Obamammy
Is it racist, or just students stuck on stupid?
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota State University is investigating complaints about a campus skit in which a white student in blackface portrayed Barack Obama receiving a lap dance.
The same skit, part of a charity fundraiser held at a campus theater, also featured a depiction of cowboys having sex with each other, witnesses told The Forum newspaper, which first reported the backlash Friday.
“We’re trying to find out the right approaches for accountability, but at the same time try to heal wounds that have occurred and allow the campus to move ahead,” Janna Stoskopf, NDSU’s dean of students, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The March 18 skit involving the NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club was performed at the Mr. NDSU Pageant, which is sponsored by the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and raises money for diabetes research.
People who attended it said a pageant contestant from Saddle and Sirloin dressed as a woman from the Internet video “I Got a Crush on Obama” and performed a strip tease for another student, who was wearing dark makeup and an afro wig.
In the background, two male students dressed as cowboys simulated anal sex while holding an Obama sign that one student ripped at the conclusion of the 30-second performance, the Forum reported.
“That seems to be consistent with what’s been described to me,” Stoskopf said.
The Obama campaign had no comment Friday. Obama is to speak at North Dakota Democrats’ state convention in Grand Forks next week.
It may have been tasteless and even borderline racist, but I really wish people would stop saying how “Wounded” they were by stupid stuff like this. Real racism affects you, directly. Stupidity only lowers the IQ temperature in the room.
Comments
I doubt that kid had any racist motivations at all, and likely didn’t realize the hurt that people still have when they see someone in blackface. That said, if you’re going to hold people to a standard, make it the same for everyone.
I doubt that kid had any racist motivations at all, and likely didn’t realize the hurt that people still have when they see someone in blackface. That said, if you’re going to hold people to a standard, make it the same for everyone.
An interesting parallel would be the young prince Harry dressing up in a Nazi uniform for a party, which sparked outrage across Britain and in particular with Jewish groups around the world.
No one was personally ‘wounded’, but they had every right to point out his stupidity and insensitivity.
No one was personally ‘wounded’, but they had every right to point out his stupidity and insensitivity.
The big problem is, these situations cause people to be punished without committing crimes. It may be stupid to go in blackface, but it isn’t illegal. We are abridging our rights if we make it a right to not be offended.
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I can tell you that “White Chicks” destroyed me beyond recovery.