Kid criticised for trying to look like his hero

[youngsyr]

TeamD said:

dondadda said:

Blackface is unacceptable no matter the intentions.

As already stated "blackface" was not used. That is a stylised parody of a certain ethnic grouping. The kid was wearing make-up, get over it

This is even further away from racism than just "wearing make up", he was idiolising someone of a different race, that's the exact opposite of racism.

[youngsyr]

s3fella said:

dondadda said:

Just wonder how many of the people saying its alright are ethnic minorities.

Wonder how many Jews would have been happy with Harry wearing a Nazi uniform.

Afterall the holocaust happened many many years ago and it was 'just a costume to a fun party'

Are you mental?
The correct analogy would be if Prince Harry got dressed up as a Jew. Or since he did get dressed up as a Nazi, how would a Nazi feel?

They are the correct analogies in respect of this case, ie non black person dressing up as a black person.

Oh, and it is in no way racist, he is not mocking the character, he is emulating him as his hero. The guy should be made up by it.

The same way I never took offence at Michael Jackson trying to look white.

Stop being so fking precious and grow some.

What people are also missing is that even if his makeup and costume were designed to make fun of the sports star, it still wouldn't be racism - as his parody would be of an individual, not a race.

His parody would have to be of a general stereotype of black people, or aimed at black people as a race for it to be racist.

This situation fails to meet the criteria for racism on multiple levels.

[s3fella]

This thread reminded to go and google "guidos" and it's cheered me right up. Are the guidos being racists, or just looking like tts? Because I don't recall anyone calling them racist, but plenty calling them tts.

[InductionRoar]

youngsyr said:

What people are also missing is that even if his makeup and costume were designed to make fun of the sports star, it still wouldn't be racism - as his parody would be of an individual, not a race.

His parody would have to be of a general stereotype of black people, or aimed at black people as a race for it to be racist.

This situation fails to meet the criteria for racism on multiple levels.

Bloody racist!

[Zoon]

dondadda said:

Same way it will be unacceptable for a white teenager to say 'my ni**a' as an endearment to his best mate who happens to be black.

Double standards?
Black people can use it but not whites?
Surely that is reverse racism.

If the term is so offensive why do black people even use it?

[Some Gump]

Some people just love being offended.

the general idea of a costume is to look like the person/thing your costume is. If your hero is wolverine, you'd put on fake sidies. If your hero is an african looking bloke with dreads, then you'd look pretty lame going in pasty with dreads.


The stupidest thing is that this young kid, and his mum are as far from racist as you get. From afar, it looks like the young lad doesn't see him as different, just as awesome - so the kid himself is colourblind in selection of favourite player. Hell, if he's from Fijian descent, he's technically an immigrant as well.

My interpretation of most-isms is treating people differently (worse) due to one of their characteristics. By calling out this young lad and his mum, the SJW crowd (and the player himself) have suddenly made this "us and them" when the initial intention clearly wasn't.

As for the mum, I can see why she did it. Clearly she was torn between pandering to PC, or letting him do it. Just ask yourselves one thing - if the kid had approached his mum to do this outfit, what reason could she have used to refuse, other than some variant of "no son, you can't do that because you;re white and he's black?" That's teh racism moment there, when you tell a young lad that there's a difference between people based on the colour of their skin.

[TeamD]

God help Sacha Baron Cohen then.

[dondadda]

youngsyr said:

This is even further away from racism than just "wearing make up", he was idiolising someone of a different race, that's the exact opposite of racism.

I think we all agree the kid or his mum werent racist. The issues is whether it is acceptable to go in public with blackface even with the best of intentions.

Why were kids going to games at Stamford Bridge wearing a Drogba shirt not arriving in blackface and a perm wig? I'd like to think its beacause they and their parents have brains.

Would anyone here buy their 3 year old daughter a golliwog (cause she loves it) and then let her openly play with on route 109 through Brixton?

[s3fella]

dondadda said:

I think we all agree the kid or his mum werent racist. The issues is whether it is acceptable to go in public with blackface even with the best of intentions.

Why were kids going to games at Stamford Bridge wearing a Drogba shirt not arriving in blackface and a perm wig? I'd like to think its beacause they and their parents have brains.

Would anyone here buy their 3 year old daughter a golliwog (cause she loves it) and then let her openly play with on route 109 through Brixton?

Brixton...? why did you chose Brixton...?

[Wobbegong]

youngsyr said:

Wobbegong said:

Is this racist?

What's your opinion?

I don't know anymore

[TeamD]

dondadda said:

I think we all agree the kid or his mum werent racist. The issues is whether it is acceptable to go in public with blackface even with the best of intentions.

Why were kids going to games at Stamford Bridge wearing a Drogba shirt not arriving in blackface and a perm wig? I'd like to think its beacause they and their parents have brains.

Would anyone here buy their 3 year old daughter a golliwog (cause she loves it) and then let her openly play with on route 109 through Brixton?

FFS! Can you not differentiate between "blackface" and make-up? He didn't turn up dressed as one of the black & white minstrels!!!

[youngsyr]

Wobbegong said:

youngsyr said:

Wobbegong said:

Is this racist?

What's your opinion?

I don't know anymore

Well, here's my take on it - the answer is no. The character isn't racist because he isn't portrayed as being typical of any particular race, there are other members from the same community in the film who are portrayed very differently although perhaps not all positively.

A relevant comparison is of the use of stereotypical English accents on many "bad guys" in Hollywood action movies - any individual character isn't racist per se, but you could argue that the practice overall is racist as it makes a direct link between English people and criminal behaviour.

Of course, this stuff flies over the heads of the professionally offended, as there's not a stereotypical minority being victimised and there's no easy/lazy visual prop to focus on.

[geeks]

Hoofy said:

youngsyr said:

That's stretching the comparison way too far, IMO. I'd see your point if he'd been made up as a minstrel, but he hadn't - he'd just darkened his skin and put a wig on to look more like his idol.

Do you think that Robert Downey Jr was being racist in Tropic Thunder?



Might be worth pointing out that he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.

Great example.

"What do YOU mean, "you people"???"

Perhaps a little ironically, wasn't he also playing an Australian in Tropic Thunder?

[ZedLeg]

youngsyr said:

A relevant comparison is of the use of stereotypical English accents on many "bad guys" in Hollywood action movies - any individual character isn't racist per se, but you could argue that the practice overall is racist as it makes a direct link between English people and criminal behaviour.

Being English isn't a race.

[poo at Paul's]

s3fella said:

dondadda said:

I think we all agree the kid or his mum werent racist. The issues is whether it is acceptable to go in public with blackface even with the best of intentions.

Why were kids going to games at Stamford Bridge wearing a Drogba shirt not arriving in blackface and a perm wig? I'd like to think its beacause they and their parents have brains.

Would anyone here buy their 3 year old daughter a golliwog (cause she loves it) and then let her openly play with on route 109 through Brixton?

Brixton...? why did you chose Brixton...?

Haha, busted. Donadda, you DO know white people live there too, don't you? And it isn't just black people that use busses you know!

Cries "racist"...then writes racist comment! Priceless

[anonymous-user]

dondadda said:

Someone said Michael Jackson bleaching his skin is racist. It is as racist as all those people tanning their skin to be a bit brown.

Why werent all the kids wearing a Yorke or Cole replica Manchester United shirt arriving in blackface to show their love for these players?

Blackface is unacceptable no matter the intentions. Same way it will be unacceptable for a white teenager to say 'my ni**a' as an endearment to his best mate who happens to be black.

Do blackface in private or call your best mate 'my ni**a' in private but do not post in on social media abd expect pats on the back.

This.

When I were a lad, my idol was Michael Schumacher. I had a little red jumpsuit, a Ferrari hat and a red little fisher price R/C car that I would don every weekend and pretend to be my hero. At no point did I feel that I'd need to lighten myself up to complete the look. Was I not committed enough?

This isn't about 'imitation' or 'idolization' because for 99.9% of kids, the jersey, the hair, hell, even just saying "I'm XXXXX" is enough to make them feel like their heros.

Which leads me to have a very strong suspicion that the blacking up was driven by the parents in this case. Apart from perhaps a few awkward questions/comments when they are very young, kids rarely see skin colour in a way that they'd be asking mum to hand them the boot polish, at which point I'd hope any sane and responsible parent would carefully and sensitively explain that blackface has negative connotations, regardless of whether offense was intended or not.

[joshleb]

For most situations you can pretend that you're that person with just the footie shirt on, but this was for a school dress up event where they put that extra bit of effort in.

I'm sure that when he plays with his mates he pretends to be that player, but doesn't go putting on the body paint for it.

[Zoon]

joshleb said:

For most situations you can pretend that you're that person with just the footie shirt on, but this was for a school dress up event where they put that extra bit of effort in.

I'm sure that when he plays with his mates he pretends to be that player, but doesn't go putting on the body paint for it.

It's a bit like impersonating the incredible hulk with just a pair of ripped shorts on.
Doesn't have the same effect without the green paint.

[Some Gump]

Zoon said:

It's a bit like impersonating the incredible hulk with just a pair of ripped shorts on.
Doesn't have the same effect without the green paint.

That's hulkist.

[youngsyr]

ZedLeg said:

youngsyr said:

A relevant comparison is of the use of stereotypical English accents on many "bad guys" in Hollywood action movies - any individual character isn't racist per se, but you could argue that the practice overall is racist as it makes a direct link between English people and criminal behaviour.

Being English isn't a race.

Irrelevant.

As per the The Equality Act 2010, racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status.

Seems you really don't understand the key aspects of the topic we're discussing.