This Is What Being American Is All About

[CatholicsAreKewl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSurzeGvPrQ

 

Brad Paisley and LL Cool J together <3

[the171]

MURICA

[Chestertonian]

'If you forgive the gold chains,I'll forget the iron chains.'


That's genius.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Chestertonian

[Anastasia13]

'If you forgive the gold chains,I'll forget the iron chains.'


That's genius.

 

Tru dat.

[Basilisa Marie]

WHY?

 

:annoyed: 

[Anastasia13]

WHY?

 

:annoyed: 

 

This is the musical epitamy of the US as a melting pot of culture while dealing with quintissentially American concepts.

[Gabriela]

'If you forgive the gold chains,I'll forget the iron chains.'


That's genius.

 

I saw Cornel West speak at Purdue a few months back. He mentioned this song. This line, even. I think he was not pleased...

[LittleWaySoul]

'If you forgive the gold chains,I'll forget the iron chains.'


That's genius.

idgi  :huh:

[Anastasia13]

idgi  :huh:

 

It's about if you accept me and my culture for who we are, we will forgive the past of racism that hurt us.

[Basilisa Marie]

It's about if you accept me and my culture for who we are, we will forgive the past of racism that hurt us.

 

Yeah, nah, I think the song's more like, "Why can't we just move on?"

 

My problem with it is that it completely misses the point of why racism is even a thing in America.  I used to have that exact attitude, I couldn't understand why we couldn't just move the heck on, I mean, I didn't own slaves, I don't hate black people, why do I always have to feel like the bad guy?  Makes sense, right? 

But then someone explained to me that racism is more than just people thinking bad thoughts or saying bad things about other races.  Reality is that racism in our past still affects the world we live in today, and it's not enough to just agree to move on.  That doesn't solve any problems.  

So, example.  There was a time in the US when most people didn't like Catholics, right?  And people flipped out when Catholics ran for public office, like when Kennedy ran for President.  Kennedy had to distance himself from the pope in order to get people to believe that the pope wasn't giving all Catholics secret orders to hide guns in their basement (at least in Amurika, ha ha).  People legitimately thought that if Kennedy became president, the Pope would be the real ruler of America, not the man they elected.  A hundred years after bigotry against Catholics was really a huge thing, there were still plenty of scars.  Nowadays, you have the same thing happening.  When was the last time you saw a successful, authentically Catholic elected representative?  I can't think of any, because nearly all of them have decided to take the Kennedy route and try to act like their religion is a private thing they like to do in their free time and that people can do whatever they want.  The most prominent Catholic politicians who (as far as I know) do a good job of living their faith are on the Supreme Court...the one branch of government filled by people who aren't elected by the masses.  

Same thing applies to African-Americans.  Agreeing to move on isn't going to do anything about the fact that black people are found guilty AND put on death row at a much higher percentage than white people are (as in, black people found innocent vs guity  VS white people found innocent vs guilty) for the same types of crimes.  

So while the song exemplifies a pretty common attitude among white guys (and gals, and others), it's not enough.  I mean, I don't blame him for having that view of the problem of racism.  Any kind of "diversity" education is pretty cruddy, boiling down to "white people are evil don't you dare be proud of your heritage" type of messages, and frankly I'm sick of it too.  But while it's certainly understandable, I don't think he understands the whole problem of racism.  

Bah, I'm writing novels all over the forum tonight.  

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Yeah, nah, I think the song's more like, "Why can't we just move on?"

 

My problem with it is that it completely misses the point of why racism is even a thing in America.  I used to have that exact attitude, I couldn't understand why we couldn't just move the heck on, I mean, I didn't own slaves, I don't hate black people, why do I always have to feel like the bad guy?  Makes sense, right? 

But then someone explained to me that racism is more than just people thinking bad thoughts or saying bad things about other races.  Reality is that racism in our past still affects the world we live in today, and it's not enough to just agree to move on.  That doesn't solve any problems.  

So, example.  There was a time in the US when most people didn't like Catholics, right?  And people flipped out when Catholics ran for public office, like when Kennedy ran for President.  Kennedy had to distance himself from the pope in order to get people to believe that the pope wasn't giving all Catholics secret orders to hide guns in their basement (at least in Amurika, ha ha).  People legitimately thought that if Kennedy became president, the Pope would be the real ruler of America, not the man they elected.  A hundred years after bigotry against Catholics was really a huge thing, there were still plenty of scars.  Nowadays, you have the same thing happening.  When was the last time you saw a successful, authentically Catholic elected representative?  I can't think of any, because nearly all of them have decided to take the Kennedy route and try to act like their religion is a private thing they like to do in their free time and that people can do whatever they want.  The most prominent Catholic politicians who (as far as I know) do a good job of living their faith are on the Supreme Court...the one branch of government filled by people who aren't elected by the masses.  

Same thing applies to African-Americans.  Agreeing to move on isn't going to do anything about the fact that black people are found guilty AND put on death row at a much higher percentage than white people are (as in, black people found innocent vs guity  VS white people found innocent vs guilty) for the same types of crimes.  

So while the song exemplifies a pretty common attitude among white guys (and gals, and others), it's not enough.  I mean, I don't blame him for having that view of the problem of racism.  Any kind of "diversity" education is pretty cruddy, boiling down to "white people are evil don't you dare be proud of your heritage" type of messages, and frankly I'm sick of it too.  But while it's certainly understandable, I don't think he understands the whole problem of racism.  

Bah, I'm writing novels all over the forum tonight.  

 

Thanks for your input. I heard there was controversy over this song but I wasn't exactly sure why. It makes more sense now. I don't know if the song was meant to have that sort of effect. imo this is how i saw it:

 

Verse one and two: I'm a country guy and a lot of people think we're racist. That's not kewl.

Verse three: I'm a hip hop artist and I'm black. People stereotype me too lol. I wish they wouldn't.

 

I could be 100% wrong but I don't think they meant the song to apply to the white-black race relations in general. Country musicians tend to have a problem with being labeled as dumb racists.Rappers also have a problem with being stereotyped as drugged out criminals with poor spending habits (Lil Jon claims this is why he went on Celebrity Apprentice). 

Edited June 24, 2013 by CatholicsAreKewl

[Anastasia13]

Great thoughts, Basilisa Marie. Let's throw a couple of other points in there for discussion and analysis.

 

The fact that people are able to talk about making racism right speaks to how well we have it in America. In Armenia, people don't have the luxury of bringing up the genocide with Turkey as much as Armenian Americans do, they simply have to learn to live with Turkey as is, for their survival.

 

The difference between Catholic prejudice and racism is that no one who is particularly ethnic can choose to make their race a private matter-skin, hair and eyes reveal something. Culture, values, perspectives, these are comparable, but race shows whether or not you like it.

 

Some wrongs simply cannot be made right. A murder cannot be undone. A woman cannot be unraped. Resenting these things is not healthy. As long as there is repentance, you have to let go of these in the past so you can be free for the future. These iron chains should not be used to hold people back in history when there is a future to build.

 

The guilty rulings and death row come down to two issues as far as I know. 1. Prejudice in assuming they are up to no good because of their skin "Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good." And there can be a heck of a lot of that kind of judgement on people. 2. Economic issues from a historically unbalanced past. There are some efforts to fix this. Blacks and Hispanics are accepted into universities at higher rates and lower grades and scores than other ethnic groups. Blacks are proportionally more likely to be poor, but there are numerically more poor whites who do not get minority privilege-I grew up with some of them.

 

Fun fact: The U.S. Dept. of Education distinguishes between Laotians and Cambodians but not Irish vs. Iranian Americans.

[Anastasia13]

Thanks for your input. I heard there was controversy over this song but I wasn't exactly sure why. It makes more sense now. I don't know if the song was meant to have that sort of effect. imo this is how i saw it:

 

Verse one and two: I'm a country guy and a lot of people think we're racist. That's not kewl.

Verse three: I'm a hip hop artist and I'm black. People stereotype me too lol. I wish they wouldn't.

 

I could be 100% wrong but I don't think they meant the song to apply to the white-black race relations in general. Country musicians tend to have a problem with being labeled as dumb racists.Rappers also have a problem with being stereotyped as drugged out criminals with poor spending habits (Lil Jon claims this is why he went on Celebrity Apprentice). 

 

Did not know about the controversy.

 

Today's topic of discussion: Fun with stereotypes!

[CatherineM]

I don't own slaves, but my ancestors did, including one who captained a slave ship. What that means is that we are capable of learning from our mistakes and changing our attitudes.

Being overweight, I face the stereotype that I'm lazy, otherwise I'd lose weight; that I'm dumb, otherwise I'd know how to lose weight or be able to figure it out; and that I'm dishonest because I obviously lie about how much I eat, or simply steal food to get this big.

[Basilisa Marie]

Hmm, yeah, I think if you look at the song from a stereotype perspective, instead of a racism perspective, it doesn't seem as bad.  Especially if you take it at face value, as famous white country musician talking with the famous black hip hop artist.  I think it'd be easier for me to swallow if it didn't have the gold and iron chains line.  That one really makes me wince.