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| Why I Hate Madonna editorial; - continued over from MBC forum | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 21 2008, 03:14 PM (294 Views) | |
| flea dip | Jun 21 2008, 03:14 PM Post #1 |
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Rock Star From Mars
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Nliyan2 first posted a link to this 2003 editorial ("Why I Hate Madonna") in the MBC forum. I did not think it would be appropriate to place my critique of this editorial in the MBC forum, since I can see some people getting very angry at my political and religious views, which I mention in my critique below. I am in total agreement with the author of this editorial concerning Madonna's thefts of other people's cultures. But we part ways in other areas. Why I Hate Madonna: Subtle racisms and the exotification of my South Asian self Shrestah, the author, seems to think that Madonna exploiting "Non white" religions / cultures is more offensive than Madonna exploiting what might be viewed as "white" religion/culture. I don't think I agree with that. To start with, it sounds like special pleading from non-whites. Madonna being flippant and disrespectful by way of using a crucifix / cross (i.e. Roman Catholicism), bindi and henna (i.e., South Asian), tefillin (Judaism)... is all part and parcel of the same thing. Telling me that it's okay or more acceptable for a white woman to be disrespectful towards "white" culture doesn't fly. I also find it hypocritical and funny that Shrestah seems to equate Roman Catholicism with "whiteness." For one thing, there are plenty of non-whites in the world who are Roman Catholics (I have in mind Hispanics in South and Middle America especially). Secondly, there are also quite a number of whites, such as myself (though I do have some American Indian ancestry), who reject Roman Catholicism. If I were polled and forced to choose, I'd say that Protestantism is a bit more representative of "white culture" than is Roman Catholicism, especially in North America. (I'm not a Protestant, by the way, and I don't agree with them on everything, either.) Given that Shrestha complains elsewhere that she doesn't think whites are capable of defining or understanding racism, or that whites are guilty of stereotype formation, here she herself is assuming that 'Roman Catholicism = white culture.' She feels perfectly fine defining 'Roman Catholicism = white culture.' And I guess Sriya Shrestha is the only one who has that actual knowledge? And that she's the only one worthy enough to make those distinctions and to tell us what they are? Who made her the final judge and arbitrator? She seems to be trying to tell white people when and how and where they have the right to be offended. I don't think I need a Non-white person's approval or permission to feel just as offended by Madonna's abuse of "white" culture as I am by Madonna's abuse of "non white" culture. I get so very tired of people assuming or saying that white people do not and cannot understand racism, that white people have never known any suffering, or that we white people do not have the right to hold opinions on these matters, or we should not express those opinions. ~And sometimes it's white people saying that - the liberals. Remember all that Obama pastor Wright stuff? There were actually white people (liberals) saying, 'It's okay for Wright to hate whites and preach white hate at his church, we whites cannot and should not feel entitled to opinions on the matter. Give him a pass, let him hate whites and preach about it, because black people have a history of being mistreated in America.' So if someone has black skin, that means he is automatically entitled to act like a racist scum bag, gets a free pass, and is above criticism? No, don't think so. I think Jews are the single most persecuted people on the planet, over the longest period of time (going back thousands of years), but I would not sit here and excuse a rabbi if the rabbi was giving sermons on how God hates all Gentiles! Look, I don't like political correctness either, but I think the author of this editorial should at least give these (usually politically and socially liberal) white folks credit for trying to address and eradicate racism. Sriya Shrestha also acts as though her culture is the only one to ever have been exploited or stereotyped by another, when it's happened to everyone at one time or another. The most hypocritical of all: Plenty of non-whites continue to carry around stereotypes of whites! And some of those stereotypes usually go like this: Whites are racist, hateful, wealthy, insensitive pigs who have never known any kind of suffering. Excuse me, "U.S. imperialism?" Honey, Americans exporting their goods, culture, and services around the world via entertainment and a free market is not "imperialism." When the French ship and sell their champagne to the United States, I don't call that "imperialism." It's just business; the French have a product that Americans want to purchase. And in case you haven't noticed, with the dollar not being very strong right now, with the American president begging the Saudis/OPEC to lower oil prices, America ain't exactly in a position of power right now. (EDIT: I just remembered that this thing was written in 2003, not 2008! But I'm leaving my point in there anyhow.) Also, the people of the world want American goods and services: American movies routinely sell by the zillions overseas. Americans do not force people in other nations to buy and watch our movies, our McDonald's hamburgers. And you think that whites have done that? The reason people in your culture are thought of as being terrorists is because some of them are terrorists. ![]() Some Muslims from that region of the world blow other people up.
From whom, lady? When's the last time an American "white-y" in America raped or beat you because of your henna or head scarf? You obviously don't fear retaliation, because you felt comfortable enough to write that editorial, knowing it would be published in a paper on the web. (Try publishing a stick figure cartoon of prophet Muhammed and see what happens, though.) There is not a persecution in the United States of people who wear henna, bindi, or even head scarves, so lay of the "people of my skin color/ culture are living in fear." When I think of South Asia (if she is referring to India and Pakistan), I don't even think of Islam. I think of Hinduism. I am aware that there is a large number of Muslims in that area of the world, however. About stereotypes- Here she sums some up of her culture, and she acts really annoyed that (she assumes) a typical white person thinks about these things when thinking about her culture:
What follows is probably what she would likely do if asked to describe American culture: how is this any different?
How many Aussies out there can I offend when I say: When I think of Oz, I think of... Koalas, "g'day, mate," kangaroos, Sydney's opera house, Steve Irwin, and Crocodile Dundee? Hindus, Hinduism: Vishnu, Vedas, cows, reincarnation Elvis fans, Elvis: white sequined jump suits, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Graceland, Lisa Marie Brits: London, punk, Big Ben, foggy weather, Princess Di, Monty Python, pubs, fish and chips Roman Catholics: rosaries, popes, saints Jews: Moses, burning bushes, dietary laws, star of David Druids: trees Of course we all already know that human beings are more than just the type of clothes we wear, the movies we watch, our national landmarks or the foods we eat, so if she's trying to say that people reduce her people to only that sort of stuff, I think she's wrong. Other than those problems I had with her piece, it was a fine Madonna-bashing work. Here it is in full:
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| nliyan2 | Jun 21 2008, 03:45 PM Post #2 |
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True Blue Newbie
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Yeah, I actually agree with your rebuttal of some of her points. I also think that political correctness discourages true political discourse in this country and I think it is probably heavily influenced by all the political interest groups/corporate interests in this country. The fact that our media only cares about money doesn't help at all and is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Anyways, yeah, even though I am not Indian, I can see why that writer was offended by what Madonna has done. |
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1:31 PM Jul 11