Comments | madmoisellestar: Taking it too far (hilarious)

madmoisellestar

Taking it too far (hilarious)

Jan 13, 2009 13:51

The head of the Alabama NAACP, wants Mobile's Azalea Trail Maids to stay home on Inauguration Day, claiming the group reminds him of slavery. "These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the WindYeah, they're ball gowns. I'm as big a proponent of the south being ashamed of its past ( Read more... )

suspiciously like blogging, wtf, politics

Comments 10

sihaya09 January 13 2009, 19:30:12 UTC

If it was a buncha white chicks in ball gowns and black ladies in Mamie getup, that's one thing. But there's clearly black members who'll be marching in finery, as well. I think there's a difference between invoking iconic images of an important and controversial historical period and marching a confederate flag down the inaugural boulevard, y'know? I mean, the colonials had slaves too, but I wonder if people are gonna object to a Ben Franklin impersonator.

madmoisellestar January 13 2009, 19:40:05 UTC

Exactly. It's not that there's no way to go wrong there, it's that this totally doesn't. There are plenty of offensive things southerners claim are just heritage - and ball gowns aren't on that list. Which I'd say is just ridiculous, except it gives a little bit of credibility to every idiot who embraces the confederate flag and says their heritage is being supressed.

dwolfe January 13 2009, 20:24:05 UTC

Eh, the start of the civil war and the cuban missile crisis were two of the most white washed events in american history. I've never really faulted people for the heritage aspect of the confederate flag.

While some have definitely taken up the flag as a symbol of racism, I don't think that is the meaning for most. I think it is more a symbol for southern pride in that they attempted to peacefully succeed and the response was illegal imprisonments, greed, and finally violence from the north.

madmoisellestar January 13 2009, 20:35:53 UTC

There are valid points on either side of a discussion about the confederate flag - I have an opinion, but I understand how people have another one. There is no valid point against ball gowns.

Thread 10

egosomnio January 13 2009, 21:22:56 UTC

Jesus H. Particular Whatthefuck, there's not enough racism around for this guy, so he feels the need to invent some more?

Personally, those gowns remind me more of ribbon candy than Gone with the Wind.

sidhebat January 13 2009, 23:33:50 UTC

Talk about picking the wrong battles. The dresses look silly and I don't see the point, but I also don't see a racist conspiracy at work here. Just about every historical costume can be tied to some sort of atrocity.

I bristle when people talk of racism hidden in the media, in our brains, and in innocent words and actions taken the wrong way when there are obvious examples of racism in plain sight all around us. Ones that *kill people*, like this:
http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2005/12/15/the_strange_cas
Ask the families of Oscar Grant and Cory Maye if they give a damn about women in floofy dresses.

zorazen January 14 2009, 04:51:39 UTC

Ball gowns are awesome. I wonder what NAACP feels about the spanish holy week costumes worn across Spain?
http://www.atadovalladolid.com/Portals/0/LUNESROSARIO1426.jpg