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netscapades
bridging the racial divide through internet
understanding by brenton crozier
Hopefully, society has evolved past the darker times of racial discrimination and fervent
prejudice. The only racial divide that I see is purely a cultural one. You’ve heard the canned comedy
act from myriad comedians: white people not making the best dancers, black people seeking
credit for taking care of their kids, etc, etc. But we are in a unique position to see white people
attend Jay-Z concerts in high numbers. It is not the fear of safety that would keep a white guy
from attending, but rather the fear of awkwardness as they try to throw down their moves to ‘99
Problems.’ Our cultures have a tendency to borrow from each other anyway, but typically will
water down and homogenize whatever the borrowed trend is.
A couple of transcendent blogs reveal these respective cultures. There’s going to be so
much multifariousness that you could dive in it. Get your pluralistic swimwear on! No, not that, it
makes you look fat. There, that’s much better.
stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com
Dinner parties, music piracy, outdoor
performance clothing, hating corporations and
Barack Obama are just some of the things white
people like according to the Stuff White People
Like blog. Threatening to move to Canada, music
comedy and bottled water have also made the
list. Keen insight and explanation is given on
each topic. When discussing a white person’s
affi nity for modern furniture, the writer warns to
never refer “to a white person’s expensive chair
as a ‘chair,’ as it is considered poor form and
will likely result in a loss of trust and/or respect.”
Although, if the said chair is merely from Ikea or Design Within Reach, and not an authentic Mies
van der Rohe, the term ‘chair’ is acceptable.
Common white people problems are an additional component to the Stuff White People Like
website. Searing topics like, “Poorly Read Partners” and “Should children drink wine?” are some
of the more current dilemmas discussed. Each discourse explores the possibilities of the Yes
and No of each situation, and then furnishes you with a fi nal call. For example, the fi nal call on
whether you should date a poorly read partner, is yes, but you should then subsequently dump
them “simply for the story of it.” Wow, I’ve never understood white people so well!
blog.stuffblackpeoplelove.com
So, it is now all in one easy to read blog, the stuff black
people love. From seeing white people with shorts on when it’s
cold outside to debate and cookouts, this is a door into an otherwise
veiled culture. It’s also a society with a heretofore hidden
love for plastic bags. According to the author, just about every
black home has a collection of plain plastic grocery bags and
they have myriad uses. Some of the listed uses include shower
caps, a clothes hamper, beach bags, lunch boxes, alternate
trash bags and a bag to hold all of your other plastic grocery
bags.
The site is neatly categorized by subject for your
convenience. Under “Advertisers” there is an intriguing article
discussing the topic, “Do Black Smokers Love Menthol?” Apparently
the answer is a resounding yes, as the author points
out that a 1995 study at the New Jersey Medical School found that 79% of black smokers did
prefer menthol. Now give me a pack of them ‘Potes! The author steals a little steam, pointing out
the evils of big tobacco marketing to blacks in publications like Ebony and Jet.
Stuff Black People Love is not quite as tongue in cheek as Stuff White People Like. I guess
the concept of love versus like gives it an extra edge or earnestness. Anyhow, both sites are brilliant,
enlightening and hilarious. Shed some light on your cultural ignorance comfortably with the
Internet!
lifestyle | eujacksonville.com | MAY 2008
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