Rocket Talk: Can Sunday Subway Service Start Sooner?
Newsstand: November 19, 2009
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Blackface: probably still not the best idea for a Halloween costume.
Last night, student groups from three colleges at the University of Toronto—St. Michael's College Student Union (SMCSU), the Victoria University Student Administrative Council (VUSAC), and the University College Literary and Athletic Society (UCLit, ahem)—teamed up to host "Nightmare on Peter St.," a Halloween party at Mansion & Loft. This afternoon, an event organizer sent out a message to the more than three thousand invitees on Facebook (all those on the "Confirmed Guests," "Maybe Attending," and "Awaiting Reply" lists), calling the evening "one amazing night of all night dancing, coed washroom sex and drunken debauchery of over 1500 people!"
Of those attendees, though, only a distinct few got the honour of being named "Costumes of the night," and the very first ones on the winners' list are the four white guys in blackface (and one black guy in whiteface [?]) dressed as "the Jamaican Bob Sled [sic] team," pictured above. Yes, they did. Hey, we thought Cool Runnings was a pretty funny movie, too, and we know Halloween is the time of year where you get to deviate a bit from what's socially acceptable, but also it's blackface.
Anyway, congratulations to the boys on their win; according to the message sent out earlier today, they all get "free admission to the next SMCSU party!!" Hope it was worth it.
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is way too soon.
It's funny, the other day there was a post on BlogTO asking readers to vote on whether or not a costume from the 2009 Zombie Walk (zombie hospital patient dragging a baby attached by umbilical cord) "crossed the line". In the end, only 30% of voters said that it did. I wonder what percentage of readers would consider this costume crossing the line.
You should do a poll asking what people find more offensive, the zombie costume or the blackface costume!
I actually feel that these kids not knowing why this is potentially offensive is a sign that we are doing something right.
I don't see this propping up any stereotypes other than frat guys having bad taste in movies.
The times they are a-changing.
It was always my understanding that that wasn't blackface. It'd be blackface if they had done the exaggerated white mouth that is the primary characteristic of blackface. These guys don't seem to have it.
I don't get it - why is it offensive for a white person to wear makeup to portray a black character on Halloween? They're not displaying any sort of intolerance. I've known people that have been iconic black characters like Shaft for Halloween - and let me tell you, a white dude is not a very convincing Shaft without a bit of makeup. Is it not okay to be somebody for Halloween that has a different skin colour than yourself?
It's just Topping trying make a story where one does not exist. Move along. Nothing to see.
It's a historical precedent, Jessica. Blackface has been used, and is still used, by white people as a form of racist humour. More than a century of precedent is difficult to ignore, and - in response to Facebook User - unfamiliarity with the past speaks to their ignorance (and the privilege to be ignorant), not their anti-racist sensibility. The white jocks might not know about blackface, but my guess is that many of the non-white people are uncomfortably aware of what it has meant and, often, continues to mean.
And how much do you wanna bet that they were using ridiculous (that is, purposely offensive) Jamaican accents, too? There's asking people to be politically correct, and then there's asking people to simply not act like douchebags.
Also? Those costumes were terrible - how did they win anything?
I think "Facebook User", above, is almost right. It's offensive, and it's funny--for that very reason. Assuming they didn't grow up on Mars, I'd say these frat boys know, at the very least, that blacking your face for laughs is a bit risque. If anything, we need more of this kind of thing in this ultra-sensitive era of political correctness. An implicit restriction of this type of--admittedly tasteless--humor is really a sign of a disavowed uneasiness that belies the notion of a harmonious society.
I'm not for offending people's sensibilities just for the sake of it, by the way. But racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. humor serves a very healthy purpose in a society in which people in general are not actually rabidly racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. In other words, a society like ours, or so I like to think. It's an indication that we're comfortable enough--happy enough, even--to live with each other that we can acknowledge our differences and laugh together. If my friends couldn't make racist jokes about my background around me, and vice versa, then I wouldn't feel like we were very good friends. Whenever something becomes totally off-limits as a potential object of humor, you can be sure that whatever it is, it's a genuine sore point--something so sore that it can't even be mentioned.
So I applaud these frat boys. This kind of think frankly warms my heart.
Interesting comment, Buck. I'm tempted to agree, though a couple things come to mind. I remember once being confronted with the statement "men doing drag is misogynistic unless they're truly trying to 'pass.'" This seems a bit extreme but I can appreciate the sentiment - if you're a man and dress up as a woman but act in a way that makes sure everyone knows you really are a man, then the performance usually relies on stereotypes and sexual cliches. I think a similar problem of performance occurs when whites 'do' blackness - the performance involves a whole host of cultural stereotypes (as evidenced by typical 'black face'). So, I suppose I would have had to see how these 'Rude Bwoys' were acting that night before passing any judgment.
The other thing that came to mind reading your comment was Zizek's argument that breaking the rules of the Symbolic between two people is an act of friendship. He once said he knew was truly friends with Badiou when he made a joke about Poles. In other words, we all (Z & B too) know that there's nothing inherent to being Polish or whatever, but when two people can relax the rules of the Symbolic (in your words, "this ultra-sensitive era of political correctness") and make a joke, then this is a sign of friendship. So, I wonder if when you say that "we're comfortable enough" to make jokes like this on a larger, public scale, we're becoming 'friendlier' on a social level. But I can certainly imagine there being many people who don't find this funny at all - which is good, for if we all abolished the Symbolic, we'd all be psychotic!!
Russel Peters' career seems to be built on stereotypical racist jokes, and nobody says boo about it.
In an otherwise fawning piece in Toronto Life (I know, I know...) this month, there are some good observations about how Russel Peters' success turns on racial humour that doesn't trade on stereotypes so much as close observation, and is much more sympathetic. Both funnier and harder to boo.
The OP frankly looks like a set of Joey Porsche clones who substituted black makeup for their usual tan-in-a-bottle. To credit them with calculated risqué humour is probably too generous.
The observations he made at his Yonge-Dundas Square show were that black people like shooting people with guns, and Middle Easterners like planting bombs in crowded places.
Such wit.
alright- so we've all established that black face is offensive. thank God. now can we all please establish that "Indian" costumes are offensive, too?
No, we can't and won't establish that. We're talking about real minorities here mkay? In all seriousness though, no. Read thewatchermaker's response to Jessica in the comments above for some fun history facts.
"real minorities"?
Wow. I can't believe some of the ignorance I'm reading on here.
The fact that white people are "unaware" of the offence somehow makes it ok? That is supposed to be a justification for the years of subjugation and embarrassment black people have dealt with? The years of racist stereotypes predicated on this VERY thing??
It is not simply the act of rubbing shoe polish on your face and drinking overprice booze and some douche bar. It's the reminders and memories of a time when black people and all people of colour were seen as stupid, thieves, liars and super sexual. Ready to rape and eat a white woman at any time.
Blackface is among one of the most intensely offensive and racist things any person can do in this day and age. And the fact that these tools potentially don't know about it is NO excuse. It doesn't mean we are forgetting about racism? (Why are some people so quick to want to forget their guilt and shame?) What it means is that we are forgetting WHY offensive stereotypes about watermelon, laziness and chicken and thievery come from.
SHAME on you, ANY of you, for propagating this foolishness.
Well as Mark, who commented on my first post, said: some people aren't going to find this kind of thing funny at all. And sure enough, we have Facebook User", just above me (apparently not the same "Facebook User" as the one who made comment number 2, since clicking on their links took me to different pages), who apparently has never been so outraged.
To clarify: I really think it's extremely unlikely that these frat boys didn't understand that what they were doing was certainly going to offend some people. I also think that the simple fact that some people are offended doesn't make this, to quote Facebook User #2, "one of the most intensely offensive and racist things any person can do in this day and age." This kind of knee-jerk, shame-on-you party-pooperism is unfortunately something we'll all have to live with for some time to come, but I think it misses the significance of this kind of gesture.
The point I was trying to make in my first post was simply that it's nice to know that we live in a society where it's possible to make this kind of (as I already said, extremely tasteless) statement and not necessarily be labeled some kind of dripping-fangs racist. Now, I hate to bring this up, since rhetorically it seems almost like cheating, but I do think it's significant that two of the people yukking it up in this photo were in fact born with black faces--and one of them is wearing whiteface.
What does this tell you? That the black guy in whiteface hates albinos? That he thinks all albinos are (again, to quote the morally-outraged Facebook User #2) "stupid, thieves, liars and super sexual"? (And as an aside: how did it ever come to pass that being "super sexual" is somehow a bad thing? Just wondering.)
What the whole picture tells me is this: These four white guys and their black friend (or, if you prefer, this black guy and his four white friends) decided it would be hilarious if they effected a little race reversal for Halloween, fully aware that some people would get all apoplectic about it, and so they put together the lamest costumes imaginable as a pretext under which to do so. They knew it would make some people uncomfortable and indignant, and they also knew that it would make some other people laugh their heads off--partly because of how it would so obviously make the first group of people uncomfortable and indignant (and, of course, partly because it just looks so hilariously absurd).
If these guys--two of whom, as we can all see, are actual black people--are okay with this foolishness, and are clearly not racists, then what is there to get all up in arms about? I don't see anything in these "costumes" that even vaguely suggests stupidity, thievery, mendacity, or super sexuality (or, for that matter, watermellons, laziness, or chicken--all of which I'm rather partial to, myself, as it happens). And this is exactly what I was talking about when I wrote, above, about a disavowed uneasiness belying the notion of a harmonious society: The fact that some ultra-sensitive type has managed to read an entire litany of offensive racist stereotypes into this picture says much more about the interpreter than it does about the black- (and white-)faced frat boys.
And so, once again I say: Tasteless frat boys, I salute you!
(A quick clarification: "Scotty"--who left comment 2, above--was calling himself "facebook user" when I first made my own comments. Same goes for "Jahmal", who left comment #13, and whom I referred to in my last post as "facebook user #2".)
Buck, this is not very complicated.
Blackface is offensive. This isn't simple humour. This isn't Richard Pryor, or Russell Peters. The racist frat boys didn't do this in an attempt to push things forward and make a statement. They did this because it's a funny joke to them, which is offensive to ME.
Shame on the black "friends" in the pictures for not knowing enough about their own history to call these fools out and show them how wrong this is. And the idea that the two black men endorsing this egregious behaviour somehow makes it any more acceptable is so... maddening, I have no words. They do not speak for me. They do not speak for the vast majority of people of colour who I'm sure if you polled in the streets do find this offensive.
These assholes are doing nothing to push race relations forward. And as long as we keep patting them on the head like the dog who shit the floor, we'll get nowhere.
-Jahmal Tonge
I must clarify.. 'Blackface' is indeed RACIST.. but on haloween night it makes us think otherwise. ok they may claim its JUST a costume, but the fact that they won the best costume of the night??? i dont see how.. that pretty much says a lot about the individuals who awarded them as best costumes of the night.. because seriouslli this is the WORST costume idea ever.. and if no other costume in that party toped this...... i reserve my comment.
I don't think blackface has much visceral meaning for the post-Al Jolson generation, and I'm in general agreement with Buck that these lame-ass costumes are more post-racist than racist (can a white guy dress as Obama or is that blackface?).
I can conceive that these guys may have landed on this concept in part because it's easy and silly, and also because it's a little edgy and screams some-of-my-best-friends-are-African-Caribbean-Canadian-how-cool-and-colour-blind-am-I. Or maybe they were just drunk and found a can of shoe polish.
Either way, we owe them a vote of thanks for giving Torontoist readers hours of interesting discussion.
I'd like to point out (what should be obvious) to all the knee-jerk reactions in this post.
They were the bob sled team from Cool Runnings (movie)
The only person screaming 'blackface' here is the author and the subsequent comments.
What is so racist about this? I'm baffled. Our society is WAY too PC that we think anything involving a minority is somehow tied to racism and prejudice. I once went as a White Male Redcoat for Halloween. Does that make me racist, sexist and self-hating? Give me a break...
I agree with Patrick (#18) that this has been interesting, and also with the point that he makes (also made in one way or another by "torontothegreat" (#19) and Amy (#17), and right at the start by Jessica, #3), which is that there's a difference between what these guys are doing and the kind of blackface spectacle that most people associate with a minstrel show.
That difference seems pretty obvious to me, and at the risk of belaboring the point, I'll repeat what I said above: If you find yourself reading a whole litany of obscene racist stereotypes into this display of Halloween tomfoolery, then you might want to examine some of your own private assumptions about race and our society.
In other words, if the very acknowledgement of the existence of race as a point of difference makes you uncomfortable--or maybe more to the point: if the acknowledgement of racial difference in anything but a solemn and humourless manner elicits your outrage--then I think that speaks volumes about your own sensitivities and obsessions, and very little about anything else.
But again, this has indeed been an interesting discussion, and I've had a lot of fun. I look forward to next Halloween when we can do it all over again.
the black guy on the left doesn't look too offendend to me... niether does the black guy who decided to dress up as the white coach with the rest of these guys...
Hey guys,
So, we are the five students in the picture Mr. Topping has decided to write about this week. To begin we would like to set the record straight that the costume was in no way intended to offend anyone, but was rather an attempt at an accurate portrayal of the characters in the movie Cool Runnings. This movie played a large part in our childhoods, and we simply wanted to express our feelings towards it with realistic costumes, which in this case included skin color. Firstly, the accusation of “black face” to us is not an appropriate label regarding our costumes. We would advise you to follow your own link to Wikipedia, which explains the various dimensions associated with Blackface, which as you should have seen includes more than simply darkening your skin tone. The clothing worn was clearly representative of a track and field team from the early 90’s and thus holds no racial connection. Furthermore, we question why our Trinidadian group member was not attacked in his portrayal of John Candy (our coach). Nobody in our group of friends, (which includes several racial groups) was actually offended. We would like to further emphasize the point made below, where a blogger mentioned how sometimes, “white guys just don’t make a very convincing shaft.” This is true for all those people who dressed as Kanye West or Michael Jackson whether in thriller or BLACK OR WHITE. Would things be different if we dressed as Barack Obama, the leader of the free world? We believe so...
Moving on to Mr. Topping, we really question your motives in placing our morality into question. We understand that you have interest in creating forms of social debate, however your decision to include us is both uninformed and serves to propagate the very stereotype you attached to our costumes. The title of your article is “rude bwoys”, we are curious as to why you would include the W in boys? So far, the only negative connotations associated with our costume have come from that title. The very idea that you would have this as the title of an article meant to attack a group of people that you insinuate are perpetuating racial stereotypes shows your hypocrisy. This further brings into question your motives for making this simple Halloween costume a means to create controversy, again...something in the best interests of your blog.
We are extremely offended by your slanderous article, it not only attacks our moral integrity, but calls our character into question on a daily basis. We ASK you to please consider the consequences of your uninformed accusations on those you use as mediums for debates on race relations and we further DEMAND that you take this down. We don’t deserve your scrutiny and we certainly don’t deserve the negative impact it will surely have on our day to day life.
This is our first and final post, and furthermore we would like to applaud those who are properly adjusted and were not so quick to label us as racists... because we really aren't.
To "The Jamaican Bobsled Team" - I am a journalism student interested in getting your side of the story. If you're interested in talking to me just send me a message.
Here's the real Jamaican bobsled team, which just underscores the extreme shittiness of the costume.
And here's the costume these knobs should have worn, which, it should be noted, is far more effective and doesn't involve any hint of darky imagery.
If this costume was supposed to be "Four douchebags from the Jersey Shore," it may have been worth winning the prize, because that wouldn't need explaining in Sharpie on a t-shirt.
you're a plug.
So you're saying that the shittiness of the costume is the reason it's racist? Or is that just a stab in the dark because you have nothing else?
Cool it fashion police... you obviously don't understand the movie reference.. for the majority of the movie the characters are dressed like they are on the cover: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/ which is bright colored, 90s style attire... these guys were dressing up as a specific group of characters … the costumes do not carry any negative or stereotypical message.. BOTH the white guys and the black guy of this group are portraying particular characters from a specific movie… it’s not racist to recognize race… oh and using swear words in your comment really shows how intelligent and logical you are.
Wow, must be a slow news week. This must be why the Torontoist is such a reputable source of news, well done Topping. What a joke. I can understand people crying blackface if these guys were to go as jamaicans for halloween. They dressed as the Jamacian bobsled team, fictional characters from a movie. Blackface implies a racist undertone... there is absolutley nothing racist about these costumes. Period.
ok how many of you people who have commented are from a racialized group? i am, and i can tell you that THIS is offensive. do you honestly think these guys would have dressed up in black face if their friend (the black guy) didn't ok it? this is appalling. it sickens me more that these colleges and this university for a matter of fact has not been quick to issue and apology. BLACK FACE IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE OK. mocking another culture WILL NEVER BE OK. this is not a sign that we are in a post racist state! we are not in one!
Andrew, what makes you say there is nothing racist about these costumes? because they are fictional characters? have you seen cool runnings?
lets say that there is indeed nothing racist...the fact that these colleges are celebrating this is WRONG! they represent many students of many different backgrounds, to insult a group that they represent it appalling. any other group/student could have been chosen as the winner!
black face has racial undertones. dressing in all black and "imitating" black people has racial undertones (that are negative)
why don't people get that? i am appalled to be a member of the university of Toronto community if you cant have the balls to condemn this.
I am and am certainly not offended by some dudes dressing up as the JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM (not blackfaces).
The author of this article (and the site and editor) have really stirred the pot on something and CREATED this offensiveness (rosie dimanno style).
I think Torontoist should seriously re-think both the title of the article AND some of the content that references 'blackface'.
READ the article and you'll realize the only racism being thrown into it is by the author. I don't personally think the author is racist but this was probably one of the most disingenuous articles I've read on this site to date and it's a bit disheartening.
well i'm a slut and i don't have a problem with people dressing up as me for halloween.
LOL. This is offensiveness I can get behind.
This is not newsworthy.
the 2 black guys should be ashamed of theirselves.. so not worthy to be even black.. including the black dude in 'white face' who claims he's not even black.. so i hear.. the colleges involved have refused to give an apology and they would def get what's coming to them.. I AM ASHAMED TO BE A PART OF THIS UNIVERSITY.. shame shame shame..
I am absolutely APPAULED by what the AUTHOR of this article has written and insinuated about the gentlemen involved in the picture. I find the whole article absolutely ridiculous and he should be ashamed of the ideas he is trying to put into peoples heads. He has completely gone out of his way to put negative ideas into the heads of readers just to draw attention towards something he has created. You know what I agree, blackface IS racist and it IS offensive however, these boys were not depicting blackface. They were the Jamaican Bobsled team from Cool Runnings – which is an absolutely hilarious movie might I add, so for those of you haven’t seen it stop wasting your time on this stupid article and go watch it NOW. Had they gone out as blackface then yes I would agree and say scorn them all you want because they would deserve it BUT that was not at all what they were doing. For those of you accusing them of this feel free to open a new web browser, and type “blackface” into Google and you’ll find that you are most definitely mistaken.
I love that you are all passing judgements on these guys based on something the author wrote in the article and from his title. It’s quite evident that he’s trying to touch hit some nerves and sensitive areas. Please don’t let him win. For those of you referring to them as “douchebags” or “frat boys” how can you pass judgement on people you don’t know? Based on what, a Halloween costume? I’m sorry but I went out on Halloween and saw plenty of people using the same type of make-up for other characters such as Lil Wayne but don’t hear anyone ridiculing them. Why these guys? Because some idiotic author had nothing better to write about so he thought he’d try to portray a bunch of university students as racists. What about the coach in the picture? Is he a racist too because he painted himself white? To “Amy” you have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to say that the black guys in the picture are “not worthy of being black.” You’re accusing these guys of so much, why don’t you get a reality check and start judging yourself before trying to judge others.
Nobody gets upset or offended when people dress up as cowboys or cowgirls and talk with a Southern accent, or when males dress up as females and vice versa. Why should this be any different? They were in no way poking fun at a race, nor were they implying anything negative through their costumes. People are responding to this as though these guys went out as the KKK or something. Relax! There were no negative depictions being made. It’s Halloween and they were clearly not at all trying to be racist, they were going out and dressing up and having a good time. Give it up they were in no way depicting blackface! Don’t get me wrong I’m sure there are some people who don’t find this funny, but at the same time I don’t think as many people would have been offended if it weren’t for the wording and insinuations made by the author.
Hi,
My name is Deryn, and my job on SMCSU is to throw parties. I am writing this because there seems to be some sort of perception that official apologies have not been offered, which they have. Firstly I'd like to confirm that the costumes of the night were not selected in any formal process. I take full responsibility for it, and it would be unfair for anyone else to get any slack over what I my self have done.
I sent the message the morning after the party which is the usual tradition. I was reminded by a friend that best costumes for the night had not been awarded. I then went on facebook and saw that there was one album of the night posted. There were about six pictures in that album which had group shots of pairs or teams of people. I selected the teams based on which pictures had the most number of students in them, my intention being that students would be able to recognize friends and such in the pictures. So, there were six groups of students that were given the best costume of the night, (not just the bobsled team). The teams were awarded free admission ( a value of $5each) to our next party (Graffiti) on November the 19th.
Amongst the six chosen was a team of five students who were portraying the Jamaican bobsled team from the movie Cool Runnings. The white students had their faces painted to depict the Jamaican members of the team. While the one black member of the team had his face painted white to depict the coach and late actor John Candy.When I chose those costumes it did not occur to me that the cool runnings team costume was potentially offensive. I suppose it did not occur to me because I was not personally offended and neither were any of the students who were partying with the cool runnings team, many of which were minority students. Moreover I was completely unaware as to any ideas about "blackface"
However, after reading the Wikipedia article on "blackface" I felt embarrassed and upset over my own ignorance in how potentially offensive something of this nature could be. However I truly believe that no one in that group meant any offense, they like myself I am sure, were completely unaware and of the implications of "blackface." Moreover from my archaic understanding of "blackface" it seems that the goal of the whole business is to cause racist comedic ridicule, which i do not believe the students were trying to do, and neither was I.
But like I said the students, just as my self were completly ignorant as to what "black face" is. That being said, I know that being ignorant is no defense for offending someone, I myself have experienced blatant and subtle racism. Yet I want to assure you that the Cool Runnings team, my self and the organizations that gave me funding for this party in no way intended for any racist stereotypes to be perpetuated, and if they were perpetuated we can only be extremely apologetic and confident that this sort of thing will never happen again.
thank you for hearing me out
“Rude Bwoys” is the title of this article, eh? I’m confused… who exactly is trying to rile up racist sentiment here?... I’m venturing to guess it’s not the boys in the costumes. What aspect of this costume calls to mind negative racial stereotypes? That’s right, none. Yes, they have black face paint on, but this is by no means a minstrel show. They are being characters from a freaking Disney movie, one in which the black characters are an inspiration nonetheless. God knows this sort of absurd humour “they are white and dressed up as the black characters, and he is black dressed as the white character---isn’t this shockingly witty?” is not the most subtle brand of humour, but it is only “racist” if we see it as maliciously offensive rather than just obviously ironic/shock value humour (a la "White Chicks," anybody?). That said, I’m guessing the black guy dressed up as John Candy would understand his buddies’ intents better than anyone on this site…
OH, and get this, Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world so I suggest people develop a thicker skin and a better sense of humour. And yes, I’m a minority.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a second...because this blackface issue KEEPS coming up lately, from that movie Tropic Thunder to those Vogue models to this shit...is it, or will it ever be ok for white people to portray black people without ppl getting riled up? Is there a difference between black face and a black costume? On halloween I saw a white dude with a tam with fake dreads, carrying a giant prop spliff(supposedly as Bob Marley SMH)...I also saw 2 giant fake afros...so where is the line? And I understand the historical significance of blackface, but to me its one thing if they came out as Amos n Andy or Al Jolsen (or naked Blackface Africans with spears...something I've seen portrayed in Asia no less)...but as ill-advised as this was I personally don't really find it offensive in itself, stupid, yes...but offensive...?
Are we, or are we not all just people?....does a white person darkening their skin automatically make them offensive to us? is it the PROCESS by which they blackened themselves? is it the very thought?...Were they acting like minstrel jack-asses while in costume? Cause then thats a different story, but its been pointed out already we do a good enough job of that on BET alone so shouldnt we be offended all the time?.....in the comments I read the term 'knee-jerk reaction' to a lot of ppl's outrage but only few explained why they were angry...the idea of white privilege, of them not KNOWING why or how ppl would get mad at this shit, is the only understandable reason i see, but even that is based more on historical ignorance than malicious bigotry...I dunno...
As a dark skinned Black man, with dreads no less, I deal with more covert and blatant racisim on a daily basis, and this by itself just doesnt outrage me like some other shit I deal with...in fact one of the most profound experiments in race relations was done in 1961 by John Howard Griffin, a white man who darkened his skin and experienced first-hand what a black man does in the segregated South, then wrote a book about it called "Black Like Me"...I'm not saying every White person should become black and spend a day getting randomly stopped by police, followed around shops, ignored by customer service in their favorite department store, denied loans or promotions they're eligible for, etc etc....but perhaps that would be good reading in our schools, say around grade 8, to illustrate what RACE still means in our society.....just a thought...cause seriously, theres more real shit for us to deal with then some tasteless white(and black) college kids being drunk and stupid on halloween....ok thats my piece! Peace!
K.A.
I would say that it's less a matter of intention here—I don't think anybody is claiming that they are racist—and more a matter of a lapse in judgment and their ignorance of the history of darky imagery. Knowing that mimicking another ethnicity is a powderkeg under the best of circumstances today, whatever the person's intention, the problem is in going ahead with it at such a public event with such a significant risk of being negatively interpreted. What may work in a small group of friends may gain an entirely different context in a large group of strangers at a public event. If one is a white person considering dressing up in blackface, I think it's safe to say that it's almost always a mistake by default, even if intentions are benevolent.
But it's a good discussion, and it should be discussed, especially in the context of how things have changed (or haven't). And then there's the issue of who's doing it: America's Next Top Model has done photo shoots where the models were masquerading as a different ethnicity, and Toronto's Amanda Marshall morphs ethnicities in her "Everybody's Got A Story" video. But is it more okay because Tyra Banks is a producer of EMTM and because Amanda Marshall is bi-racial (black mother, white father)? Perhaps. It's a matter of context, and I think if you're gonna go there with a costume like that, you're going to have to be prepared to back it up.
Do I find the title of this article offensive? Yes I do. Extremely offensive. However do I find the actual costumes themselves offensive? No, given the context of the costumes. I don't think these guys are racist at all. Ignorant to a large degree sure, but racist is a strong word for this situation.
I am also curious of those people who are screaming racism though and if these same people are laughing at Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle white jokes that are told on a daily basis. If you are that is a double standard you should look into, because it is a double standard that I see all the time. This is an elitist type attitude that can be just as detrimental as a couple of Caucasian men dressing up as the Jamaican bobsled team.
And why is it okay for somebody to dress up as say Michael Jackson, painted face and all but not the bobsled team? Despite what MJ became in the latter half of his life, the man still was and African American man. Why was there not complaints from that? Why is a parody of MJ not viewed as bad as the Jamaican bobsled team?
-Vic De Zen
You mean like this?
I'm sure you're aware of this, but "rude bwoy" (spelling intact) is common Jamaican slang for "delinquent."
The spelling is not intact in pronouncing rude boy. Unless of course you're trying to mock the Jamaican accent? Unless of course you are Jamaican, which is highly doubtful Marc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rude_boy
Rude boys/girls in England (the more accepted definition since the 70's) do not pronounce it bwoy.
Sorry forgot to hit reply to marc's last comment http://torontoist.com/2009/10/nightmare_at_nightmare_on_peter_street.php#comment-2384537
So, if I'm using a common Jamaican patois phrase as an example to prove a point, like "wha'gwan" I should be spelling it "what's going on?"
The use of "rude bwoy" in Jamaican slang/patois is common and colloquial enough to have the spelling be valid without being offensive or a mockery of the accent, and in fact, I think spelling it "rude boys" leads to ambiguity, especially as it pertains to rude boy Oi! culture in the UK.
Rude boy is part of the ska, dancehall (jamaican) culture in the UK not OI! The 2 are fairly far apart on the sub-culture scale. I know, I know, semantics...
Why on earth would you ever need to use a Jamaican patois phrase as an example to ask what's going on (out of curiosity)? I can only see 1 reason. To mock.
Unless of course you are now saying there is nothing wrong with overlapping cultural boundaries to "prove a point" or *cough* to have fun as a Halloween costume?
Sorry I forgot to hit reply again, Marc.
Why would I want to bring up a Jamaican patois phrase? Well, when discussing patois or Jamaican culture or slang usage or a variety of reasons like that. I wouldn't be using it in general conversation in my day-to-day life, although I'm pretty frequently surrounded by Jamaican and West Indian culture in my day-to-day life anyway, and that includes a lot of exposure to patois, and usually Jamaican patois.
Discussing the intricacies of a popular dialect is not the same as a white person wearing blackface to a party, though I must re-state that I think this is a case of ignorance rather than racism, even though darky imagery is historically rooted in racism. A white person presenting themselves in blackface is automatically a problem, without context. If a white person is going to put blackface on as costume, they can surely go ahead, but they better know what they're getting into.
Personally, I would never present myself gussied-up as a different ethnicity, and I can't imagine a scenario where I would need to do that.
I'm more offended by your continued use of calling my culture 'darky' (I don't care why you're doing it). then I am about these guys dressing up as a bobsled team.
In this case, they do have context. The Jamaican Bobsled team.
In the case of this article, Rude Bwoy has almost 0 context and especially no context to the references of 'blackface'.
And I'd like to add, having a black friend(s) does not make it okay to be racist or give you any right to use certain cultural terminology. I highly doubt you would walk into a room of Jamaicans and say:
Wha' g'wan rude bwoys, di se dat batty man?
Not sure if you're talking to me (I think?), but "darky imagery" is a term (just like "blackface"), I didn't make it up, I think it's horrible, and I'm not calling anybody "darky," and I would never. Nice try, though.
I didn't think up the "Rude Bwoys" title, but it's colloquial and common.
And you're missing my point by pointing out that I would never walk into a room of Jamaicans and speak patois, which I clearly outlined and confirmed above. Using the patois terms, spelled as they are, is for a discussion on the patois terms and not for my everyday language.
Nor am I speaking from the perspective of someone "having a black friend," and thinking it's okay to use certain cultural terminology, which it absolutely not what I have demonstrated. Half my family is West Indian—including my son—and I am strongly immersed in West Indian culture every day, just as I am Italian culture and Canadian culture. It's a large part of my life that I have a significant affinity to, and I experience racism and cultural insensitivity frequently and directly. I also don't need to tell you that there are widely varying views within black communities, white communities, gay communities, female communities, Jewish communities, whatever communities on the tangled, complex meanings behind cultural appropriation or terminology. This negates neither discussion nor disagreement.
People who are offended by this are stupid and need a significant other in their lives. There's nothing wrong with this. It's just a bunch of guys having some fun.
On the other hand, I find the movie "White Chicks" highly offensive. :p
Lololol. Comment wars.
I can see why it'd be offensive GENERALLY SPEAKING but when I look at the picture, I really don't see it.
Maybe I'm just not EASILY OFFENDED.