I’m Not Racist, by Joyner Lucas.
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You see, the big problem here is that the MAGA crew never says “I wish that I knew yours” when it came to the black side of the story.
It’s not black people’s fault that the MAGA crew won’t listen to them. If they wanted to actually know then we might have a starting point.
“I’m not racist, I just make a huge pile of racist assumptions and resist any attempt at correction or contradiction.”
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Excellent analysis, thank you.
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I’ve found the Root and especially Very Smart Brothas to be great at this sort of analysis, really breaking down the ideological structures around race that surround us every day.
[ETA] for example, this great essay on Alabama Cotton fields, and being black in the American south:
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I had to mull over my thoughts for a day or two before commenting on that song.
While I appreciate the intent, the author of the article nailed my main problem with it more succinctly than I ever could have:
“Actually, most of us don’t do those bad things you think we all do.”
Real talk; Black people are not monolithic, and that’s a huge failing on the part of Joyner Lucas’ argument.
Also:
"The song and the video are based on a faulty premise:
That white people’s race-related gripes and black people’s race-related gripes are equal - equally justified and deserving of equal time and attention.
They are not.
There is no conversation that needs to happen between the races in order to create some measure of truce and racial conciliation. The only conversation that can do that is white people talking to other white people to try to find a way to be less awful to black people. (Also, saying “Hey, stop discriminating against and hating and killing us” is not asking for a truce. Just for them to stop doing what they’re doing so we can breathe.)"
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The speaker on my phone is toast, so I still haven’t got around to actually watching the vid; I just read the CNN thing about it. And just from that, I was like, WTF, this is some Uncle Tom shit.
I actually do appreciate what Joyner Lucas attempted to do here. And I’d appreciate it even more if he read some bell hooks and Kiese Laymon and Kimberlé Crenshaw and Ta-Nehisi Coates and Toni Morrison and Derrick Bell and tried again.
I wonder if Lucas figured wypipo need to be bundled in cotton wool to even come to the table? Because that’s the only way I can make sense of this… MAGA fuckwit deserves to be handed his arse in no uncertain terms; made to realise his ‘grievances’ are filthy lies designed to divide and conquer the poor, his stupid aggro shredded by an onslaught of hard facts.
Let’s hope someone a bit more militant takes this and modifies it.
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That’s a great site. Thanks!
Also, am I the only one who feels like the dude in the MAGA outfit looked more like a hipster cosplaying a Trumpette?
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Sounds a bit like crossdressing to me.
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That was a big disconnect for me as well. It’s like, come the fuck on - the last thing the MAGA bunch wants to do is start an actual dialog. Yes, there are may be “two sides” (and many more than that as @Melizmatic so wisely states) and it can be eye opening to hear multiple perspectives but empathy is not sympathy. In my opinion it’s pretty damn hard to justify or sympathize with the side of the oppressor.
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Seriously, when someone hurts and oppresses and villifies and dehumanizes you, how is it your responsibility to meet them halfway?
We already tried that. Turns out it’s fucking moronic. It’s not black people’s job to cater to racists and make them feel comfortable and needed and righteous. Why act like black people are falling short when the MAGA fuckwagons won’t take a second for self reflection no matter what?
I’m not racist, but a huge number of white people need to shut up with all their preconceived notions and act like they care about the equality they profess to value.
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And white people need to stop saying, “I’m not racist”. It’s one of those things like, “hold my beer” that never ends with anything good.
Speak with your actions, not words.
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Absolutely. That’s why I’m being so ironic as a white guy myself.
I can’t possibly speak for black people. But I do know right from wrong and try every day to appreciate the fact that I have privileges others can only wish for.
I must use my privileges wisely. I may never know what it really is like to walk a mile in a black man’s shoes. That’s not something I get. But I can do my best to try and make that walk as easy as a white man’s.
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It’s like no one learned anything from the shittiness of this shite:
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Wow. What a load of uncle tom shit.
“I won’t judge your flag if you don’t judge my dew rag”
What the fuck is that?
It’s “We’re making ammends as long as black people agree with white people’s projection”.
Skynyrd could have chosen a different symbol. They didn’t. And white people’s ignorance of the meaning doesn’t make up for it.
What if Skynyrd used a swastika or union jack or a fucking 3/5ths flag?
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It gets even worse:
I’m proud of where I’m from
(If you don’t judge my gold chains)
But not everything we’ve done
(I’ll forget the iron chains)
It ain’t like you and me can re-write history
(Can’t re-write history baby)
Holy shit, LL. How far you’ve fallen.
I love the savaging this song got on Genius.
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As far as I can tell, these “reconciliation songs” are completely about making white people in the south and generally white people overall comfortable with their history. While still letting them treat racial minorities as if they have something to prove.
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Why the Union Jack? Just curious.
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The union jack quip is just an attempt at being as offensive to the dumb “uber amuricans” in the south as the stars and bars is to the decent people everywhere else.
Seriously, I’ve heard defenses of the 2nd amendment saying “what if the British invade” so why not use their symbol?
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