thursday thread: faking your own death

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

you want us to keep bumping the thread and vaguely reference your talking points? because we can do that, you know?

[Trathena]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

This is like his birthday thread that went on for a week!

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

his birthday thread?

[Trathena]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

ha! He had a birthday thread that went on for days.

You know, I read the first post in this thread and quit reading because, as unfair as it turned out to be, I thought that Lye was trolling.

Then I clicked on it again for the first time yesterday and read that evasive had won the day. Now, the 5 pages intimidate me, but I'm very interested in what Knifeboy and evasive were discussing because they're both fantastically smart and interesting.

But now I'm tipsy... Sigh. By the time I actually read this thread it'll be long over. Too bad.

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

i mean...perfect example is america really. we're a country with a very short history, and thusly we don't have a whole of traditions...at least, not traditions that REALLY seperate us from the rest of the world's cultures (since that's where our population comes from)....we have so many different types of cultures mixed in here, that we just take what works from one, and mass market it.

may i use this to chime in with my .02?

we are a country that has a very short history, and we suffer from an anemia of cultural traditions, however, there are inhabitants of the united states who do have a cultural identity that is remarkably distinct from the rest of the world--i.e. native americans. it is a fledgling tradition due to its systematic destruction--some would argue genocidal destruction of both people and culture--that was at one time incredibly fluid. however, it has become very rigid with a borderline obsession of proving one's blood (oddly enough, this is the exact opposite of the black tradition in the united states). in part this is due to their desire to trace their own heritage; it is also due to the governments programs to eradicate the native peoples. from a cultural perspective, we have attempted to completely destroy their culture through the use of boarding schools--"speak english only"--and christianity--"you cannot speak of your demon gods here". culture has become a lifeline for those remaining native peoples. there has been a push to preserve what precious little is left of their culture, and they should.

yet, this culture has been hijacked. the native peoples have been appropriated to stereotypical roles in the mindset of the colonizer/imperialist. to name a few atrocities: we have turned native nations into synonyms for was with apache and blackhawk helicopters and units named after native culture; we have a professional football team called the redskins who used to played the cowboys on thanksgiving; and we have self-proclaimed shamans who have stolen certain aspects of native religion and mass-marketed it. now, where is this going?

as fanon has pointed out in his wretched of the earth, the loss of culture due to colonialism is devastating for colonized peoples. fanon speaks directly to the issue of mental illness amongst colonized peoples. however, native thinkers, such as george e. "tink" tinker and ward churchill--to name two--have extrapolated this point in order to relate it to their own peoples loss of culture. they argue that the loss of culture has directly affected their people in the way of alcoholism, drug use, and mental illness. in fact, tink and ward both help to run a native american survival project--called four winds--where they have helped native peoples to get in touch with their native culture, and they claim that they have seen amazing results.

so i would argue that culture has a very important role for people. the idea of a melting plot can be problematic in this light.

[Trathena]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

You know, I read the first post in this thread and quit reading because, as unfair as it turned out to be, I thought that Lye was trolling.

This? True.

Then I clicked on it again for the first time yesterday and read that evasive had won the day. Now, the 5 pages intimidate me, but I'm very interested in what Knifeboy and evasive were discussing because they're both fantastically smart and interesting.

This? Bullshit.

I started reading this thread tonight and found a bunch of threads where I'd talked about Southpark.

So I was in this thread a few days ago, but didn't even realize it was this thread.

ohmygod. alzheimers?

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

what?

[evasivetear]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

you want us to keep bumping the thread and vaguely reference your talking points? because we can do that, you know?

this is not why i want the thread bumped. it has nothing to do with me. i wanted the thread bumped because i quite enjoyed your next, very long post. i have to re-read it, and get back to you on that.

g'night

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

i was not going to bump it just for that reason

[Knifeboy]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

I bumped your mother last night

[And we'll just put a happy little bush over here.]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

how many times do i need to tell you? what you and my mother do last night is your business.

auto-de-fe added 1 Minutes and 0 Seconds later...

this is not why i want the thread bumped. it has nothing to do with me. i wanted the thread bumped because i quite enjoyed your next, very long post. i have to re-read it, and get back to you on that.

g'night

oh, and i am not really sure how much i had to say was directly related to you. i think i began with it being related to your thought, but then moved on to a wider topic.

[evasivetear]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

and that's what i'd rather read anyway.

[Ars Sycro]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

Why'd you delete the post Trathena?

[Trathena]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

Because I thought that it was ill-informed, sloppily-thought out, and wouldn't bring anything worthwhile to the conversation. I think on this topic I can learn more if I keep my mouth shut and just listen.

I actually wrote in the "reason for deleting" box, but when I clicked delete, it didn't save the post with my reason edited in. I didn't mean to delete my post without evidence of it being there, but that's how it happened.

Anyway, seriously everyone, you're not missing anything but my superficial ramblings.

[Knifeboy]

Re: thursday thread: inter-racial relationships

That didn't stop me from posting