Offensive Or Not?

[Booldawg]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2509893/York-University-students-black-offensive-Cool-Runnings-fancy-dress.html


'Sairish Tahir and Isabelle Scott, York University's black, minority and ethnic officers, said: 'This is an incredibly insensitive and arrogant decision made by a group of supposed young adults who thought that "blacking up" and appropriating one's race would be a great joke.

'Blacking up is steeped in a history of discrimination, degradation and bigotry.

'Choosing to perpetuate these racial stereotypes to create shock value seems to be an increasing common theme across young people at universities and will certainly not be tolerated as acceptable behaviour, in this day and age.'

Were they 'perpetuating a racial sterotype' or simply dressing up themed to a particular movie. Surely the movie 'Cool Runnings' played on a stereotypical notion that Jamaica shouldn't have successful bobsleigh team.

[sp1814]

Not offensive - but it is getting a bit boring now.

You know what I'm REALLY looking forward to?

Black students 'whiting up'.

Was it offensive?

Well, I'm not sure if they've ever met black people, or have seen the film...but black people aren't actually jet black.

We're going to be looking forward to the same dull stories of 'hilarious black man' costumes, followed by outraged responses every year at this time.

God bless bleedin' Halloween.

[ll_billym]

Tough one this, it really depends on how they acted whilst dressed up like this and the company they were keeping.

It's all fun and games at uni party but I have a feeling those guys would get some bad reactions if they walked down the street in Kingston made up like that. All about context.

[ludwig]

Perhaps they were trying to make a serious point about racism, like those girls who went to a fancy dress party as the twin towers to make a serious point about terrorism.

[FredPuli43]

About as insensitive as a white actor blacking up to play Othello.

[trt]

What a fuss,
Its going to be an offence to breath in this bloody Country soon!

I used to be in the Xmas Black & White Minstrels show when I was at school, all the parents loved it!

[naomi24]

SP, //You know what I'm REALLY looking forward to? Black students 'whiting up'. //

Not students - but it's not unheard of.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/5132689/Black-actors-white-up-at-the-National-Theatre.html

[sp1814]

The reason why this is getting boring is because it's gone all Groundhog Day-ish

1. Students black up
2. Someone gets outraged
3. Papers print story
4. Someone gets outraged at the 'PC gone mad'
reset:
1. Students black up
2. Someone gets outraged
3. Papers print story
4. Someone gets outraged at the 'PC gone mad'
reset:
1. Students black up
2. Someone gets outraged
3. Papers print story
4. Someone gets outraged at the 'PC gone mad'
reset:
1. Students black up
2. Someone gets outraged
3. Papers print story
4. Someone gets outraged at the 'PC gone mad'
reset:
1. Students black up
2. Someone gets outraged
3. Papers print story
4. Someone gets outraged at the 'PC gone mad'

The people getting their knickers in a twist about PC gone mad are just as bad as the people originally complaining.

As I said...Groundhog Day.

[Peter Pedant]

what is wrong with a Vicars and Tarts party ?

The men go as tarts of course.

thanks god for the Vicar of Stiffkey - who never blacked up I think

[joggerjayne]

The new student mantra.

I want to be offended.

I want to be offended.

I want to be offended.

I want to be offended.

Oh, come on guys, please offend me, someone.

[tonyav]

Do these uni's still have 'Rag Week' used to love reading those rag mags, some great offensive jokes in them.

[joggerjayne]

1. What is the meaning of "appropriating ones race"?

(students talking crap!)

2. The portrayal of the Jamaican bob team does not represent bigotry and discrimination. It represents an event of extraordinary glory and achievement for the black Jamaican people, and we should be pleased that white people are still giving that achievement a place in popular culture by dressing up as the team.

[FredPuli43]

Yes, what did happen to rag week? It used to be a really big event in Cambridge, like a scaled down Nice Carnival, but it seems to have disappeared from view and the public mind.

[joggerjayne]

If dressing up as a black person is "appropriating one's race" then ...

I am offended by Paul O'Grady for dressing up as a woman and appropriating my gender.

I am offended by foreign visitors for speaking English for appropriating my cultural language.

I am offended by African women who get their hair straightened for appropriating my physical identity.

I am offended by Northern people who move to Brighton for appropriating my geographical heritage.

I am offended by foreign people who come to music gigs here for appropriating my cultural identity.

etc, etc

I am so offended by all this appropriation that is going on.

[FredPuli43]

http://www.coconutters.co.uk/photoalbum2/gallery.htm

How long before the Bacup coconut morris get banned as offensive? They black up and have done for many years.

[horseshoes]

If I could sing like the great Louis Armstrong, which I can't, obviously, and wanted to enter a type of "stars in their eyes" competition, I don't think I'd cut the mustard if I didn't "black up"! Would that then also be offensive? I wouldn't have thought so.

[horseshoes]

I'm offended by everybody being offended!

[horseshoes]

Now I'm offended that JJ is offended by all that offensive stuff;-)

[douglas9401]

Well they'd look a bit stupid going as the Jamaican bobsleigh team of yore as white people now wouldn't they.

Bloody students, behaving like their po-faced parents instead of drinking and puking like they're supposed to.
These are our future leaders y'know. Be afraid.

[shoota]

C'est un hommage, n'est ce pas?



(Abject apologies to the French for appropriating their language, it was a homage really, honestly.....)