Friday, October 31, 2014

reckless eyeballing in the 21st century?


theroot |  Although presenting evidence of the daily indignity of catcalls and unwarranted advances that women face was an admirable goal, the video just contains too much selective finger-pointing to be effective.

Critics quickly assailed the fact that the most common form of harassment the video’s subject, Shoshana B. Roberts, received were phrases like “How are you?” and just “Hi.” And the takeaway for many men—in conversations, on social media—was simply that if you speak to a woman on the street, then, according to this video, you are harassing her. That’s a narrative that many were quick to take issue with and others simply dismissed.

As a man, I found it easy to be put off by the video because it doesn’t seem particularly nuanced. Rather than allow for the existence of polite conversation between strangers, it simply points at any salutation—from “hello” to “damn!”—and labels it harassment.

Maybe I’m just looking at this from my perspective as a man, but clearly, I’m not the only guy seeing it this way.

“I can only imagine what it’s like to walk the streets and have people tell me that I’m beautiful, that I should smile, ask me how I’m doing, say god bless you and generally seem to like me,” wrote former XXL columnist Byron Crawford on his website. “Literally, I have no idea what that would be like.”
There’s also the racial makeup of the “10 Hours” cast of antagonizers. The conspicuous preponderance of black and Latino men who make appearances as harassers didn’t escape men of color—or women, for that matter.

“The racial politics of the video are [f--ked] up,” tweeted Purdue University professor and blogger Roxane Gay. “Like, she didn’t walk through any white neighborhoods?”

11 comments:

BigDonOne said...

"...The conspicuous preponderance of black and Latino men who make appearances as harassers didn't escape men of color—or women, for that matter.... “Like, she didn’t walk through any white neighborhoods?”


More likely, it was the more common ethnicity of those ebt_swiping unproductive looz_erz who have no jobs and merely populate the big city streets idly hanging out disproportionately.....

CNu said...

lol, like noodling for catfish...,

rohan said...

Slim-thickie like that in the city mane, you know what time it is http://youtu.be/90qpDg5y7Lo

CNu said...

lol, guilty as charged brah - the liminal antithesis to gamergate

BigDonOne said...

The 'harassing' guys in that original video were likely all just IQ_75 stupid enough to think they actually had a chance.....

rohan said...

lol, you just KNOW that if online video games had existed in Big Dawn's day, he would've been popping hostile shit at the girlies from the safety of his mama's basement. Not even pretending to have the manly confidence to approach a female and say "hi"

woodensplinter said...

Ismael Reed, why you so mean and hard? http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/14/specials/reed-reckless.html

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511cBrZNU6L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Vic78 said...

Here's more propaganda...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

CNu said...

The end-game for Berman and his constituents seems clear. What's the endgame for hollahback, put a law on the books making it a misdemeanor for black or latino males to speak to white/jewish feminists in public spaces?

Vic78 said...

I think the endgame of that video by itself is to raise money and give the fake feminists something to talk about. I believe the bigger picture is to further limit nonwhites' political power and gentrify the city. There have been recent fights with minimum wage, Stop and Frisk, and out of control cops. The people responsible for that video would rather keep black folks on the bottom. I think it's time for black folks to tell some of these good hearted liberal crackers what they can do with themselves.

Vic78 said...

The whole hollback thing looks like something some Cathedral putz would pull.