Halloween Cultural Appropriation

I think I can honestly agree that the past 2 years have been so Black, and I'm not talking midnight. People have been more culturally Black than, Black people. Let me be clear my race is still very much around , but it seems we've become a joke to some. From Miley twerking her non-exsistant butt, too Macklemore (enough said), people think that Black culture is a mainstream joke that they have free game over. What a croc...

What gets my goat more than anything is the fact when Halloween comes around it's not only my race that gets the shaft, it's every other "minority" group. With Halloween being 3 days past i can firmly say I didn't see my share of stupidity, but the internet sure did.

I was able to see what the great America has to offer and to say the least I'm just disappointed. Seeings how Ray Rice is one of the biggest controversies right now tasteless cows decided that having their children dress up as him in semi-blackface is classless. But who am i to judge...
 Like I said before other cultures were just as attacked.

ISIS is a very real threat and a very real problem in our time, but people think it is okay to dress as and mock a situation where people are losing their lives. It seems that we as a people still don't get it. I thought my simple Arthur Ashe costume payed homage, but others just can't get with the program.

Not only are we letting other mock us, but we are mocking are selves. This is my major problem. When we agree to costumes of us being lynched, or walking with friends dressed as the KKK what does that say about us? I'm gonna say I'm fully disappointed in how even we seem to think that these actions are perfectly fine. I'm more so scared of how people can justify these actions.

                                 

Let's take this picture from Buzzfeed that shows a man dressed a member of ISIS. Now I get Halloween is fun and games, but would this guy still be as ampd to dress as a terrorist if that had been his brother, father, or uncle getting beheaded? I don't think so! It very stereotypical as well to become someone from the middle east and have a machine gun in their hands. Imagine having to live this life everyday. There are children and people who have to worry about a stray bullet everyday while this guy is okay playing dress up. I'm so done...

Everyday I wish I could wake up where the supposed majority would just get their ish together, and we can coincide in a harmonious situation... A Boy can dream right?

Shawn B.

Links to more of the information I used for this post.

Buzzfeed.com

Mediatakeout.com

Hashtag Games Ferguson and John Crawford

    What I can say about the the prevalence of the two hashtags I chose were they both exemplified people who looked like me. The Ferguson case has had its time in the spot light one might say, but that doesn't even come close to the reality of situation. The John Crawford case is a fresher wound, but still not getting the media coverage it deserves. Besides them both being men of color, the reason I chose these two stories is because it's a pattern in our society these days. Men and women of color (not just African American) are being persecuted by our police force. If we are militarizing our country I guess we people of color are first.

       I went searching for hash tags on both subjects and a semi constant I found on "Twitter" was #CriticalRaceEssay. Which stems from different people writing essays on the growing epidemic of our boys and men being slain on the streets. It started a movement on social media. One Twitter user states ""Can You Serve Communities You Don't Understand?: A Critical Reflection on Ed Reform". The hash tag is a constant because Social media is now on fire trying to hear voices on these very issues, and has brought people across different ethnic stand points. Another hash tag that has come up multiple times has been #DontShoot. For the Ferguson case it is has been a staple by the people who have been on the front line. But for the Crawford case it hasn't which is kind of strange because in the situation which I will get into in a second, John Crawford was just minding his own business when he attacked by police. Now you would think social media would be going insane over this, but not to many people have. The hash tag #DontShoot has even garnered its own day, called #HandsUp #DontShoot Fridays. In my humble opinion I think people always use Fridays because it is easier to get people together on weekends. They are happier and nicer, and more amped up for a cause.

      The John Crawford case is similar only in the person in question is another one of our people being taken from their families. John Crawford the 3rd was in a Walmart holding a bebe gun and a worker said he called police saying he was pointing a gun at people. The police stormed in and Crawford allegedly charged after them and shot him 6 times.  The frantic actions of the police also made a woman who was a shopper at the time have a heart attack and fall over and past away. This story is picking up steam because the woman in question was white. Now I can't say this is the only reason, this is pure opinion based. The people of Ohio have banded together to put an end to the madness. The hash-tag  #ProtectUsToo is getting steam by the Ohio Student Assoc, which also happens to be some of John's classmates. This hash-tag is a favorable use for both cases because it symbolizes that police force should be here to protect us as a people as well, and we should not be judged by our pigment. The Crawford case was only recent;y brought to my attn when I went hash-tag hunting. i ran accross a piece on Buzzfeed (link at the bottom). It opened my eyes to another life lost due to carelessness.

  Things in my community, and I'm not talking Westchester, aren't looking to hot with these recent killings. Maybe if the tables were to turn, or more people got behind or confronted these issues head on we may even see some progress. I just hope it happens before the next one of my fellow males or females of color have to shed another drop of blood...

Hash-Tags: #DontShoot, #ProtectUsToo, #HandsUp, #CriticalRaceEssay,
Buzzfeed article: John Crawford

HashTag Games. Ferguson

              If you look at what’s been happening in the world you’ll see nothing. Now before you crucify me let me explain. In main stream media nothing is happening. Where has Ferguson gone? Where is #BringBackOurGirls you ask? Well they now live in social media. It is in my opinion they live more so in twitter. The hashtag game for both situations is serious, you just need to know where to look.

               

                       I choose to scratch at the surface of the Ferguson situation. I’ve looked from channel to channel hoping there would still be some sort of mention, a nod, or even an utter, but nope nothing. It takes one scandal to outweigh another, and in today's watered down news Ray Rice is the hottest thing in town. Now I credit channels like CNN and sometimes MSNBC as somewhat news sources, but all they seem to care about these days is what NFL pro is hitting their child, or their spouse. Can’t be serious. This may veer off topic for one second (bear with me), but the NFL trained chimps just gave the media EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR! I mean there are some people with consciences out there in Ferguson MI that are trying to bring justice to another dead soul of another one of our people, and these black men are making us look like shit. This is all we needed for the Govt controlled news to do. Take the attention off what matters like another lost life, and swindle into “look see this is how these monkeys act”. Really gets me. Not saying domestic abuse isn’t important, but there are bigger things happening right now in our community.

                 

              

                              Now back on course. When I headed to Twitter to see what was big in the hashtags for Ferguson, I came across a couple that stroked my interest. #NMOS14, #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, and #DontShoot.  According to an article in USA Today it explains what each hashtag has meant for the movement. Duetsch and Lee (14) #IfTheyGunnedMeDown confronts the portrayal of young minorities by media outlets. #Dontshoot raises concerns about excessive police force while demonstrating peaceful protest. And #NMOS14, calls for a national moment of silence Thursday evening for victims of police force.  What I found when I dug deeper than this was men and boys using social media to their advantage. In the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown track men and boys alike were posting pics of themselves in their biggest accomplishments, and a side photo of them doing what the media would post of them. In one photo I found a black male posted a picture of himself graduating from high school, and a side picture of him smoking a blunt. If he were in Michael Browns place they would only show the picture of him smoking, as it would perpetuate what the media classifies as “black behavior”. I found that hashtag to be the most truthful. When the Ferguson case first started I remember there being such a big commotion over which photos were being represented to show Michael Brown. The ones of him smiling and doing things to uplift, or the ones to showcase a stereotype.

                Through many facets of social media and hashtags I’ve come to realize the dialog that has started. Without the use of such things how many of us would still be even talking about Michael Brown? I guess there is still a game of will it get it out, or not still being played. Thanks to websites like Twitter and Facebook I think I can see a winner. Possibly…

Enough Said...

Who am I?

     Why hello there! The name's Shawn B and this is Breaking The Rules. I plan to give you who I am and what I want out of my Social Media class this semester. FYI this blog is tethered to that class. So where do I start? I joined the Black and Latino's in Social Media class because I wanted to gain an understanding. An understanding on where I fit in this realm. I'm an African American male who is very immersed in social media, and I want to know how and what I need to be doing to be successful in this. I can gather that I will be challenged from this class, but who doesn't love a good challenge right?

    Lets go with the who I am. I'm Shawn a lover of fun, good times, and good vibes. If you can laugh  and not take yourself to serious I'm sure we can be friends. I have another blog called Preppsterdreamin. It also a Blogger page and consists of mainly fashion and style stuff. I'm using this blog so I can express myself in a different way then I do when I'm being Preppsterdreamin. Stay tuned to see what Breaking the Rules has to offer.

      Social media to me means a double edged sword. I love social media for what it can do for someones reputation. I also hate it because of what it can do for someones reputation ( I hope you can see the difference). Social media today has built careers for some people. How would the world know who Justin Beiber was without FIRST making music videos on youtube? If flip this how else would the world know how bad of a train wreck Lindsey Lohan has become without her antics being sprawled across all social media facets. I plan to use this version of social media to get what I need to say out there and express myself. Possibly gaining an identity outside of the one I already created with Preppsterdreamin.

Later Days!

Shawn B.