Cowboys cheerleader's blackface irks some

[The Straight Story]

Cowboys cheerleader's blackface irks some


DALLAS, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Photos circulated on the Web show a white Dallas Cowboys cheerleader dressed as black rapper Lil Wayne on Halloween.

The pictures were posted on a sports blog, Deadspin, and later removed, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday. They showed Whitney Isleib, who has been a Cowboys cheerleader since 2008, wearing braids and fake tattoos, posing in one snapshot with two black women and in another with two men dressed as mariachi singers.

The newspaper said it was unable to reach Isleib.

"We are aware of the images and we are handling it internally," Brett Daniels, a spokesman for the team, said Monday.

http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2009/11/03/Cowboys-cheerleaders-blackface-irks-some/UPI-18691257287494/

[anigbrowl]

1. If her black partygoing friends weren't offended, then neither am I

I presume they'd have declined to pose for photos with here if they were.

[vadawg]

2. +1 all we have is the pics, the people there have more of a context and more reason to be offended

if they didnt have a problem with it why should anyone else...

[951-Riverside]

26. Why does she need the blessing of her black friends? n/t

[anigbrowl]

32. I mean that they are in a better position to judge the appropriateness or not than I am

I don't think that portraying oneself as a member of another race is inherently bad, especially on Halloween, but depending on how it is done it can be very offensive. There's no simple guide to what's cool and what isn't, so context matters a lot. In this case, her friends who were present and are actually black seem like the best-qualified people to evaluate the episode in context.

[raw oysters]

3. Actually, most anything on the planet will "irk some"

When we achieve utopia, nobody will ever again be offended. :D

[Cali_Democrat]

4. Well said. n/t

[pokercat999]

7. the fundies would claim a violation of gods domain utopia

is reserved for that special place in the clouds

[raw oysters]

11. Indeed...and meanwhile we have this to contend with

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Great toon!

[slackmaster]

5. I got all kinds of grief for posting pics of my blackface pirate Halloween costume

All of it from white people. The black people I ran into in person that night all thought it was extremely funny. One of them was even fooled briefly into thinking I was actually black.

The bartender who passed me over in favor of several other (white) customers was embarrassed when she realized who I was. I'd known her for several years. Not only had she not recognized me, she admitted that she hadn't even seen me standing right in front of her.

It was a very interesting experience, and I would do it again. I re-read The Invisible Man the following week.

:evilgrin:

[Journeyman]

13. More than Ellison, your experience calls for reading John Howard Griffin's non-fiction. . .

Black Like Me.

[slackmaster]

27. Thank you!

I'll do it.

[Bucky]

31. (well played)

bravo

[Tim01]

6. Halloween is no time for race mixing. nt

[valerief]

8. Obviously, it's no time to dress up like a celebrity either. nt

[tammywammy]

9. Video with pictures of it at link

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/02/crimesider/entry5494649.shtml

More pics

http://deadspin.com/5394350/the-situation-where-a-dallas-cowboys-cheerleader-appeared-in-blackface-for-halloween-will-probably-not-end-well

[noiretextatique]

10. um...it was a halloween costume

:wtf:

[Arctic Dave]

12. I guess "black face" has become the new "nazi".

I don't think people quite grasp the difference anymore.

[LeftyMom]

15. Blackface has nasty historical precedents.

I haven't seen the pic in question, but blackface is one of those things that just brings up a lot of nasty cultural baggage that almost invariably makes it a very bad idea.

[Fuzz]

17. This is all true. But I've been thinking about this a lot.

The kids growing up now really have no idea. Sure, we teach them history, but most of the kids around here wouldn't think about it being racist at all, but think of it only as a costume.

It's almost like the older folks are pushing something on them that they don't want any part of.

[LeftyMom]

19. The "girl" in question is seven years younger than me.

I don't think we can blame it on generational issues, as I certainly know many people her age who are neither that ignorant nor that insensitive.

[Fuzz]

21. True, true. I guess I was thinking more of other stories like the kids in

school a few weeks ago and my kids, hell any kid, who doesn't think like that anymore, especially in areas as racially diverse as where I live.

I guess I'm being kinda pollyannish here wishing this kind of shit wasn't foisted on another generation. ;)

[Journeyman]

16. I found it hilarious, above the article was a tab for "photos". . .

When I clicked it, up popped some shots of President Obama . . .

[nemo137]

18. Rich white kids going as cartoonish black stereotypes.

Yep, nothing offensive there.

[Shell Beau]

20. Well she wasn't going as a cartoonish black stereotype.

She was going as a particular rapper. I wouldn't do it. I knew a white guy that dressed up as Mr. T to be part of the A-Team group his friends dressed up as. It is very iffy.

[anigbrowl]

22. Also, live people pretending to be dead, men in drag, and other abominations

Having looked at the photos, I don't see anything especially cartoonish about it.

[Bucky]

29. Bolillos pretending to be Mexican. As a vampire, I was deeply offended at other party goers Saturday

My Transylvanian ancestors cry out for justice!

PS, the most offensive thing at this party was people from Dallas pretending to be cool.

[MellowDem]

24. Is she a kid?

or even rich? I really don't know. I guess if she was a poor black kid it would be more alright? Blacks should never dress as a white person and vice versa in your world, right?

[nemo137]

25. I was thinking more broadly.

Every few months you get a story like this. Some frat has a ghetto-themed party where people show up in blackface and drink 40's, or a sorority has a "tacos and tequila" party with hilarious jokes about illegal immigrants. It's very much about being white and enjoying a certain amount of privilege where you can do that sort of thing.

[Bucky]

30. Have you seriously never seen black comedians making fun of "all" white people?

... Then doing that annoying nasally "nerd" accent that we do not all sound like? Well, okay, I kinda sound like it, but I can't hear my own voice, so that doesn't count. :)

[TCJ70]

23. Lil Wayne is, indeed, a black male...

...so wouldn't it make sense as part of the costume? It's not like she was stereotyping all black people with her costume.

[reflection]

28. Meh. Usually I have my antenna up for this type stuff,

but this one doesn't seem to have the 'hate' aspect associated with it. Looks pretty tame.