I Think I'll Be Black Today . . .

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Steve Levicoff, Sep 4, 2020.

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  1. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    A White professor says she has been pretending to be Black for her entire professional career

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/03/us/jessica-krug-gwu-black-trnd/index.html

    I have to admit that I think it's a damn funny story. I fully expect that she will be canned from her teaching position, and that she might be hit with criminal charges based on her accepting various awards by misrepresenting herself. The precedent has been set by the white woman in Washington State who pretended to be black for years and became the head honchperson of the NAACP there. (I forget her name, but it's cited in the CNN story.)

    So, I'm wondering, how can I become black for a shorter period, say, a day? Is it anything like being transgendered, where you wake up and say to yourself, "Should I be male or female today?" I've already decided on my Black name: Mustafa Levicoffa - it has a nice rhyme to it.

    This is the most fun story since the one about Nancy Pelosi getting a blow-out at a San Francisco hair salon. I'm still wondering what a blow-out is . . .

    Ah, well, I'm having a tasteless morning, so since I've already offended black studies activists and transgendered people, I'll conclude with a George Floyd joke . . .

    What is George Floyd's favorite color? Neon. (Say it slowly.)
     
  2. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    There are a lot of reports out there, that she only came forward because she was completely caught in a life time of lies and a group of students and colleagues put it together and confronted her. Seems she's trying to get in front of the story to control the narrative.

    Her reputation, career, and integrity are completely tarnished. Reviews of her teaching, while always suspect, were deplorable even before this. Will be astonished if she's able to hold onto her faculty position. Hopefully she invested her book royalties well.
     
  3. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

  4. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    Being trans is not a choice.
    Please don't present it like it is.
    Trans women are women, trans men are men. Always been.

    What this teacher did however was not acceptable.
    One can't identify out of one's skin color / race because they have no concept to know what being born as that other skin color / race would be like.
    That teacher should definitely be fired.

    I think the woman you mean who came into the lime light back in the day is Rachel Dolezal.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    She should teach online. Then I could just turn down the sound and watch her... Agreed - she made inappropriate choices, told flat-out lies and many students say she was a bad teacher. But I could watch her for quite a while...:) I do the same sometimes with bad singers, if they look nice. You have to make the best of things, sometimes.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2020
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

  7. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    Yeah she was world news.
    Still don't get the comparison from Op with trans people.
    Transsexual people are born in the wrong sex. Transracial people are people who invent a condition that doesn't exist.
    No comparison whatsoever.
    But I agree, Dolezal was an attention seeker.
     
  8. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    I know we're opening a proverbial can of worms with this, but it's one through which we have been here at DI previously. I doubt that there's anything new to say about it on either side.

    As for my position, it's one of the few controversial issues on which I have taken a position - and it's not necessarily the popular one around here. You'll find my pontification at https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/women-are-now-getting-harassed-in-bathrooms-because-of-anti-transgender-hysteria.48121/page-3#post-477165 and at https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/women-are-now-getting-harassed-in-bathrooms-because-of-anti-transgender-hysteria.48121/page-4#post-477179. Davewill, the DI member who was mentioned in that thread and had a vested interest in the subject by way of his son/daughter (it gets so confusing that I forget which is which), went somewhat ballistic at my position and has not posted here since 2018 - which is a shame, since Dave has a solid background in nontraditional education. He does, as I recall, continue to post on DegreeForum.

    As for my pedigree, I've been out of the LGBTQ+ (or whatever the hell the current abbreviation is) closet for some 50 years, so I think I can speak with some authority on the issue. FWIW, I hold the same positions on drag, to the effect that I walked out of the musical La Cage aux Folles in the first ten minutes. (In fact, the only drag role I ever liked was Angel Dumott Schunard in Rent - y 'all can look it up.)

    Having said all that, I ultimately don't give a shit about these issues one way or the other, and continue to laugh at both sides.
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Well, we have yet to hear from a person who claims to have been born the "wrong" colour - but with the current state -- who knows? We just might.

    Are you familiar with the late Johnny Otis? "The Godfather of R&B?" He grew up in a Black neighbourhood - and though never denying his white roots, he decided early in life that he would live as a Black person. He married a Black woman, (They were married until his death - over 60 years later.) fathered several Black children - one of whom became musically prominent - Shuggie Otis - and wrote "As a kid I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black." To my (limited) knowledge, none of the many, many Black artists he worked with ever objected to his decision. He didn't lie about his origins - or his preferences.

    Johnny died a few years back. He was a terrific artist and did a lot to help others succeed. I've had a bunch of his records for many years. I wonder - if were alive today and made the same decision about being Black --- would it go as well for him nowadays?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Otis
     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I've thought about it. If he were living his chosen life today, I'm sure Johnny Otis could do so gracefully. He'd look any detractors in the eye and ... yes, he'd make it work. There were almost insuperable difficulties in his own day -- racially mixed marriages were vehemently opposed in many places, including California. Johnny and his bride, Phyllis, chose to be married in Nevada for this reason.

    Johnny was an amazing man. He made a lot of things work - for himself, his family and many artists he worked with. And that music is still the greatest!
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  11. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Pigment of her imagination :D
    20200906_144559.jpg
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  12. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    OMG. :emoji_joy::emoji_joy::emoji_joy::emoji_joy:

    What New York Post lacks in the journalism department, they make up for in the insult comedy department :emoji_blush:
     
    SpoonyNix, RoscoeB and chrisjm18 like this.
  13. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Agreed. When it comes to shade and pettiness, New York Post delivers.
     
  14. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I can see it on the wall. "Johann resigns from DI after 'faking it' in 18 languages." :eek:
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  16. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    There is a race grop called Liberals, maybe she can be that for some time, then no need to pretend.
     

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