Jump to content

Menu

Would this bother you or am I oversensitive?


Recommended Posts

One of my fellow church members posted a picture of another church member from 1986(they went to school together at the school attached to my church) where she is dressed up as Aunt Jemima. She is white and had painted herself black.

 

I'm not offended, but I certainly don't like the picture. Would this bother you or am I being too sensitive about it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:iagree:

 

Although if it were for a play showing the past as inequality I wouldn't be as offended. It would depend on the context.

 

Yesterday I was told I was "too tolerant" re: people of color. That was the best compliment they could have given me, even though they didn't mean it as a compliment. ;)

 

I would feel uncomfortable because of what that character symbolizes, extremely subservient and ecstatically happy about it. I would feel equally uncomfortable if I saw someone dress up as Uncle Tom. It just seems rather weird to me.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The devil is in the details: what was the context?

 

(sorry, crossposted)

 

Honestly, I would not hold something like that, if it was done twenty-five+ years ago, against someone. People change. What some of us may have grown up with as being "okay", we have since learned is not okay, kwim?

Edited by mommaduck
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on the context, that would bother me. I find it offensive. I don't think I'm oversensitive, but I do have a pretty much zero-tolerance policy for racial jokes (if that is what they are making of it, and it sounds like that's exactly what it was). I don't have a problem with the fact that someone dressed up as Aunt Jemima 20+ years ago, thinking it funny ha-ha, but the fact that 20+ years later they don't get why it's not funny--that bothers me.

 

Go with your gut on this one. You say it doesn't feel quite right, and I don't think it is (unless, as others have pointed out, it was in a completely different context).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would bother me mostly that the picture was posted.

 

Even 25 years ago, people knew that was wrong, but you could chalk it up to the person being young and foolish. However, why dredge that picture up and post it now? Something like that is best left in the past.

 

:iagree: If I happened across an old picture in a year book or something it wouldn't bother me too much. Everyone does something stupid as a teenager, right? The fact that someone chose to post it publicly now is what I find odd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fact that she did it doesn't bother me. Teens definitely can do stupid/weird things. But the fact that it was posted now? Weird. Did the woman in the picture know the other person was going to post it before hand? I'd be really embarrassed. I'm not even thrilled about a picture a friend posted from her going away party when she moved just because, well, it was the early 90s and the hair. Crazy, crazy hair. But there it is on my FB timeline thingy because she tagged me in the picture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would bother me on a lot of levels. The most basic level being that the internet is not private and I'm sick to death of people on facebook thinking that they have a right to post pictures of other people without written permission.

 

Seriously, there are a lot of wackadoos out there. I don't want my picture and most certainly NOT my children's used without permission.

 

That's the most basic level that bothers me. Back in high school, I was not the mature person that I am now and well, there are many photos that I look back at and think "WHAT WAS I THINKING????" and would not be thrilled to see if splashed over the internet. Even a church play taken out of context can be rather damaging....what about Dh when he played the devil (for lack of another tenor who could hit those notes really well) for the scene in which Christ was tempted in the church Easter Passion? The make-up and costume job was pretty scary looking and that's not something he'd want out there for the world to see out of context!

 

Faith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...