hey, at least you reached a point where you began examining. i know far too many adults who still don't want to even think of any of this stuff...
-------------- Original message -------------- From: Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Nope. Still feel horribly guilty over it. Making it all the worse in my case- it took making the acquaintance of a White woman to make me begin examining racial issues in depth. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no shame at all. you were definitely ahead of the curve as a kid. I suppose the black child on "Little Rascals" didn't do it for you either? I'm not advocating watching this stuff every day either; i just don't want it to completely pass from our collective memories... -------------- Original message -------------- From: Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I have to toss in my mea culpa here, because I'm the first guy to try and forget that any of this ever came down the pike. Even when I was a kifd watching these, I wouold ge tup and leave the room so as not to have to face this. Shame on me. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Amazing, but not surprising. I've seen all these. We've had this conversation before about other 'toons. When you're my age (over 40), your childhood memories are full of racist cartoons. Off the top of my head:. Remember the cartoon about Little Sambo, an African child with coal black skin and big lips, a bone in his hair, who spends every episode trying to catch the slow moving, arrogant bird? I grew up watching that 'toon all the time as part of the Merrie Melodies shown in Fort Worth. How about all the Looney Tunes where characters would have dynamite or something blow up in their face, to be transformed into blackface characters? Often they'd then speak in a gruff voice like Rochester from the Jack Benny show: "My oh my! Tattletale gray!" one exclaimed. Then there's the famous Bugs Bunny ep when Bugs goes down South looking for food and is accosted by Civil War vet Yosemite Sam. At one point Bugs disguises himself as a slow-moving, slow-talking slave. Sam says, "Hmm, one of our boys. Hey boy! Play a song", to which Bugs drawls "Yowsah" and starts singing "Yankee Doodle Dandy". When Sam is outraged, Bugs places a whip in his hand, then grovels on the ground begging, "Don't whoop me Master!" And lets not forget the big black mammy character from the old Tom and Jerry cartoons? You never saw her face, only her big legs, underwear hanging down from under her dress, big black arms, all topped off with a voice performance straight from "Gone With the Wind". Watch Turner Classic Movies during Christmas season. they do a block of really old (1920's and '30s) cartoons, many of which have Sambo characters. The host always has to warn people that the images may be offensive. As offensive as the above is, I still don't want to forget. I get editing these films for modern audiences to buy for their kids, but I'd like to own all of them in their original, unedited form. In fact, I make a point of seeking out such fare to collect. I've had several black people tell me I'm crazy for wanting to collect racist postures, figurines, and media products, but I never want to forget where we've come from, what we've had to overcome. It's the type of stuff I'd show my children some day, as a type of history lesson, so they--and I--always remember the struggles we've had, and never be fooled into thinking those days couldn't come again. Even my wife doesn't get this one,but the last thing I want is for black people in future generations to be lulled into some kind of false memory of how times used to be. ************************************************* http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_9-most-racist-disney-characters.html These old Disney movies are a little bit like your aging Uncle Frank. Honestly, he means well when he points out that Will Smith is "well-spoken." It's just that he, like the assemblage of clips below, dates from a time when people were unfairly characterized by their ethnic background (the acceptable methods are, of course, religion, geography, sexual preference and income)... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
