Looking at the experience of black Britons through an American lens • Hacker News Board

Re: Looking at the experience of black Britons through an American lens

#391

Post by throwaway777888 » Tue, Oct 06, 2020, 12:59 AM UTC

human_person wrote: post #355

drumhead wrote: post #62

Adele, the singer, was photographed at the Nottinghill Carnival (a massive Carribean street festival over the August bank holiday in London) with her hair in Bantu Knots and wearing a bikini top in the colours of the Jamaican flag. As soon as it was on twitter the you started getting tweets from Black Americans about cultural appropriation, but this was met in turn by fierce opposition from African and Carribean post…

I think context is really key here. A friend (who is a descendant of slaves) once told me that one reason hairstyles in particular are are such a sensitive subject, they were literally the only piece of culture/heritage people were able to bring with them on slave ships. When families were ripped apart it it was a connection/ritual they could hold onto no matter what. Fast forward to the recent past and black people…

>A friend (who is a descendant of slaves) once told me that one reason hairstyles in particular are are such a sensitive subject, they were literally the only piece of culture/heritage people were able to bring with them on slave ships.

Music, culinary practices, agricultural practices, etc. are all pieces of culture that African slaves brought over from Africa.

Re: Looking at the experience of black Britons through an American lens

#392

Post by tweetle_beetle » Tue, Oct 06, 2020, 10:21 AM UTC

apexalpha wrote: post #384

tweetle_beetle wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was in the context of attending an event primarily by and for that community. For example, a straight person dressing as a LBGT person (however you would do that) to attend a Pride event. Your second and third are examples of the blending of cultures, which tends to be associated with multiculturalism which I would argue is generally a positive thing. However, assuming that in your first example someone is tryin…

Wearing a sombrero is not far from blackface? Wow, we really have opposite views on this. Also, in Amsterdam pride LOTS of straight people attend.

You're ignoring all the subtlety in what I've said and jumped to a conclusion which I was not making.

> My main point is that it does depend on intent and context

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

Re: Looking at the experience of black Britons through an American lens

#393

Post by nobody9999 » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 6:03 PM UTC

edbob wrote: post #334

ChrisRR wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, Americans seem to have this weird view that no-one's culture should mix. I think in the UK the view of most people is that mixing cultures is fine as long as it's respectful I grew up in a multicultural town in the UK (also home to a lot of racism unfortunately) but we had a yearly (carribean I think) carnival with music and floats and costumes and food. People would turn out in the thousands and it didn't m…

> Exactly, Americans seem to have this weird view that no-one's culture should mix. 90%+ of the people who think that are liberals. Moderates and conservatives can mix cultures pretty freely.

>90%+ of the people who think that are liberals. Moderates and conservatives can mix cultures pretty freely.

That hasn't been my experience at all. And I'm center-left myself. You know, somewhat to the left of Bernie Sanders.

It seems you don't know many of your brother and sister Americans that you call "liberals."

Here in NYC we have about a 5:1 D/R ratio and you won't find many places on the planet, let alone in the US, that are more welcoming of different cultures, practices and individual choice.

I suggest you engage with your fellow Americans. I think you'll find that the vast majority of us have much more in common than we do differences.

There are those (like the ones telling you that ~200 million of your fellow Americans are evil, twisted communists who want to destroy our economy and Constitution) who want you to hate and fear your neighbors and fellow citizens.

Those people (regardless of political bent or affiliation) are the ones who threaten to destroy our democracy and Constitution.

As a general rule, folks like that are only interested in personal benefit and self-aggrandizement. And they're a very small group.

Would it surprise you to know that most of the folks you call "liberals" just want a decent job/career so they can live decently and raise their kids to be happy, healthy and fulfilled?

Would you be shocked to hear that those you deride believe in the ideals of our democratic republic, or that we believe in the rule of law, equal protection under the law and freedom of expression?

If you believe that a majority of Americans are communists and hateful people who want to destroy their own country, then you're not seeing the world as it is.

I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the importance of tolerance, liberty and the ideals which fomented the founding and second founding[0] of our nation with you.

As I mentioned above, I think you'll find we agree about much, much more than we disagree.

If that sounds like a good idea to you, feel free to email me (no spaces or commas): En,,,cyclic al 17,76 at pro,,,ton mail dot co, , ,m

I don't normally do this sort of thing, but I'm so sick of the negativity and lies that make us suspicious and fearful of our fellow Americans.

I want my country to be a great place with liberty and opportunity for everyone. But we can't have that if we the people let those with the desire and motivation to create conflict divide us.

Even if you don't talk to me, please open yourself to the possibility that what you read on Twitter and Facebook doesn't reflect the values of most of your fellow Americans.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Founding

Re: Looking at the experience of black Britons through an American lens

#394

Post by human_person » Fri, Oct 09, 2020, 8:14 PM UTC

throwaway777888 wrote: post #391

human_person wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think context is really key here. A friend (who is a descendant of slaves) once told me that one reason hairstyles in particular are are such a sensitive subject, they were literally the only piece of culture/heritage people were able to bring with them on slave ships. When families were ripped apart it it was a connection/ritual they could hold onto no matter what. Fast forward to the recent past and black people…

>A friend (who is a descendant of slaves) once told me that one reason hairstyles in particular are are such a sensitive subject, they were literally the only piece of culture/heritage people were able to bring with them on slave ships. Music, culinary practices, agricultural practices, etc. are all pieces of culture that African slaves brought over from Africa.

The way it was explained to me, those are cultural practices that require specific items (instruments, spices, tools, specific plants) that they may not have had access to. Or those require time/opportunity to teach. Hair was something that was consistently there. I may be mistaken, this is just one person's opinion, but I thought it was a really interesting explanation for the importance given to hair and the protectiveness some people feel over those styles. It was also a perspective that never occurred to me until my friend brought it up.