Entries tagged “america”

A.J. Jacobs, master of the year-long book stunt, spent a year trying to live by all the rules dictated in the Bible. As stunts go, it's not that interesting to me ("Hey, I grew a beard!"), but one of the lessons he mentioned learning in this Newsweek interview indicates he really did go in with an open mind:

We all talk about freedom of choice, but there’s something very attractive about freedom from choice. Religion provides structure, mooring, anchoring. Should you covet? No. Should you give 10 percent to the needy? Yes. It really structures your life. After my year I felt unmoored, overwhelmed by choice. I have adjusted, but I’m still overwhelmed by choice, as we all are in America.

There's an analogy here about why those who preach simplicity in the realm of technology sound so much like they're preaching religion, and why those who agree with them often take on a near-religious fervor, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

If you follow pop culture, it's been almost impossible to miss Michael Richards' astounding racist flame-out and subsequent requisite soul-searching televised mea culpa.

If you're a long-time reader of my site, you can probably guess my take: This is another example of the impedance mismatch between white and black culture in regard to social standards in public settings. Put more succinctly, Michael Richards lost his shit for the same reason white people always get mad when black people talk at the movies. It's about control, and who sets the standards, and clearly Richards is someone who gets filled with rage when he's not in control.

Now, to those of us who aren't black or white, this stuff is usually just an academic argument. It's a source of amusement, or maybe even a source of hope that someday while everyone else is arguing over this, we'll get some hispanic and asian people on TV or even into the White House.

But the fundamental issue here is that there's a significant tradition in many African American communities to see entertainment venues as a forum for interaction, as a place for dialogue and conversation inspired by, or even directly in response to the performance. Whether it's call-and-response in church or at a hip hop show, it's not merely acceptable to be talking or reacing, it's expected. Would showtime at the Apollo be as fraught without that expectation?

Conversely, a lot of white culture places an expectation on respect for the performance. There's a standard of reverence for the person on stage, or the film being screened. And there's an underlying sense of value: Hey, we all paid to be here, so be quiet!

Both positions are completely understandable, completely defensible, and valuable in their context. Hell, I usually feel both motivations at once when I go to events. But they're largely incompatible, and are especially hard to reconcile in a context that's weighted by the history and tension of race.

So, when a white comedian is heckled by a black audience member? It's a threat to Richards' values, and he reverts to the worst, most violent response possible: Lynching. I like to think of myself as jaded, but I was still astounded that Richards literally referenced lynching as his very first response to the challenge from the audience. For those arguing (probably correctly) that there are racist tendencies buried in us all, I'd like to offer a correction: This shit was not buried in Richards, it was sitting right there at the top of mind.

The eye of pop culture will move on to something more scandalous, or something more comfortable than confronting racism. But there is still a desperate need for people in America to understand the various cultural norms that inform their expectations of behavior, and to start embracing that variety.

Still curious about this? I wrote about white and black folks at the movies over four years ago:

My experience has been that white people at a movie see black patrons' interaction with the screen as being rude or inappropriate, and that black audiences see the white objectors as mostly frustrated by the fact that a black person has control over their ability to enjoy a movie in the manner to which they're accustomed. They're both right, of course.

Shortly after that, more movie stuff:

America, wake up... not everyone acts the way you do, and not everyone has the same expectations, wants, and desires that you do. If it's an orchestral performance, then shut the fuck up. If it's a funk concert, then get off your ass and jam. Somewhere in between? Then figure it out. But don't expect that everyone around you will arrive at the same conclusion.

Some other relevant links:

• Jay at hip hop music offers The Definitive "Racist Kramer" Post with some great additional links and commentary.
• Dan Charnas asks, Are you really that surprised? with some perspective on Richards' role in Seinfeld:

The construct for “Seinfeld,” like so many other comic teleplays and films, is a monochromatic world where White People are central, and people of color — if they appear at all — are simply used as accessories, as added “color” for a scene.

• I recycled the same snowclone in this post's title in my earlier ruminations on Digg, for no reason at all.

• And I rambled on about monoculture for almost a month, yielding such obvious assertions as "the greatest threat to cultures today comes from not intermingling".

Some say the story of people Googling random phrases is the story of America. Other disagree. So what, then, is the story of America?

• Captain Kirk’s story is the story of America.
• Immigration is the Story of America.
• The story of baseball is the story of America.
• The story of a family fighting for a better life is the story of America itself.
• The story of Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony is the story of America.
• The Story Of This Newspaper Is The Story Of America.
• The story of Italian-Americans, their achievements and vision is the story of America itself.
• The story of Jasper is the story of America.
• The story of soul food is the story of America.
• The Bronx ... and its story in many ways is the story of America itself.
• The story of Jewish life in America is the story of America itself.
• In a very real way, the story of the Marines is the story of America.
• The story of Boys & Girls Clubs is the story of America.
• The story of George Wallace is the story of America.
• The story of the Boal family is the story of America.
• The story of the Negro in America is the story of America.
• In many ways, the story of Long Island is the story of America.
• "Avalon" is the story of America.
• In many ways, the story of `Cod' is the story of America.
• The story of the Sleet family–and of Sleettown–is the story of America.
• The Crater is the story of America.
• The story of barbecue is the story of America.
• The story of Arab Americans is the story of America.
• The story of African-Americans is the story of America.
• The President said that the story of the Irish is the story of America
• The story of the mustang is the story of America.
• The story of Harpers Ferry is the story of America.
• Vivian's story is the story of America writ small.
• The story of this trailblazer is the story of America in the twentieth century.
• The story of Mercer County is the story of America.
• The story of the San Diego Chaldeans is the story of America.

I an no expert at Algebra, but I'm pretty sure the above assertions mean that cod, irish people, baseball, and soul food are all equivalent. If this list isn't exhaustive enough for you don't worry; There are about 20,000 more American stories listed on Google alone.

Some say the story of people Googling random phrases is the story of America. Other disagree. So what, then, is the story of America?

• Captain Kirk’s story is the story of America.
• Immigration is the Story of America.
• The story of baseball is the story of America.
• The story of a family fighting for a better life is the story of America itself.
• The story of Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony is the story of America.
• The Story Of This Newspaper Is The Story Of America.
• The story of Italian-Americans, their achievements and vision is the story of America itself.
• The story of Jasper is the story of America.
• The story of soul food is the story of America.
• The Bronx ... and its story in many ways is the story of America itself.
• The story of Jewish life in America is the story of America itself.
• In a very real way, the story of the Marines is the story of America.
• The story of Boys & Girls Clubs is the story of America.
• The story of George Wallace is the story of America.
• The story of the Boal family is the story of America.
• The story of the Negro in America is the story of America.
• In many ways, the story of Long Island is the story of America.
• "Avalon" is the story of America.
• In many ways, the story of `Cod' is the story of America.
• The story of the Sleet family–and of Sleettown–is the story of America.
• The Crater is the story of America.
• The story of barbecue is the story of America.
• The story of Arab Americans is the story of America.
• The story of African-Americans is the story of America.
• The President said that the story of the Irish is the story of America
• The story of the mustang is the story of America.
• The story of Harpers Ferry is the story of America.
• Vivian's story is the story of America writ small.
• The story of this trailblazer is the story of America in the twentieth century.
• The story of Mercer County is the story of America.
• The story of the San Diego Chaldeans is the story of America.

I an no expert at Algebra, but I'm pretty sure the above assertions mean that cod, irish people, baseball, and soul food are all equivalent. If this list isn't exhaustive enough for you don't worry; There are about 20,000 more American stories listed on Google alone.

• Divebars. Jukeboxes. Allen Iverson. Beerball. Super Mario Kart. NetFlix. LiveFuckingJournal. The way my girl looks in that skirt. Everything great about America, and everything great about every place else, all in one post. I love great writing on the web.
• Ticket Generator. From the genius who brought you the original Church Sign Generator, you can grant yourself evidence of admission to anything.
• Wow, I was very flattered by Frank Shaw's comments -- how did I miss his blog before?
• Whatever Happened to Ask Jeeves? I wanted to see him wandering around Chili Peppers-style, wearing just the Pets.com sock puppet.
• Here's an odd but fun little audio recording of a session I did at the MeshForums conference back in May. It was quite different than the usual presentations I do, and if I recall correctly, I'd been on a redeye flight all night right before the talk, so there's more stammering and incoherence than usual. All that being said, I like how it turned out, and you might too.