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>I actually had to go read the Hamilton post to see what you
>were talking about. That's how much I ignore Hamilton. I
>actually agree with your take on the show itself, just like
>many in that post. That's all I'll say about that.
>My question here tho is... Why do you view it as ironic that
>he behaved that way in the Hamilton post and said Lena Waithe
>is taking it too far? Are you saying it's hypocritical for
>him to talk about taking things too far, because you feel HE
>took it too far? Or are you saying Hamilton took things too
>far, yet he attacked you for saying so?
i thought it ironic that he was cheering for me to be taken to task, then came in here and implied that Lena Waithe, a gay Black woman, was being too gay with her art ("i know she's down for the cause but she's going too far"). she IS gay, can she be too gay? just seemed like a weird comment to make.
>>i say my boo Kandi because i love Kandi. i've been a fan of
>>hers since the first time i heard Just Kickin' It. i love
>her
>>talent, i love her approach to life, i love her hustle, her
>>business acumen, etc. i basically Stan her.
>>
>>although i do think she is attractive, the "boo" is me
>>expressing my respect and admiration for her as a person
>>(though, as a caveat, i do realize i don't know her
>>PERSONALLY, i can only judge of what i know from her public
>>self), not a commentary on her looks or any sort of sexual
>>attraction. i just think she's a dope human being.
>
>
>This doesn't make a difference concerning the point I was
>making.
that's fine. we can agree to disagree. while i'm fully aware that white men (hell, men in general) fetishize not just Black women, but all types of women, that was not my intent. my intent was just to point out in a joking way that i fuck with her heavy, and i was excited to see her act since she more or less kills everything else she does.
>Of course you don't have to reply. It might be a nice gesture
>tho.
>Having said that, I'm unapologetically suspicious of white
>folks in black spaces, so I misread this situation. I say
>that because you suggested researching your name and
>responses. I took you up on that. If you wanted to
>"exacerbate rifts between Black men and women", the J.Cole
>Sucks yall post would've been the perfect opportunity, yet you
>took the road less travelled and defended the Black male in
>the situation. My bad for not remembering that. That's not to
>say I won't still be suspicious, but I don't think your aim is
>to exacerbate rifts for personal pleasure.
shit, i'm suspicious of white people too, so i get it. the main reason i didn't reply to Damali's post was because after reading the replies, it felt performative to me. it reminded me of celebs or corporations who do charitable deeds and make sure people know about it vs. just doing good shit and being a good person. that's how i try to behave - don't talk about it, be about it. i felt like going in there and giving my "resume" so to speak, was like going "look me, i'm a "good" white, look at what i do to help Black people." i'm not saying anyone in there was doing that in their replies - they were answering her questions - i'm just saying how it felt and that makes me feel cringey, and i realize that wasn't her intention, she was just trying to gather info because like you, she's curious and/or suspicious about the white people here (everywhere?). i mean, more or less my whole family is Black, and I owe pretty much everything I am to Black people and Black culture, so I would never do anything to tread on Black people intentionally. that said, i'm fully aware that I'm not Black and that I have many privileges that Black people and other POC do not enjoy. I've lost friends and family fighting that privilege and their ignorance. It is what it is. I ain't got time for those people in my life. Get down or lay down.
>Well let's be clear I said emasculating and/or agenda driven.
>I think it's heavily agenda driven, as is most television
>targeted at Black people. It doesn't matter to me that a
>Black person is behind it, as Candace Owens and Larry Elder
>are also Black people. Dear White People was written by a
>Black guy and that was all about a Black girl learning to love
>white dudes. Agenda. A white supremacist system often backs
>Black people who are detrimental/problematic to Black people.
>That said, I'm not anti-trans or gay or anything. AJ and The
>Queen is one of my favorite shows, for instance (I wish it got
>another season), as do many of my favorite shows and movies
>center gay or trans people, but this is more complicated. 1)
>This is a gangster in Chicago. It's highly unlikely he'd be
>around the city with an obvious trans woma on his arm. Right
>or wrong, let's just be accurate. 2) This show wasn't
>presented this way at the outset. It used the BLM playbook of
>centering itself around Black male death (this is literally
>the draw of the first season), then makes a transition to
>this. I see why Lena is being praised by BLM. She used their
>playbook. Why not start the show with the "gayest season
>ever"? Mabye because AJ and the Queen didn't get another
>season. 3) Our representation on TV is minimal as it is, yet
>we get shit like "House of Lies" where Don Cheadle is giving
>handjobs to white guys and they're randomly asking him for
>head. If every show across the board was like this, then
>cool, but it's not. It's hard to think of any where this kind
>of stuff is crowbarred into leading roles where white men are
>supposed to be gangsters. They're not about to make Captain
>America gay... unless they make him Black lol. Speaking of
>which, Anthony Mackey is supposed to play him in an upcoming
>show. In light of "Striking Vipers", I might be onto something
>here. Not that being a gangster is sacred, but let's be
>realistic. A number of agendas only exist where Black people,
>specifically Black men, are depicted.
And here's where I'll say that maybe you're right. While I stand by my thoughts on the Imani and Trig characters and storyline, despite being in touch in general, not being Black myself, I may not catch the subtleties of how Black men are depicted (that Cheadle example you brought up is kinda...wow) or even if I do they don't hit me the same way they might if I was Black. I don't think you have anything against gay or trans and couldn't speculate because I don't know you well enough. What I'll ask you is a) do you really think that Lena Waithe would be trying to push that emasculating agenda and b) where should storytellers start with telling "alternative" stories? I ask that last question because Imani and Trig do exist as a real people somewhere (maybe they aren't gangsters, but you know what i mean), and I'd have to imagine that if they are watching the show they are happy to see themselves reflected. Also, if there aren't a diversity of stories being told, then too often Black men are reduced to love interests/sex symbols/gangsters in media, right? I guess, as a Black man, I'm curious if you have any thoughts about where to find the balance. And if you don't have any thoughts, that's fine to too.
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