This is a subject that fascinates me, because I always thought that white privilege is one of the things that prevent folks from truly understanding racism.
Of course you could argue that there is no problem with this white privilege thing. We are all human beings who are entitled to live as we please as long as we don't break any laws or hurt others. (Sometimes when you live in the white privilege bubble you don't even know when you are hurting others. And, if you do, you really don't care.) Or as long as we don't work in an environment that opens us up to criticism when we put our cluelessness and ignorance on display. (See "poor" Justine Sacco as an example.)
The latest example of someone who should try to put her white privilege in some perspective is music critic and hip hop artist, Kitty Pryde.
Kitty showed her cluelessness when she live- blogged the latest Beyonce album and wrote about it.
Here is an example of what she wrote:
"Whoa, this is starting out like the sickest of Future songs. Did Mike Will make it? Dude, I didn't know Beyonce drank. Actually, I didn't know she required sustenance. Wait oh my god this means Beyonce also POOPS. Wait she's going IN right now. My Jay Z senses are tingling, I'm pretty sure he's about to rap and I really hope it's EXACTLY like his verse in Suit & Tie. Yes, it definitely is. Is this the same exact verse? I'm pretty sure it is. WAAAAAIT HE JUST SAID "I EAT THE CAKE, ANIME". JAY Z JUST FUCKING USED THE WORD 'ANIME' AS A PUNCHLINE. THIS IS THE BEST SONG I'VE EVER HEARD. Am I supposed to be like explaining what these songs are like? I don't know what kind of music this is. "
No Kitty, he did not use the word "Anime". Rather....
"When Alex Hardy sets Kitty Pryde to rights about the lyrics “eat the cake Anna Mae” in “Drunk in Love,” it’s a reminder of how flippant people have been with black entertainment. Pryde believes that Jay Z is referencing Japanese anime and uses it to dismiss the track as nonsense. In reality, the lyric is a reference to a scene in the Tina Turner biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It” where Ike forces Tina to eat a cake for their anniversary, and it has a very specific meaning. Is it problematic? Yes, but rather than being a silly throwaway, it may refer to Beyoncé and Jay Z’s relationship and possible bedroom talk between the two. Rather than wonder what it meant, Pryde simply dismisses it, something far too common when it comes to references to black culture." [Source]
That's a kind check from Salon. The real check comes from Chris Alexander writing over at "the colored boy" in an open letter to Pryde , and it is a must read from one of the talented young writers on the web.
Here is an example:
"Look, White Writerperson, I imagine your cozy Cave of White Clulessness is comfy and fantastic. I'm sure it has central air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter and a friendly, well-dressed Negro gentleman at the door to help you with a smile when your non-burdens get too heavy to bear on your own. And all the coleslaw and unseasoned chicken one could ever want, I'm sure. Color me
But here's where you get to be a good Privileged Person and learn about a culture other than your own. I know Chimamanda, a Regular Black Person Who Isn't Doing Anything Worth "Borrowing," isn't a pop culture icon. But do yourself a favor and look her up. She wrote Half of a Yellow Sun, for fuck's sake.
To suggest that Miley would dig deep enough into the barrel of Blackness, doing overtime at the Appropriation Station to adopt a Nigerian pseudonym is telling: You, too, know how serious your skinfolk take their culture vulturing. It's a full time job. So vast, our Sea of Awesomeness, right?...
...That's because Jay Z was referencing a pivotal scene in What's Love Got To Do With It? wherein a high Ike Turner forcefully suggests that Tina Turner, real name Anna Mae Bullock, eat the cake that he ordered to celebrate their upcoming tour.
There are no rappers in the movie, so I understand if you don't care. But:
There are no rappers in the movie, so I understand if you don't care. But:
Catch a charge I might, beat the box up like Mike
In '97 I bite, I'm Ike, Turner, turn up
Baby no I don't play, now eat the cake, Anna Mae
Said, "Eat the cake, Anna Mae!"
I've just let you in on a Black inside joke. Like 2520 and the whole wet dog thing. Again, you're welcome. I don't blame you for not recognizing that reference because I can admit that I don't understand certain things about your culture, such as why Flo Rida is a thing. (That's your fault, not ours.)" [Entire article]
Yep. It got that deep because she went there. Where? To places that white privilege can't always take her.
