DHS employee put on leave after wearing 'offensive' costume

Well this is the epitome of ridiculousness....and, I agree, white skin would have been ok? This society is so ultra sensitive over what they perceive as racial issues -- it's like a hair-trigger set to go off. So bend over Ms Myers and join the crowd.

 

It looked to me like the white guy in the convict suit went in black face...which, to be fair, would be racially charged.

 

Now, now, Tal, don't you know that PC is a liberal-only phenomena? The DHS is run by so-called conservatives, ergo it isn't PC.

To be fair, whites using makeup to, um, look black is very racially charged. It's where the phrase 'Jim Crow' comes from, after all.

 

Ok... I will try to be as polite as I can when I say this....but -- here's my view on it:

Blacks scream the racist card when they view other races singling them out for whatever reason -- essentially treating them differently than everyone else. But, in fact, they go to great lengths themselves to ostracize THEMSELVES, by separating themselves from the rest, wanting special priviledges, special notice, special commendations, etc.

At my university last week, they elected a Miss Black NSU. Do we have a Miss White NSU? or a Miss Hispanic NSU? Hell no. Are black women barred from the regular Miss NSU contest? Absolutely not. And there are any number of examples of this -- Black History Month. Do we have a White History Month? Hell no. Also...at our school, in the cafeteria....they isolate themselves from the whites ON PURPOSE. They are loud, make scenes....when other students are just trying to eat in peace. It seems it's ok for them to use the race card for their advantage, but when people comment on them AS THAT RACE, they get their feathers ruffled and twist comments to their advantage and ultimately demand an apology Enough is enough. I say they can't have it both ways,

 

Well, there's a lot of history in the US tied up in black face (none of it positive towards blacks) and there's also an extraordinarily severe discrepancy in the way the criminal justice system treats blacks vs the way it treats whites. Not only are the repeatedly unfairly profiled, but they also receive much stricter sentences than whites for the same crimes even when they have the same criminal record. The "all blacks are criminals" stereotype is a lot stronger than you think in the south, and even here in Iowa*. In taking offense to this idiot's (any American that didn't grow up under a rock that who wouldn't expect negative consequences for attending a party with his co-workers wearing a convict costume in black face is either a moron or hopelessly naive. Probably both.) costume choice, all these elements are at play. That said, I do believe that the folks that were offended had a right to be offended, but I don't think this idiot should be fired for it.

*This really shouldn't be surprising though. Iowa is often considered the worst place in the US to be black. The incarceration rate for blacks is around 12 times that of whites (the worst disparity in the country), primarily because blacks in Iowa get something in the area of 3 times the prison time as whites do for identical crimes with identical records.

 

Couldn't agree more. And more importantly, welcome back Spelly! Haven't seen you around in a long while.

 

I can see both sides of this. I think a black man painting his face white with a bullwhip in hand would have also been offensive. There was a racial slight in the costume -- the guy could have gone as a white convict, just as a black guy could go as a black convict, with no offense. But once he chose to change his race for the costume, and depict that race in a negative way, it became a racial slight. Had he chosen to be George Washington Carver there would have been no problems.

On the other side... it was just a costume party... lighten up DHS.

 

Hi Aldeth! Nice to see you!

 

Well.. it is racist, isn't it?

Why did he feel the need to black himself up? Surely only to fit into the stereotype that black people are criminals. You couldn't get away with that here, either. if he didn't black himself up, he would've been fine. It was unnecessary to do it.

 

When I was a little kid, I remember my parents blacking me up to play a hobo. But then we called it just putting soot on to show dirt I guess. Wasn't meant to pertain to any race in particular.

 

I'm not offended by it. I couldn't give a rats bum, but it IS racist. Whether or not some people are overly sensitive or not, and choose to react or not, it doesn't matter. It's still immensely stupid to think you could go to a works do dressed as a black man in a convict outfit and not piss some people off. Sacking is a bit harsh, but I suppose it had to be done. There's no need to 'change your race' to better fit a certain thing. If you do that, then people are going to throw the racist card at you, and if it's in work environment, you'll face punishment. He must have been pretty thick to think he could get away with it.

 

I'm sure if I went to a works party dressed as a terrorist, but darken my skin up and adopt an Asian accent I might stand a chance of getting 'most original' outfit. It'd still be racist as you're bracketing based on race, whether jokingly, very lightly or whatever. I don't get what there is to argue against to be honest.

He'd probably get away with it anywhere else, but work is a different matter. I don't think that getting sacked due to this kind of thing in the workplace is ridiculous really. It's quite understandable.

I saw your reasons, but I don't agree with them. If the guy in question was black, he'd have been fine. If he just went dressed as a convict, he'd have been fine. I don't see how making himself black added anything to the 'outfit'. He made a conscious decision to change his appearance of race, because black people have a stereotypical reputation for criminality. That's a decision based on race, to that race's detriment - racism, no?

I don't know if I'm missing something here or what, but I'm afraid I don't 'get' the other side of the coin here...

 

Let's flip it a bit:

Supposed a black man had come into the party painted white, with a coon dog by his side and dressed like the stereotypical southern red necks. Do you think the white population would be screaming racist? Yet, by your definition, that's exactly what he is. Would he have been fired for doing this? Would apologies need to be made all around? The answer I think is "no". Because I don't feel that whites are as ultra sensitive about the race card, as blacks are. Everyone would have had a few laughs and gone on to enjoy the party.

 

I agree that it's racist, for all the reasons Barmy cited. To suggest this doesn't have a racist overtone is to suggest that racism no longer exists, and that is clearly not the case. IMO, the guy deserves what he got just for being such a dumb-ass that he wouldn't think this would cause a stir.