For those who didn't catch the Russian ice skaters "Aboriginal" dance routine, we're posting a photo of their brownface costumes, mid-routine.
The duo donned what can only be described as brownface. Their costumes were tinted brown to give them darker skin and tried to paint their faces and bodies with what Russia perceives as traditional Aboriginal warpaint.
Aboriginals in Australia and North America responded with cries of outrage and the Russian duo not only apologized but removed the offensive brownface paint and tinted costumes from their routine.
This brings us back to our issue with the University of Toronto's lack of response to the blackface incident. The students made a poor decision in wearing blackface to a costume party, but the lack of an apology or action by the school is the real issue.
If the Russian skaters can understand, apologize and attempt to rectify the situation as best they can, why can't U of T? Instead of trying to hold a forum explaining the racist history of blackface, in an attempt to educate those who are ignorant to it, they turned their backs. instead of supporting the BSA who was trying to hold a forum, they took credit for it and silenced the BSA.
Well done U of T, you just got a lesson in sympathy by Russian skaters.
not only did they not support the BSA but they effectively condemned it. well done administration, well done.
ReplyDeletePersonally I find that the whole figure skating issue naively points fingers at the Russian team. The routine did not condemn or make fun of native culture in any way, yet so many people are so adamant to pull the race card that they will forego logic. The people who wrongly condemn them as being racist are essentially claiming that any people of any culture are ONLY allowed to play any kind of theatrical or in this case athletic role that reflects their own culture. Otherwise, it racist! No exceptions! No context! Just racist! The Russian skaters were not early settlers who were deliberately making fun of native americans because of deep seated racism against them, they were merely giving their own interpretive, russian view to try and do something different in the sport.
ReplyDeleteNow, in regards to the blackface issue, of course it was in bad taste, of course it should not have been done, but it has been blown far out of context. What you bleeding hearted idiots don't understand is that it was at a party, with many black students (some of whom were even in the pictures) present, and was meant for satire. Do you know what satire is? Evidently not. It was not meant to deliberately offend, it was not meant as some kind of malicious statement, and it was not meant to even condone the concept of blackface, and in fact if you actually look into it, you may actually see the opposite. Perhaps you can climb your way off your throne and remember that costumes are meant to be absurd and out of place. Meant to satirize things, in this case perhaps deliberately bringing to light the absurdity of the very concept of blackface. Thats why it was a costume! Thats one of the points of costumes! Am I suggesting that there isn't real racism against black students? Of course not. I'm saying that as misguided the actions of the students were, the ultimate goal in mind was not racist, it was satirical.
You've clearly misunderstood their purpose. They are problematizing the incident of course, but of more concern is the university's response (or lack thereof). The administration should be ashamed of itself for completely failing to respond to the concerns of racialized bodies concerning their experiences of racism at school. They are trying to point out the SYSTEMIC RACISM existent in the university.
ReplyDeleteIt's irrelevant if the intent wasn't to offend, the point is that it did. Pulling the "there were black people there" card is so cliché and so ridiculous. Just because the bodies that they were caricaturizing were present does not make the caricature legitimate.
And personally, I have a lot of trouble assigning as much intelligence as you seem to to students at the university. Most people don't have the intelligence to understand satire, let alone act it out at a Halloween party. Furthermore, these people need to be conscious that there is always an audience. Let's say for the sake of argument that these students actually understand the concept of satire and were using it (that's far-fetched enough), they need to be aware that there are people in their audience who will not see that, who will take offense OR even worse, will see the portrayal of blackface as legitimate and perpetuate it in their own lives.
I must say, by protesting this costume you are just emphasizing inequality. The more you sensitize people to these racial differences, the more you are asking people to focus on skin colour. Why is dressing up as a bobsled team with black make-up different than a man dressing up as a woman for halloween or vice-versa?
ReplyDeleteBy focusing on skin colour-weather you are defending it or not-just brings attention to physical differences, and doesn't that defeat the purpose of equality.
Also, the video you posted clearly contains racist terms such as "cracker" and "red-neck" this is just as racist but no offense is taken?
Isn't that a little hypocritical?