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Thursday, April 11, 2013
You could do a muuuuch better job
Here's a video to test your sociological analysis with. I'm not sure how you are with simple melodies but I am quite sure you could provide a much better analysis of institutionalized racism than this, um, "song."
EEEK! This song is so bad on so many levels! Kevin's analysis is on point, and I'd like to continue by looking at just one line in the song.
One of the (many) lines that really disturbs me is: “And we’re still paying for mistakes/That a bunch of folks made long before we came.” These lyrics reflect the dangerous illusions found in our political, economic, and cultural systems. For one, it relegates racism as a phenomenon of the distant past, so distant, in fact, that no one is longer culpable. As Louis CK reminds us, slavery ended about 140 years ago, and "That's two 70-year old ladies living and dying back to back." And then, what about the Jim Crow Laws? They didn't officially end until 1965, which means that MANY people alive today suffered directly at the hand of these laws. So, these mistakes weren't made "long before we came," as Brad Paisley and LL Cool J would like us to believe. "These mistakes" happened in living memory.
But racism didn't magically go away with the end of the Jim Crow Laws, racism is alive and well today! We do not live in a post racial society where evereything is all rainbow and butterflies and everyone enjoys equality, justice, and freedom (and all those beautiful things that make America exceptional). Racism is endemic to our society. It has become the norm that it is invisible to many. For Black and brown people, however, it is not invisible. For instance, it's not invisible when they get stopped and frisked on the streets day in and day out. It's not invisible when black and brown people can't get fair housing. Ultimately, racism is an atrocity that was integral to the foundation of this country and continues to thrive today. And there's nothing accidental about it.
I agree Renee- This morning they were talking about the song on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR, and laughing about the lines, "If you don't judge my do-rag, I won't judge your red flag." As if that is a fair trade- "let go of our head gear choice, and I will let go of you upholding a symbol of centuries of subjugation of my people..."
EEEK! This song is so bad on so many levels! Kevin's analysis is on point, and I'd like to continue by looking at just one line in the song.
ReplyDeleteOne of the (many) lines that really disturbs me is: “And we’re still paying for mistakes/That a bunch of folks made long before we came.” These lyrics reflect the dangerous illusions found in our political, economic, and cultural systems. For one, it relegates racism as a phenomenon of the distant past, so distant, in fact, that no one is longer culpable. As Louis CK reminds us, slavery ended about 140 years ago, and "That's two 70-year old ladies living and dying back to back." And then, what about the Jim Crow Laws? They didn't officially end until 1965, which means that MANY people alive today suffered directly at the hand of these laws. So, these mistakes weren't made "long before we came," as Brad Paisley and LL Cool J would like us to believe. "These mistakes" happened in living memory.
But racism didn't magically go away with the end of the Jim Crow Laws, racism is alive and well today! We do not live in a post racial society where evereything is all rainbow and butterflies and everyone enjoys equality, justice, and freedom (and all those beautiful things that make America exceptional). Racism is endemic to our society. It has become the norm that it is invisible to many. For Black and brown people, however, it is not invisible. For instance, it's not invisible when they get stopped and frisked on the streets day in and day out. It's not invisible when black and brown people can't get fair housing. Ultimately, racism is an atrocity that was integral to the foundation of this country and continues to thrive today. And there's nothing accidental about it.
I agree Renee- This morning they were talking about the song on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR, and laughing about the lines, "If you don't judge my do-rag, I won't judge your red flag." As if that is a fair trade- "let go of our head gear choice, and I will let go of you upholding a symbol of centuries of subjugation of my people..."
ReplyDelete