Dear Carlotta Ferlito: We will paint ourselves white

Freedom of speech. According to the First Amendment of the United States, individuals are granted this liberty. Other countries and institutions have also incorporated this ideology as a paramount freedom that extends to all individuals. However, in some cases, this right can be utilized to harm individuals, rather than serve as a conducive tool for individuals to communicate thoughts. In the case of Carlotta Ferlito, an Italian gymnast, she issued this statement upon the announcement of Simone Biles' placement as a World Champion Gymnast, the first black woman to do so:

'Maybe next time we'll paint our skin black so we can win'


The knowledge issue that is posed here is the extent to which one's 'freedom of speech' should be protected.

Some individuals who became aware of Ferlito's comment said that she should not be penalized because it was a 'slip of a tongue' and 'she has a right to express her disappointment of not winning the World Champion Gymnast title'.

Although I agree that individuals have a right to complain and express disappointment, I do not agree with using any racial, homophobic, islamophobic, or any other form of discriminatory and prejudiced remark to express this emotion. It simply has no place. In the context of Carlotta Ferlito's remark, she implies that in order to succeed, one must paint himself/herself black to gain some sort of privilege that 'blackness' (somehow) entails. In response, I have issued the following statements:

Dear Carlotta Ferlito,

Thank you very much for exposing your ignorance to the world. I will take some time out of my day to educate you on a few things. Firstly, I suggest instead of you paining yourself black to gain recognition as the gold medalist in the World Championship, Simone Biles should paint herself white. I think its imperative that in order to be taken seriously, one must resemble those of European ancestry. Ms. Ferlito, don't paint yourself black, it will simply cause a plethora of troubles ahead. You will be subject to racial insults and taunts. Your value will be reduced to stereotypes and any accomplishment you received will be deemed credible only because 'she was black, they gave her the position because she's black.' As you can see, painting yourself black won't do you any good. Last time I checked, you are white. There are no negative stereotypes associated with being white. So take heart dear, your skin color is perfect to society. Stay white. Simone Biles, on the other hand, is black. With this in mind, it would be beneficial for her to paint herself white. That way, she will be taken seriously on her accomplishments because apparently, if one is black, then his or her achievements will be reduced to being 'wanted' on the basis of 'being black'. Black people aren't good enough to be seen for the skills they (apparently) have. If Simone Biles paints herself white, then maybe, just maybe, people will think her winning was authentic and credible.

Sincerely,

T

America: Melting Pot or Melting Not?

America, named the 'cultural melting pot' nation. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, ethnic groups, religions, and races migrate here. Consequently, one can find rich and diverse cultures.
Although I acknowledge this aspect, I disagree with the term 'melting pot'.

Why?

Because, by definition, a substance that melts to form a cohesive unit with other components loses some of its chemical properties in the process. Take bronze for example, although it is primarily composed of tin and copper, the components that make it up are not apparent in the final product (bronze). We don't see the tin and we don't see the copper. We just see the bronze.
In the same way, by saying that America is a 'melting pot' of cultures, one is saying that several cultures merge together to form one uniform substance. This is not true.

The multitude of cultures in the United States are distinct. One can easily separate Asian, from African, from African-American, from Hispanic, from European, from American cultures, etc.

There is not a significant overlap within the cultures in the United States.

A bowl of fruit salad, rather than a smoothie, is symbolic to the multitude of cultures that exist in America. One can readily 'pick out' one culture from another in the same bowl. The cultures that exist are not 'blended' to the same consistency.

To be or not to be: Makeup

The seemingly imperative accessory that is worn by most women, makeup.

A touch of gloss to create an illusion of voluptuous lips, a thick black trace of eye-liner that accentuates the form of the eye, a dash of powder to add vibrancy to cheeks, and a seal of eye shadow to deepen the depth and dimension of her eyes. Makeup.

Although I understand that beauty is in the 'eye of the beholder', a knowledge issue that I often encounter is the extent to which the use of makeup serves a deterrent to recognizing 'true beauty'?

The media contains a plethora of misconstrued ideals of beauty; light skin; extreme thinness; painfully white teeth; and protruding and large breasts. The average female does not have all these features, yet the media is not representative of this fact. Consequently, you have a large population of females who are attempting to attain the fictitious ideal of beauty, with an emphasis on makeup. Additionally, you then produce a society that defines a female's attractiveness in this respect.

Now, with that in mind, I find it really hard to accept the fact that people say beauty is subjective if a consistent (and distorted) image of beauty is presented. If you ask a panel of people to rate a female's beauty (ranging from no make-up to increased make-up), there will be a positive correlation as the amount of makeup increases. 

Although there is a predominant understanding that excessive/heavy make-up is unattractive, there is a prevailing belief that make-up usage makes a female appear more attractive. This begs the question, is there an inherent universal 'understanding' of what beauty is? Or is this universal perception a result of the presentation of beauty in the media? 

Yes beauty is subjective, but to what extent?

Westgate Shooting: Kenya - Somali Border

The Westgate shooting was an incident that immediately resulted in shaken relations between the Kenyan government and Somali refugees in Kenya. Officials are considering removing the refugee camps; their reasoning is that  "some of these facilities are being used as a training ground" (Kenyan `MPs 'to demand Somali refugee camps closures'). Al-Shabaab is a terrorist group based in Somalia that has links with Al-Qaeda. The shooters in the Westgate shooting are said to have connections with the aforementioned militant organizations.

As paralleled with the stereotype that ensued after 9/11 of Muslims being militant extremists, the WestGate shooting deemed all Somalis as rouge thugs. Consequently, more measures have been proposed in Kenya's government to heighten boarder patrol.

The knowledge issue at hand is the extent to which preconceived notions about a specific ethnic group contribute to boarder control?

Although it is true that the amount of crime that follows certain group is a contributing factor to how stringent a border is, this creates room for generalizing. For example, in the United States, once the issue of legal documentation in the Hispanic community arose, so did the issue of crime This was one contributing factor, among others, that perpetuated the stereotype of Hispanics are crime inducing illegals.
Similarly, in Kenya, and at the national level, Somalians are being viewed as terrorists who could be arriving in the form of refugees.

Each nation has the right of securing safety, but it is vital to ask if the increased need for safety is fueld out of genuine concern or preconceived notions about a certain group of people.

Harriet Tubman Rape Parody

VIDEO: http://www.adviseshow.com/russell-simmons-harriet-tubman-sex-tape/
ARTICLE: http://www.racialicious.com/2013/08/20/the-rape-of-harriet-tubman/


Rape.

During slavery, for a female slave, it was not a matter of whether or not this would happen, it was a matter of at how old and how many times. History books do not emphasize the amount of pain that female slaves underwent; rather, the emphasis is directed towards verbal and physical abuse, which is mostly portrayed as abuses suffered by the male slaves. All the aforementioned cruelties are evil; none is worse than the other. However there is a unspoken silence that hides the culture of rape that Black female slaves endured.

This leads me to Russel Simmon's outlandish video spoof titled: "Harriet Tubman Sex Tape". This 'entertainment clip' displays Harriet Tubman luring her slave master in a sexual encounter in hopes of framing him and using another fellow slave to record the encounter as a means of blackmail so that he could fund the Underground Railroad.

Disgusting.

This video makes a mockery of the history of abuses female slaves went through.
Dramatizing the sexual relations between the slave and the slave master is absolute nonsense. Slavemasters were not lured or seduced by their "property". No. They dictated when they wanted to have sex and either used physical force or mental torture. Some people reading this may be saying. "But surely some females slaves agreed to having sex with their owners. Yup; sure they did. After being told that her husband and children won't be separated if she agrees to sleep with him she agreed. After being told that her daughter won't be raped for awhile if she slept with her master she agreed. After being told that one of her children will receive a chance at freedom she agreed. Oh yeah. She definitely agreed.

It is crucial to understand that, historically, it was legal for a slave master to rape female slaves. So this whole portrayal of Harriet Tubman somehow suggestively influencing her master to sleep with her just does not make sense. A slave did not initiate sexual activity; rather, he or she was subject to it. They did not run the "show", the master did.

The knowledge issue that is present is the extent to which serious issues are allowed to be "made fun of".
In the case of Harriet Tubman's Sex Tape Parody, I do not find any room for comedic commentary. The effects of rape culture are still felt in today's society. Women of color who are raped or sexually assaulted by white males will not readily receive justice; black women are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, white males are at the top.

Russel Simmon's Rape Parody is an absolute shame filled mockery of black female subjugation that has gone on and continues to persist in society.

Rape is not a joke.

Twerking and Race

Twerking.

This word alone sends an irrevocable wave of reprehension. Repetitive and jerking body movements that are concentrated on one's posterior. When Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus demonstrated her twerking skills in her music video "We Can't Stop" and during the VMA performances, the world was in upheaval.

How could such a seemingly innocent girl Hannah Montana  engage in such uncouth and vulgar behavior.
Absolute wretchedness they said.

As I researched and analyzed the public's reaction to Miley Cyrus' "coming of age", I asked myself, would such a reaction among the public would have emerged if Miley Cyrus was black.
No.

This is where the knowledge issue emerges: To what extent is the inappropriateness of twerking affected by race? The answer is, completely.

At this point, some readers will be thinking to themselves, 'Race has nothing to do with how bad twerking is. We are just ruffled by the transformation of Hannah Montana to the out of control Miley Cyrus who, evidently, "Can't stop"'. To this, I agree 100 percent. However, I would like to implore my audience to ask themselves who Miley Cyrus started off as and who she became. Race is written all over this my friends.

You see, Hannah Montana was the epitome of white girlhood: famous pop star living in the suburbs with sandy beaches; an alter ego highlighted by the transition from brunette to blonde pop star hair; and a seemingly complicated love life, males beckoning to be noticed by her. Ah, Hannah Montana. This is what America loves.

Boom.
Now we are introduced to Miley Cyrus, the hyped and sexualized icon that breaks away from the white girl image and is assimilated to what is socially viewed as "black culture". Historically, dancing involving hip/ posterior movements has been associated with black females. No wonder then you see black females attempting to prove their 'blackness' by engaging in a dance, in this case twerking, that they are expected to be good at. They have this mindset and so does everyone else. That is why when someone sees a twerking video with a black girl, s/he automatically assumes this individual will be good at twerking. Bring a white girl to the mix and now people will assume the video will turn out to be funny because they are expecting the white girl to unsuccessfully attempt twerking.

Back to Miley.

To an extent, it can be said that the prime factor, in addition to the adjustment to divorcing Hannah Montana from Miley Cyrus, that heighted the public's response to Miley's twerking escapade is her race. White females are expected to be decent, conservative, and measured. Black females are expected to be sexual  and untamed objects beings. To this end, I believe that if Miley Cyrus was black, although the public would frown on twerking, a conversation like this would take place in their minds:

"Miley Cyrus is out of control, this twerking madness must come to an end"

"But at the same time she's black, its in their nature culture and such. You get what I mean? Nothing new there."

Now, my readers might be thinking "I never thought about race when I was upset about Miley Cyrus' "immersion" into wildness. I was just vehemently opposed to her actions."
To this I point out, one does not need to have RACE written across his/her forehead to think about race. Its ingrained in the media and society as a whole. From presentation to bias, race is sitting patiently there. What is important, however, is to recognize the extent to which we are aware of this intrinsic tendency to validate what behavior is acceptable according to one's race. In this case, it would be twerking. On blacks, twerking is seen as a recreational activity that is "okay" for them to do. On whites, twerking is a foreign element that does not need to be mastered, as it is a deviation from what "acting white" entails. Being decent.

Oh Miley Cyrus, she just placed herself at the heart of the twerking and race debate. She came in like a wrecking ball.

What does it mean to be Black?

Ah, identification. The single most important means of grouping ourselves with others who fit the same description. We are grouped according to age, socio-economic status, religion, gender, ethnicity, and race.
In terms of race, some individuals are quick to lump individuals who are of the same 'assumed' ancestry. For example, one might assume that all people who have African ancestry identify themselves Black.
However, some argue this is not the foremost criteria of who is Black.

According to the one drop rule, which was created during slavery, anyone who had an individual of African ancestry in their blood was considered black. However, this definition of black has come to become a messy and incomplete definition of what it means to be Black. For example, some individuals who had a mixture of black and white ancestry could pass as white, and desire to define themselves as such.

 This is where the knowledge issue begins

Consider this, a black couple produces two children. Here is the catch, one turns out indisputably white and the other, indisputably black. Despite the similar African ancestry, would they both be considered Black?
From a technical perspective, one would say 'Yes'; being Black is defined in terms of one's ancestry originating from Africa. From the opposing side, one would bring in less abstract and concrete definitions of "Blackness"; in order to be black, one must have certain Black experiences (profiling, discrimination, etc) and in order to have such experiences, one must appear Black, in terms of having dark(er) skin.In this context, the child who appears indisputably white would be considered 'less' Black; consequently, they would have a hard time being fully accepted as a Black individual by the black community.

All in all, what it means to be "Black" has a plethora of meanings, beliefs, and perspectives surrounding this question. To some, deviating from socially induced "Black" behaviors is enough to define someone as acting/being "White", while for others, it's a matter of the extent that an individual has Black (physical) features and can relate to the Black community.

Evidently, there is no universal meaning as to what it means to be Black. This question will continue to persist.