celebrating their race.
Well obviously not. The whole point of this debate is that celebrating White heritage and celebrating White accomplishments is something that White people DO need to have to filter. We DO have to watch what we say in fear of being labelled racist.
But why? This is a double standard that does not need to exist. EVERYBODY’S achievements should be noteworthy. This is exactly what I mean by stomping down one race. You are devaluing their accomplishments.
Shocker, a very small sample size of the population will represent the majority. What a surprise! Celebrities, politicians and millionaires don’t become who they are because they’re white. If that was the case, you wouldn’t see any Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc., people in these positions.
Anybody that brags about their race’s “superiority” is a racist, no matter the skin colour.
So yes, I did read your original post. These are the reasons why I think your reason is ridiculous. Stop applying double standards based on race. Whites used to do that back in to 50’s and before and it was racist then. What makes it not racist now?
@thehasbrogamer what world do you live in? Seriously, I’d like to know. White people are the dominant majority in Western society. We make up the vast majority of C-level executive positions in private companies, the majority of places in government, and in the majority of cases enjoy a higher standard of living than the native minorities we have displaced or brought over as slaves. Did you personally lose out on a job to a black person/woman/cat for a job and now everything is affirmative action’s fault? Poor normal income straight white males 🙁
You can be proud to be an Australian/American/Norwegian/whatever without “I’m so proud of being white, the dominant majority”.
You are allowed to be proud of your heritage as an Australian/American/Norwegian/whatever. But what do you gain by saying “wow, I’m so proud to be WHITE, like almost everyone else in this country”.
You are allowed to be proud of your accomplishments. You are allowed to be proud of overcoming particular difficulties as an individual. But nobody cares that you’ve done well AS a white person, because it’s the fucking norm.
@thehasbrogamer You still don’t get what I’m saying. When I say that everyday is white pride day for whites and you call it just a normal day, you are disregarding how different it is from a “normal day” for a PoC, which often involves very little pride. So, in comparison, every day is white pride day.
Now you seem to be taking things to extremes. Whites can be proud of personal achievements like anybody else. What is suspect is when they mention race, because as I said, their race is already an endorsement and an aid to their goals (when contrasted to PoCs).
You need to understand the problem of representation. Because there were so significantly fewer possibilities for PoCs to be successful in a white world each achievement nowadays need to be given a little bit more of volume and ensure that carries some racial pride, until we live in a world where such displays are not necessary. You may call it a double standard, but if we look at history you’d find how institutionalised double standards have been serving whites for a long, long time. This doesn’t even start to even the count.
It may be true that now white people need to be a bit more cautious about things they say and do, to distance themselves from the racism that still exists in the world. I understand that this is annoying for a nonracist person, but compared to the injustices that have been visited by whites to PoCs throughout history, it is really, a minor inconvenience. And if everything goes well, one day, that too will become obsolete.
So I’m responsible for something someone did 300 years ago. Sweet.
Me saying “Black people have suffered a lot of shit for 300 years, so maybe they’re allowed to celebrate an achievement as being black and proud, whereas ‘white and proud’ is completely different” =/= me saying you’re directly responsible for slavery.
Then how is it different? Why isn’t it allowed?
Please see comments above.
DEAR STUPID PEOPLE,
PLEASE LOOK UP THE WORD ‘CONTEXT’.
WHEN THESE PEOPLE USE THE WORD ‘BLACK’, THEY AREN’T TALKING ABOUT ALL PEOPLE OF A SPECIFIC SKIN COLOUR BUT THOSE IN A CULTURALLY RELEVANT CONTEXT. THAT CONTEXT ALSO INFORMS THE MEANING BEHIND THE TERMS ‘WHITE’ AND ‘BLACK’.
ANY MORE THAN YOUR DEFINITION OF ‘WHITE PRIDE’ ACTUALLY INCLUDES ALL PEOPLE WHO SHARE A SKIN TONE WITHIN A GIVEN NUMBER OF SHADES OF YOUR OWN.
SINCE YOU ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK IN ALL CAPS HOPEFULLY THIS WILL RESONATE WITH YOU.
Holy shit, dude. Why do you always overreact to this shit?
Yes they are. When somebody refers to black people or black pride or black excellence, they are talking about people that are physically black, brown etc. Race has no context. Race is a physical attribute and is objective.
To belong to a certain race, you must be within a certain range of skin tones. Whites can be super pale to having a bit of a tan, blacks can be extremely dark to being only a bit dark (Obama for example), East Asians can be quite light in tone like Koreans or darker like the Chinese. Race is a way to categorize people that share similar physical attributes.
Who? Who are these people that “think in all caps”? I hope you’re not referring to me, because I don’t think I’ve ever even used my capslock key in any of our conversations. You seem to be the only one that thinks in all caps, always trying to be argumentative.
I don’t really understand what you’re trying to get at with your comment, so if you don’t mind elaborating, that’d be great. It’s starting to get quite annoying whenever you reply to my posts with one of these rants. I’m specifically trying to take the middle ground here and you’re still finding something wrong with it.
‘I don’t really understand what you’re trying to get at with your comment’
Hence why the post was addressed DEAR STUPID PEOPLE and you responded, so that’s good.
‘It’s starting to get quite annoying whenever you reply to my posts with one of these rants.’
That’s awesome!
‘I’m specifically trying to take the middle ground here and you’re still finding something wrong with it.’
If you coming off this bigoted every time you post is actually you biting your tongue and attempting to moderate your views, I suggest you email your CV to president-elect Trump ASAP.
But failing that, allow me to answer your whiny OP ‘WAI DON’T WHITE PEOPLE GET TO CELEBRATE THEMSELVES’
TURN ON THE GODDAMN TV MATEY
OR THE RADIO
OR PICK UP A BOOK
OR JUST GO FOR A WALK
WE CELEBRATE OURSELVES EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME
YOU JUST DON’T NOTICE IT BECAUSE AS FAR AS YOU ARE CONCERNED IT IS THE NORM
AND THAT IS WHY YOU KNEEJERK AND FLIP OUT WHEN OTHER RACES DO IT BECAUSE IT’S UNUSUAL
Seriously, if you can’t work that out, hand in your driver’s license and get a service animal to assist with revolving doors.
Maybe you should turn on the TV or the radio or pick up a book. You would realise that white people are being insulted for celebrating their heritage and their accomplishments. That get called racist when they say that they’re proud in their white, European heritage. They get called bigots when they celebrate the accomplishments of white people. I’m not going to say that we’re being oppressed, because we’re not, I’m just saying that there is a double standard that really needs to be fixed.
Also,
How is me saying “We need to treat people the same” and “We should not treat different races differently” bigoted in any way? You understand what the word bigoted means, right? Believing that all races should be treated equally is not something you should be calling people out for.
Yeah mate, white people are constantly being outshone by all those coloured majorities and pesky womens.
Everywhere you go it’s aboriginal CEOs, getting to the point where a white man can’t go into the shops in HIS OWN COUNTRY and not be automatically suspected of shoplifting.
Seriously, you’re not well.
Lay off the chain emails in purple comic sans fonts and stop watching PRISON PLANET.
Thank you for addressing literally 0 of the points that I brought up.
No worries chief.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I have no problem with people being proud and expressive and hope to see more of it. I agree with their sentiment whileheartedly; i do think, however, there are many who don’t express this sentiment respectfully but rather than talk about how best to empathise or connect or educate, we just ask everyone to just shut up when they criticise these individuals as if they’re attacking an entire race. I want people within these groups to at least be a little vigilant or aware of how communication works and how messages can vastly change through subtle differences. It seems unbelievable that there’s so much scrutiny on art and media using these legitimate concepts as rationalisation that are only acknowledged when angled in a certain direction.
Take nothing away from New Day though, in an emphatically and historically white-dominated and xenophobic bordering on racist progession – this is something they really should be expressing to their fans.
#blackexcellence
… And then they promptly dropped the belts, because Vince had one of his arsehole moments and just wanted the record off Demolition out of spite for some imagined transgression 25 years ago.
Probably also why they still aren’t in the Hall of Fame.
That picture kind of looks like a cover for a 90s rap album.
Why does the colour of their skin matter? It doesn’t. It just tells me they are racist and cant achieve anything on their own merits.
What? it matters because it’s the first time there’s so much positive representation of their race in the WWF. It is something noteworthy to celebrate. How does such statement negate their personal merits which they already have demonstrated?
All this time I thought I was the only person who still calls it WWF
*highfive*