I find it highly offnsive that some people feel the need to air their racist thoughts here at Teenage Wildlife. Such material belongs more at a place like this one than at TW.

Thank you.

Please visit my Message Board so I can ban you.

You are definitely on to something, Mr. Boy.

And, while I can appreciate the idea that this whole black beef would be more fitting in the arena of really hot Asian porn (figuratively, at least), I find it pales in comparison to this = an immensely rewarding fantasy, and "widely-accepted" marriage of caricatures.. not unlike Seal and Heidi Klum.

"And don't call us Maltesers." - Marquis

That's about threequarters of my best material I'd have to do away with...

Oh well, back to the photo & candle-making threads.

I know I haven't really been back here all that long but this whole racism row is something that I think deserves a bit more attention. Specifically, the points raised by WildWind, Starlite and p2c here, here and here deserve more attention.

Using race as a foil for making a joke/point/both is tricky and often lapses into plain offensive stuff. For example, Monkeyboy's thread on Black History month: It moves from irreverant suggestions for great moments in black history to Tristan dredging up an instance of a faked attack which caught out some African-American leaders and has a laugh at their expense, never mind the fact these were people who are strong representatives and symbols of black liberation and that it would be natural for them to believe the woman since race attacks are still a massive problem today; then the uber-dick Stu gets the chance to somehow insinuate that blacks are getting an easy time of things in the justice system, again by isolating the exception to the rule and promoting that. Look at the statistics: Black Americans comprise 13% of the population, 30% of arrests and 49% of the prison population. Then to round it off, we've got a black-and-white minstrel. What a rich vein of humour we mine at TW these days. p2c is 100% right when he says that this place sees itself as all caucasian and that can end up creating an atmosphere where we think it's ok to ironically use racist comments, which in turn results in actual racist material being posted, which in turn offends people.

It's like in the film of Borat and the difference between the scenes where the character is used to expose the racism of other people and those that are just cheap, decontextualised digs at Kazakh people (aren't they all primitive, he's kissing his sister etc).

Just for the record, I don't think that Monkeyboy is racist. I think he's a very sharp, funny guy. But his best stuff is when he's excoriating the many dickheads who populate this site rather than when he lapses into 'ironic' racism that, out of context, just reads like plain racism.

I think that TW should be a safe place for oppressed people to use without finding statements that are offensive to them on the basis of that oppression. Other than that, it's all fair game, really.

"The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned" - Antonio Gramsci

Shut up.

If you don't like freedom of speech and wide ranging topics of conversation then log onto www.IMAMONKSHHH.com

"If I go to the shops in my slippers you have my authorisation to phone for the doctor"

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I think that TW should be a safe place for oppressed people to use without finding statements that are offensive to them on the basis of that oppression

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Laughable nonsence. This is TW.

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"...but not being able to because there are
other things that just have to be done."

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I don't think that Monkeyboy is racist

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I think he is and I think it sucks that people give him a pass on it. "Ironic" racism is just a shield for people who don't even have the guts to admit to themselves that they have a problem with people of color. If you call them out, expect to get histrionically chastised for being unable to get their subtle social criticism, brilliantly explicated by pitch perfect impressions of those darn racists.

I say, if it looks like a racist and it acts like a racist, shoot it.

You know who else makes creatures? Satan.

I <3 you. Promise not to stand me up next time I come to London?

In reply to:

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Just for the record, I don't think that Monkeyboy is racist. I think he's a very sharp, funny guy. But his best stuff is when he's excoriating the many dickheads who populate this site rather than when he lapses into 'ironic' racism that, out of context, just reads like plain racism.

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Just for the sake of argument; isn't it possible that through the use of ironic racist content I am "inviting" the real racists (whoever they are) to accidentally expose themselves? I don't want to giveaway any trade secrets here, but that's sort of the way I see it. And if the end result is highly-offensive, hateful rhetoric then at least we know what people really think.

And if Wraith wants to see me as a racist, that's fine. Some of my best friends are racists. I do feel the need to add, however, that his lack of depth perception isn't my problem. Oh, and he's a deuche.

Oh yeah, and this doesn't change anything.

Please visit my Message Board so I can ban you.

Ok, but all that aside, I really think p2c made a very salient point when he brought up the fact that your technique only works on assuming that all of your readers are white. That makes me rather uncomfortable. Why are we constructing TW as a whites-only space, where any errant person of color who happens to wander by has to play up to an exclusively white pov if they are to be acknowledged?