All I really know about Oregon is that it once had a trail, that was so inspiring that they made a poorly rendered, low res, sans graphic(ed) computer game about it to "teach" young bucks like myself in elementary school about.....ummmm, life. And I must admit, as an East Coaster...I cared not to know anything more about the state - much like the rest onf the states that people affectionately call middle america. "Ohio...ho hum. Kentucky...people live there? Iowa...bore me to death." But what I've learned living in the midwest, is that happenings do occur in the obscurity of middle America. For example...I went white water rafting this weekend in Wisconsin (more about this in a later blog, I promise). I went to the lake of the Ozarks (also known as Narnia) in Missouri. Last year, I went to the Derby. I plan on hitting up Kansas for a Cardinals game this month. But what I've also learned is that people in these said states are not quit up to date with their black folks. And my finding below should cement this thought as pure fact.
Scouring the net for interesting cultural tidbits is a bit tedious and can be disheartening. That is, until you find gems of ignorance like this story. Apparently, in Corvallis Oregon they are lacking the term diversity so much that at a local fair of sorts they set up a booth labeled "Meet A Black Guy." In which people literally walked up to Jeff Oliver (the black amen) for a little chit of a chat and then took a picture with him.“It’s a statement about diversity in Corvallis. It’s not a very diverse place,” said Oliver, a lifelong Oregonian.
Here's the thing Oliver-making a freak show booth for diversity, isnt exaclty my (a young black male) idea of a good time. Infact...I will most likely never go to Oregon. As far as ideas go, it apparently had mixed reactions among the community. I think they didnt go far enough . Lets really put this difference of pigment thing out there on the table. Oliver shouldve been sporting a durag, saggy pants with basket ball shorts for draws and blasting 50 cent while he was shooting heroin. Because...after all, black people are so very mysterious. Just a different breed that needs to be examined and explained.
Thank you Oregon. You really got to the heart of the problem. With a booth. At a carnival. With one black man in it.
VIA The Assimilated Negro.
Scouring the net for interesting cultural tidbits is a bit tedious and can be disheartening. That is, until you find gems of ignorance like this story. Apparently, in Corvallis Oregon they are lacking the term diversity so much that at a local fair of sorts they set up a booth labeled "Meet A Black Guy." In which people literally walked up to Jeff Oliver (the black amen) for a little chit of a chat and then took a picture with him.“It’s a statement about diversity in Corvallis. It’s not a very diverse place,” said Oliver, a lifelong Oregonian.
Here's the thing Oliver-making a freak show booth for diversity, isnt exaclty my (a young black male) idea of a good time. Infact...I will most likely never go to Oregon. As far as ideas go, it apparently had mixed reactions among the community. I think they didnt go far enough . Lets really put this difference of pigment thing out there on the table. Oliver shouldve been sporting a durag, saggy pants with basket ball shorts for draws and blasting 50 cent while he was shooting heroin. Because...after all, black people are so very mysterious. Just a different breed that needs to be examined and explained.
Thank you Oregon. You really got to the heart of the problem. With a booth. At a carnival. With one black man in it.
VIA The Assimilated Negro.
4 comments:
I am not sure if you read the story you posted closely enough.
When you say that "they" are so lacking diversity in Corvallis that "they" set up a booth, it is not like the town elders got together and dreamed this up as something that "they" needed.
You say: "Thank you Oregon. You really got to the heart of the problem. With a booth. At a carnival. With one black man in it."
First of all, it was not a carnival. It was a farmers' market. There is a big difference. A carnival is a place where you go to eat fried dough, pay exorbitant amounts for rigged games, and wait in line for rides, and as you so tactfully mention, to look at freaks. A farmer's market is typically a place where your neighbors sell vegetables they grew in their back yard, maybe someone has hummus, and there is a local artisan selling candles or soap. But let's not squabble over semantics.
From the original story:
"The idea for “Meet a Black Guy” came from Sean Brown, a Linn-Benton Community College student and a co-worker of Oliver’s at the Darkside Cinema."
The reader comments beneath the story include a message from Brown, announcing that they are doing it again the following weekend, and that Brown will be there as well, so that people can meet a Jewish white guy too. Do you find that offensive as well? Would you be as offended if it wasn't Brown and Oliver, but instead it was Adam Sandler and Chris Rock? Or would it be funny if it was famous comedians doing it?
I encourage you to learn more about Oregon. Eugene and Portland are two of the most liberal cities in U.S. Open your mind to the west coast and you might find that it will surprise you in the way that that the Midwest has surprised you.
Also, when you are criticizing people for making generalizations about black people, you might try to avoid making generalizations about whole states, which you already claim to know nothing about. It will help you sound less hypocritical.
Also, anecdotal evidence never cements anything as "pure fact."
Maybe you could write a blog post to help white mid-westerners get "up to date with their black folks" and try to do it without making generalizations about anyone. Good freaking luck.
ewwwwww, good comment.
dear nathan
i am ready for my rebutle. I did not read the whole article b/c after i read the fact i could care less about the cause and result. the initial idea is ignorant and should not have been thought up in the first place.
i dont find anything "non-black offensive," since that is what your sarcasm precludes. and luckily for you (and more likely for me) i care not what you think of me or my generalizations b/c in the long run you are rambling on about a blog post from a person you dont know or have ever met. and since it is my blog to do as i want with it, and you are a nobody in my book i will continue to write not only what i want, but i will feel particularly free to over generalize.
i hope not to disturb your future reading pleasures...seeing as how you clicked on my blog and thanks for your best wishes. thanks for sharing thought and opinions. come back soon.
shaun.
Shaun,
Thank you for response.
Generalize away if it makes you happy. That's not a luxury that I have, and I assume that people are similar to me in that they prefer to know what they are talking about, especially when feeling indignant. But you would be engaging in the same behavior as some of the people you criticize.
You might consider this link http://avalonds.typepad.com/other_stuff/2008/06/meet-a-black-guy.html
which gives background on how the idea for the booth came about. I disagree that the idea was ignorant. I believe it was ironic. I realize that some people don't have a sense of irony (that is not an accusation...as you said, I don't know you). I believe that irony enriches life (though there was a "humorous" NY Times OpEd piece the other day suggesting that Obama start smoking to gain the blue collar vote. That was too much irony.)
That, Shaun, is me rambling.
thanks again,
Nathan
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