TOKENISM IS RACISM’S NAIVE, WELL INTENTIONED COUSIN
I just came to the realization that during most of my college education, I have been a token, most transparently so here at Tyler. I got a fellowship based partially in Temple’s effort to boost diversity in terminal degree fields. In full disclosure, they do have a fellowship of the same amount thats for “regular people.” But since they have a fellowship program just for minorities, it turns the other fellowship into essentially a whites only water fountain.
The fellowship also has the effect of underlining just how white the MFA program is. It is not a fellowship one can apply for, you are nominated for it by the faculty or committee during your acceptance process. This implies that the university had to incentivize departments to accept a more diverse student population. Giving a fellowship to a student means that the department doesn’t have to shell out anything for that student, the university picks up the tab across the board. So essentially ethnic minorities are like tuition coupons if they meet the criteria for the fellowship. But it doesn’t guarantee a student population that reflects the country. I am the only black person in all of Tyler numerous MFA programs. There are 56 of us, and I don’t even statistically represent the population.
I am not saying I resent the fellowship, or that I am all that bothered by being the only black, since I was the only black in my undergrad BFA year. I am not saying that the policy isn’t well intentioned. I am not saying that it is not good to be providing greater opportunities to pursue terminal degree fields to groups underrepresented through historical disadvantage. It is just that the fellowship highlights that privilege still exists in America, and that its taking Tokenism to be the slapdash workaround to provide a semblance of equality. Even if the equality is a facade. The most successful living black painters still sell for less than a 10th of their white counterpart. So there is a ceiling, made of… watermelon? But then again a “black” guy is president, so who am I to say what isn’t possible.
The twins in Transformers 2 are worse than Jar Jar Binks
They. Just. Are.
Just forced myself to watch Transformers 2 again, and it sucks so hard. The mannequin that plays Megan Fox playing a character is cringe-worthy. The other puffy-lipped girl who plays the horny college fembot is just offensive. And the Twin transformers are just racist, it’s hard to call them anything kinder.
At least Jar Jar Binks was unintentionally viewed that way, and in retrospect it comes off as an innocent misstep. The twins on the other hand are actively offensive, shuckin’ and jivin’, and being the stupid comic relief. They might as well gave them big robo lips and painted them in blackface with a derby hat and cane.
I have a new found respect for Star Wars Episode 1 after seeing Transformers 2 again. Lucas had the seemingly benign desire to engage kids with the first movie, to make them be blown away while having fun. Bay on the other hand with T2 seemed to want to do the same thing, except the kids he chose to appeal to were the 13yr old Xbox-live obnoxious white fuckwads who scream “Fag” and “Nigger” at everyone within earshot.
That being said, I will see Transformers 3. Why? Megan Fox has been replaced with a blonde 2.0 version who is a Victoria Secret model, which is Bay essentially admitting the role requires less than zero acting ability. Hopefully Rosie Huntington Whiteley isn’t nearly the arrogant skank of her predecessor. Another reason is Bay got ripped a new one over the last movie, so this one is likely to be without much of the stupid points of the last one.
One other notable reason is that it will be filmed in 3d. I wont see it in 3d, but I will be able to benefit from it. Why? Bay filming in 3d means he can do too many nausea inducing camera acrobatics, and they wont be any shaky cam that he loves so much. So 3d actually ends up making it a better viewing experience for those of use who refuse to watch (or pay) for 3d screenings.
So yup, Watch T2 and then SW:Ep 1 and gain a newfound respect for George Lucas’s intentions.
I used to work for a bunch of Arabs and Eygptians.
I’m only racist against them.
They’re fucking gross. I would be cleaning the kitchen and sanitizing and these fuckers would be dropping shit on the floor and feeding it to people. There were mice and roaches everywhere.
They tried to serve undercooked chicken to folks in a gyro.
FUCK THEM. This isn’t Eygpt you dirty bastards.
THIS IS FLORIDA. We’re much classier with less sand.
You do realize not every Arab or Egyptian is dirty or has poor health standards? Are you applying to be a member of the Tea Party? I hear the Birthers are desperate for recruits nowadays.
I am tired of the race thing. Can I not deal with it? Oh yeah, I CANT.
I know this girl in my grad program who when she gets a little tispy, will try to start “deep” or “controversial” conversations about issues concerning my race, or sexual orientation. She will point out a comment I made on facebook about a girl wearing boat shoes and how I had something to say about boat shoes having a particular connotation where im from in the south. Instead of letting me say what the connotation is, she shushed me thinking I was going to get into an argument. She does this all the time instigating topics and then wanting to terminate it when people could potentially not see eye to eye.
I am able to conduct a conversation with tact. I am not a confrontational person, and she of all people should know that I among the grads am MOST capable of carrying on a conversation about a controversial subject in an intelligent manner.
What burns me up the most is that she often uses the fact that I am on a minority based fellowship as an argument to say I am spoiled or privileged over the white majority in the program, just because her former black boyfriend who also had the fellowship at one point was spoiled. She even thinks I am a special commodity, thats more desirable because of being a minority. First of all, I’m not her ex boyfriend, so just because we are both black has NO bearing on anything that we may have in common. Secondly without the fellowship I WOULD NOT BE IN GRAD SCHOOL AT ALL, where as the other white upper middle class students I am surrounded by are here in spite of having little aid. I wouldn’t be able to attend grad school at all if it weren’t for my fellowship which is part of the point of the award existing in the first place. Its there because when you get past undergrad, you are several times less likely to see people of color, especially African Americans, in graduate and terminal degree fields. And if it weren’t for this, I would be one less. Heck, even WITH the fellowship there are only 2 black people in a group of over 60 graduate students, and NONE in the over 50+ member art history graduate programs.
In essence, I am tired of people thinking they know my perspective due to some generalization about black people, or by some black guy they know. They don’t know shit about what MY situation is, and if they think getting a fellowship means I am privileged above them, they haven’t taken a hard look at their lives to know what real privilege is.
Real privilege is being able to paint whatever you want and not have it be politicized. Real privilege is doing something bad and having it only reflect on YOU, and not your entire race. Real privilege is being in an environment where your race never factors in as a negative. Real privilege is never being told you are doing something well in spite of who you are.
So in my most polite opinion, fuck her, and anyone who thinks I am spoiled or priveledged over white people. I am tired of people not being able to see things from anything other than their perspective. And what I have found is that the people who consider themselves open minded liberals are often just as bad at it as any other more predictable group.
No one is going to read this. It doesn’t matter, I don’t give a shit.
