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Forum nameThe Lesson Archives
Topic subjectAfkap compared the term to the phrase 'Western Civilization'
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=17&topic_id=137665&mesg_id=137855
137855, Afkap compared the term to the phrase 'Western Civilization'
Posted by The Damaja, Tue Oct-19-10 09:01 PM
but also to the phrase 'Spanish guitar,' and also 'Chinese food'

and this is the problem
Spanish guitar and chinese food are relatively simple concepts to most people
they subsume a narrow list of component concepts, which aren't hard to list and trace back to physical items/phenomena

'Western Civilization' is an ENORMOUSLY complicated concept that subsumes many other abstract concepts that are complex in themselves. you could spend forever tracing it back to concrete facts in a non-contradictory manner

if you want to use term 'black music' fine, if you want to argue that much music made by black people never showed signs of emerging from within white communities who at first dismissed it and then clamored for it fine and i agree with you. but what you can't do is turn round and act like 'black music' is a dead simple concept with clear delineation and that anyone who denies this must be racist. oh and you might want to ask yourself why you're always talking about things in terms of black music anyway and arguing fervently about what gets included etc.