Maybe you all have heard this story, but I just heard of it today, so I figured I'd push it on forward... even though that's how issues like these start in the first place.
Back in July 2009, a picture was taken of 2 guys who went to SLU and posted on facebook by a friend of mine. 1 of the guys was holding a noose and the other guy was holding a white piece of paper that read something similar to "This noose for white people only" - in an attempt to "not be racist," I think. Turns out the two guys in the photo are in SGA at SLU right now, and the person who took & posted the photo holds a good position at the university also - or did. All 3 of them resigned today.
Now - the photo certainly wasn't funny. Honestly, I didn't even understand it at first, or the sign he was holding - just the noose and the actions that were implied. I don't feel badly for the 2 guys in the photo - maybe I would if I knew them personally, who knows. But I DO know the guy who took the photo - he is a very good friend of mine, and one of the most studious, shy, quiet, friendly people you will ever meet. Even talking to him about it (he knew it was stupid of him to post it now), he feels horrible and never meant anything like this to happen. He truly is like everyone in this class - open towards other people and friendly to all - I can't overemphasize this. He said "It wasn't meant to be racist," and I responded,
"Well - if you didn't mean for it to be racist, isn't that in itself racializing something?"
What do you think? Is it racializing something if you are trying to avoid racializing it?
But to main topic and question - how is race contextualized? This image was post NINE MONTHS before anyone went through facebook and thought to pass it on to someone else. In fact, I'm sure people laughed at it and realized it as a racist joke and passed it on a few times before it came to hold the meaning it now does! All last semester, when race "didn't seem to be an issue for SLU" (from my view, this only recently became important), this image never came up. And I don't think it was a simple fact of someone stumbling over it now - though it could have been. Someone probably realized the person held a position of power at SLU and realized the damage it could cause with the recent controversy of race at SLU.
So how is race and racism contextualized? Why was the image not so important BEFORE, but now that race has become a popular, trending topic at SLU the image dealt SUCH a blow to people?
Would it have had the same affect last year? Why didn't it even have the same effect last semester?
Do you think they should have had to resign from their jobs? If it wasn't so important to make them resign in the past, why is it so important they must resign now? How far can a joke go... to completely eliminate racism, do we need to erase even the simplest of racist jokes?
I think this goes to show what kind of power social networking and the web 3.0 (no longer 2.0!) has on people, the images of people, and the perspective images can make people have over others. Beware! Protect your images and REALIZE - even protected, it will always be cached in the internet! I wonder how long long it will take for everyone to have that "one regretted photo" that they didn't even realize would become a big deal.
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With the occurrence of recent events, many at SLU have questioned the administration’s stance and true acceptance of diversity and minority students. With the recent emails that the administration has received and the newly formed group (I think it’s Students for Social Justice), the administration feels pressure to actively DO something. The atmosphere on SLU’s campus right now is tense. People are not ready to joke and laugh about race. However, I understand why you are asking the questions that you are asking. The photo was taken nine months ago, but it only begins to matter now… The fact of the matter is that we didn’t have a highly publicized problem of racism nine months ago.
ReplyDeleteOn whether or not they should resign from their jobs, I don’t know. Maybe now, in the current state of racism on SLU’s campus…yes. However, the situation stands that these individuals were in positions of power and as representatives of the entire student body, the photo (whether it was meant as a joke or not) was not appropriate. As individuals participating in politics, they should have considered and understood the consequences of their actions, whether they are public or private.
I think a study on comedy and racism would be entirely fascinating. To me, it is so strange how comedy routines are laced with racism, but people view it as funny rather than offensive. Why do you think that is?
The current situation at SLU regarding race relations is definitely a big reason for the way this issue has played out. But I would like to make sure that we, as a class, understand that most of us will have a moment or two, or more, like this in our lifetimes due to the "advances" in technology. In all honesty, that is the reason I was, and am still, wary of this kind of blog or anything else that puts ones thoughts and opinions on the internet for someone to see (there is always a way to hack what one needs).
ReplyDeleteI believe that this highlights the way that our society cannot avoid racializing anything. It is either racist because you said/did something, or racist because one tried not to "do" race. This is a can't win situation, and therefore, these students are forced to resign their posts. Whether or not that is appropriate is up to the governing body, so I cannot comment on that. However, I am not surprised at the way this has played out. It is unfortunate that these students made such a regrettable decision, but Christine made a good point: they had to know about the potential consequences, and they should not have ignored them.
Racist jokes will not disappear, or they will be supplanted by other jokes meant to stigmatize people. Which is the better alternative? No way we are ready for real change. So for now, should we keep our heads down, mouths shut, and never use the internet again? It looks that might be the way to go, or at least around SLUs campus for the time being.
Christine, the study on comedy routines would be intriguing. George Lopez and Chris Rock would be good places to start your research if you want to look into that issue. The humor, in my opinion, comes from the delivery, not the content. If you look into this more, please let us know about it.