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Do you think this is racist?

SheWolf

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I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?


(video has translation)



 
I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?


(video has translation)




People just throw the word racist around too much. I mean it wasn't too long ago that people were claiming a GAP commercial was racist. And even some were claiming that certain Halloween costumes are racist.

And also people get offended way too easily these days.
 
I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?

I have no experience in India, but I do know that skin-whitening is big business in Southeast Asia - I've seen large bill boards for it in the Philippines and advertisements in Thailand, and I'm sure that if I Googled around, I'd find clinics and skin-whitening cream for sale throughout the rest of SE Asia. It's a bit embarrassing for me to see those signs...

...but if you'll think about it, how much money do we white Americans spend on having a good tan? The skin is always nicer on the other side of the genetic fence, I guess....
 
I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?


(video has translation)







Hmmmm..

A man sings of his love for a brown skinned woman, and it's racist. But a hair color commercial is not.

You know, it just might have something to do with the fact an Arab-looking guy says "White chicks, I don't like them anymore."

I wonder why it's thought to be racism, as the video objectifies women and bases like and dislike on the color of the wrapping paper.

Sexism it is, Yoda says
 
I think the song would have been fine without putting down "white chicks". I also don't think it's a big enough of a deal to get all butthurt about it. Perhaps it is a little racist but how people react to something this small is their own decision.

What should be of more concern is that it seems more misogynistic than racist. Definitely not respectful of women.
 
Now that I've had time to dwell on it, maybe he shouldn't have said the phrase 'white chicks', so this wouldn't be confused by people as being racist. Maybe he could've substituted another word, or just reworded the verse in it's entirety.
 
Hmmmm..

A man sings of his love for a brown skinned woman, and it's racist. But a hair color commercial is not.

You know, it just might have something to do with the fact an Arab-looking guy says "White chicks, I don't like them anymore."

I wonder why it's thought to be racism, as the video objectifies women and bases like and dislike on the color of the wrapping paper.

Sexism it is, Yoda says

The funny thing is, it reminded me of the song Gold Digger. Kayne sang, "he gonna leave yo ass for a white girl." A black rapper singing that didn't cause a bunch of controversy that I am aware of. If somebody says he is going to go for a white girl, it seems like nobody complains. I am starting to believe the default position is that they all want white girls, so it's OK to say they want white girls. This brown guy says he doesn't like them anymore, and people get offended, meanwhile darker skinned women are putting lighteners on.

As a female, I have noticed men of particular racial groups think they need to protect their women from other racial groups. In America, it's the most obvious between white women and black men. White women who have been with black men get called slurs like "mud sharks," and certain white guys look at the like they are polluted. I have never been able to understand or relate to those feelings... maybe it's because I am a female... :shrug:
 
The video and the OP's topic reminded me of 2 things.

1: It reminded me of a video I saw earlier today where a woman from El Salvador was talking about things that she found unique to American culture. Her #1 pick was political correctness and how people get upset about the littlest things where as where she came from nicknames were actually given to people based on their skin color, weight, height etc etc and it was thought of as a term of endearment and not as something bigoted or racist.

2: I found it interesting that certain words were said in English even though the flow of the rest of the phrase was said in, I'm guessing, Indian. Is it done because there is no similar word in Indian? Or is it done because it just sound cooler? For example is the word "kiss" the same in both languages or is it different but they wanted to use the English version for the difference in sound effect. I've actually seen this kind of thing in a few different video's also and that's part of the reason that I bring it up.

As for whether its racist or not, :shrug: I don't think so. Every person on this planet has their preferences as far as compatibility goes and imo 99.99% of people don't even know it until they find The One. Though they may think that they do.
 
The funny thing is, it reminded me of the song Gold Digger. Kayne sang, "he gonna leave yo ass for a white girl." A black rapper singing that didn't cause a bunch of controversy that I am aware of. If somebody says he is going to go for a white girl, it seems like nobody complains. I am starting to believe the default position is that they all want white girls, so it's OK to say they want white girls. This brown guy says he doesn't like them anymore, and people get offended, meanwhile darker skinned women are putting lighteners on.

As a female, I have noticed men of particular racial groups think they need to protect their women from other racial groups. In America, it's the most obvious between white women and black men. White women who have been with black men get called slurs like "mud sharks," and certain white guys look at the like they are polluted. I have never been able to understand or relate to those feelings... maybe it's because I am a female... :shrug:



It is a form of racism in itself not to acknowledge a racial difference.

I suppose things are much different here, as mixed couples are really quite common. Interracial dating has always been a hot potato, when I first went to Montreal I dated a very Jewish girl, who I found out was dating me because I am Goy, and as a sort of prestige in her group.

I do, though, know that my late wife, who was Chinese, and I often got a chilly if not hostile reception in the US, outside of Hawaii. Border agents were particularly rude, and there was one my wife wanted to skin alive. I don't know if his being black was at its roots, but we encountered the same guy several times when we were socializing in Belingham.

Perhaps the phobia is an ancient instinct from when we lived in caves, but it seems silly actually. But then I have never understood racism anyway. I just don't get it; the way I figure the more we interact, eventually we will all be pretty much one race with variations on skin color as that's what we are anyway
 
I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?


(video has translation)





Based on your description, I'd say not. Racism is predicated on the superiority of one race over another, or all others. What this is about is an esthetic preference.
Not racist.
 
The video and the OP's topic reminded me of 2 things.

1: It reminded me of a video I saw earlier today where a woman from El Salvador was talking about things that she found unique to American culture. Her #1 pick was political correctness and how people get upset about the littlest things where as where she came from nicknames were actually given to people based on their skin color, weight, height etc etc and it was thought of as a term of endearment and not as something bigoted or racist.

2: I found it interesting that certain words were said in English even though the flow of the rest of the phrase was said in, I'm guessing, Indian. Is it done because there is no similar word in Indian? Or is it done because it just sound cooler? For example is the word "kiss" the same in both languages or is it different but they wanted to use the English version for the difference in sound effect. I've actually seen this kind of thing in a few different video's also and that's part of the reason that I bring it up.

As for whether its racist or not, :shrug: I don't think so. Every person on this planet has their preferences as far as compatibility goes and imo 99.99% of people don't even know it until they find The One. Though they may think that they do.


There are a lot of cultures that see north America in strange ways, but the two that are always present are 1) Canadians are polite to a fault and 2) Americans are easily excited. What is also universal I have found, is that when the same distinctions are made of the visitors to our shores they become immediately insulted. This is especially true with British, German, and French travelers.

Americans love it here, they love us, but hate the fact there are no expressways in Vancouver and we really hate guns.

An interesting story, I was at the international marijuana day festival April 20, where pot is sold openly and people get really, really stupid. An Austrian young man who had been living in Holland told me Canada was to "militarized" with police everywhere. He was particularly incensed they wore guns. As I was leaving an American couple commented on the civility of the event, but noted "you have no police here...why is that.?
 
The video doesn't rock me for a number of reasons. In the context of Indian culture it may not be racist.

Indian ladies, Asian ladies and Latinas have always knocked me out. Am I a racist? My wife says look but don't touch or I will be a eunuch, regardless.

People like what they like and they often change their minds. I've never been that attracted to blonde women. Maybe that is because I am a blonde guy. Spice of life and all that. Red heads are beautiful, as are brunettes. Lately Rosario Dawson just knocks me the hell out. And forever there is Rae Dawn Chong. Ladies with jet black hair are exotic. But I have had a few relationships with blonde ladies and I wouldn't change a thing.

Am I a racist?

Do I not like white women? I'm very married to one. I hung up my guns many years ago. No regrets.

And I still have my cajones.
 
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I listen to a variety of music, and I recently noticed a lot of people are offended by this song/video and saying it's RACIST... :doh .... The song and lyrics has caused some interesting conversations about skin tone and beauty, and even culture.

The song is from India. The singer is really attracted to a woman, but it's different for him because she is a dark/dusky Indian girl. He sings that he usually likes white girls, but she is so beautiful he doesn't like them anymore. Dark skinned women in India really like the song. They say the love the song, it makes them proud, and it is well known that Indian women feel pressure to lighten their skin tone.

But the song is also upsetting people by the fact that he says, "white chicks, I don't like them anymore." They say the entire song is "racially divisive," a white man could never sing that he doesn't like dark women, etc. etc.

Personally, I don't see where all the anger is coming from, and I think this relates to the Lil Kim, skin whitening story.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Is the video racist? Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?


(video has translation)





I've always wondered about this one. Especially the last line:
https://youtu.be/mEhHeILa3HE
 
Does anybody have any cultural insight as to white skin in India?

Well, there was a historical tendency to view a lighter skin color as more beautiful or more symbolic of nobility, even if it had no direct relation to the caste system (Hindu). Heroic fictional figures were generally described as lighter skinned.

The Brits also pushed the idea that whiter is better for quite some time.
 
I have noticed people from india will talk to each other in hindi, and then they will suddenly switch to english. I have noticed it in movies and music too. I was just watching a movie without subtitles, and I was following along easily because of the mixture of english and hindi. I have no explanation for it. I guess it could be because english is so useful to know. I have also noticed certain phrases have caught on... phrases like selfie, awesome, what's up, etc.

The majority of the media I consume from India has some english language in it. It could be because they are trying to reach more audiences.


As to your first point, I would guess our PC culture has a lot to do with our history of marginalization and exploitation. I remember studying colonization history, and some explorers noted how native people didn't even have the concept of "thank you" in their language until their access to resources was disrupted and exploited.

The video and the OP's topic reminded me of 2 things.

1: It reminded me of a video I saw earlier today where a woman from El Salvador was talking about things that she found unique to American culture. Her #1 pick was political correctness and how people get upset about the littlest things where as where she came from nicknames were actually given to people based on their skin color, weight, height etc etc and it was thought of as a term of endearment and not as something bigoted or racist.

2: I found it interesting that certain words were said in English even though the flow of the rest of the phrase was said in, I'm guessing, Indian. Is it done because there is no similar word in Indian? Or is it done because it just sound cooler? For example is the word "kiss" the same in both languages or is it different but they wanted to use the English version for the difference in sound effect. I've actually seen this kind of thing in a few different video's also and that's part of the reason that I bring it up.

As for whether its racist or not, :shrug: I don't think so. Every person on this planet has their preferences as far as compatibility goes and imo 99.99% of people don't even know it until they find The One. Though they may think that they do.
 
I don't understand racism either. I am casual friends with a few prejudice/racist people. It's a pervasive part of how they view the world, so I am constantly reminded that they have that attitude even when I avoid talking about race itself. Listening to them has made me realize a few things about being prejudice and racist. It requires overlooking a lot of inconsistencies in human behavior. They make broad declarations about black people, mexican people, etc. Then I typically say, what about Jennifer and Tommy... they aren't like that... but that's because they are exceptional. They aren't like the rest of them. It's so funny sometimes, and other times it can be disturbing. People like that don't hear themselves.


It is a form of racism in itself not to acknowledge a racial difference.

I suppose things are much different here, as mixed couples are really quite common. Interracial dating has always been a hot potato, when I first went to Montreal I dated a very Jewish girl, who I found out was dating me because I am Goy, and as a sort of prestige in her group.

I do, though, know that my late wife, who was Chinese, and I often got a chilly if not hostile reception in the US, outside of Hawaii. Border agents were particularly rude, and there was one my wife wanted to skin alive. I don't know if his being black was at its roots, but we encountered the same guy several times when we were socializing in Belingham.

Perhaps the phobia is an ancient instinct from when we lived in caves, but it seems silly actually. But then I have never understood racism anyway. I just don't get it; the way I figure the more we interact, eventually we will all be pretty much one race with variations on skin color as that's what we are anyway
 
Based on your description, I'd say not. Racism is predicated on the superiority of one race over another, or all others. What this is about is an esthetic preference.
Not racist.

I agree. If you're not attracted to a certain racial group, it doesn't make your racist.
 
I am surprised that the Indians had favoritism for lighter skin before colonization. I didn't know that, but that is very interesting.

Well, there was a historical tendency to view a lighter skin color as more beautiful or more symbolic of nobility, even if it had no direct relation to the caste system (Hindu). Heroic fictional figures were generally described as lighter skinned.

The Brits also pushed the idea that whiter is better for quite some time.
 
I don't understand racism either. I am casual friends with a few prejudice/racist people. It's a pervasive part of how they view the world, so I am constantly reminded that they have that attitude even when I avoid talking about race itself. Listening to them has made me realize a few things about being prejudice and racist. It requires overlooking a lot of inconsistencies in human behavior. They make broad declarations about black people, mexican people, etc. Then I typically say, what about Jennifer and Tommy... they aren't like that... but that's because they are exceptional. They aren't like the rest of them. It's so funny sometimes, and other times it can be disturbing. People like that don't hear themselves.



I stopped having "friends" like that 20 years ago partly because I no longer have any tolerance for it, and because my wife was Chinese Canadian.

I don't have time to listen to prejudice, I am 67 and heard it all. It's boring.
 
I may eventually stop being friends with them too. My husband and I can see some signs of their judgement creeping into their perception of us. One recent event is that I want to travel with my husband through the middle east and west Asia. He constantly goes to the east for his job, and we have a lot of friends from India right now. He also frequents Dubai and Islamabad. A friend of ours keeps telling me not to travel, and she talks like I am going to be sitting on the ground in a cave all day surrounded by terrorists while my husband will be trotting around an AK47. She thinks I am nuts. My husband says he wouldn't take me anywhere unsafe, and he knows what regions are safe. The cities he goes to are world class cities, but she doesn't listen. She talks like she knows more than him :lol: and he has spent most of his life traveling that region.

Before she met my husband she warned me that she saw a movie about a man took his wife to Iran, chained her to the stove and constantly beat her until she escaped... something like that. I think she should know my husband wouldn't do that to me, because she knows him now. I don't understand her concern for me at this point. She isn't an idiot, and her cousin actually works in Dubai. I think she should know what kind of cities we will be going to, right? I don't understand her attitude.



I stopped having "friends" like that 20 years ago partly because I no longer have any tolerance for it, and because my wife was Chinese Canadian.

I don't have time to listen to prejudice, I am 67 and heard it all. It's boring.
 
2: I found it interesting that certain words were said in English even though the flow of the rest of the phrase was said in, I'm guessing, Indian. Is it done because there is no similar word in Indian? Or is it done because it just sound cooler? For example is the word "kiss" the same in both languages or is it different but they wanted to use the English version for the difference in sound effect. I've actually seen this kind of thing in a few different video's also and that's part of the reason that I bring it up.

Hindi, not Indian, or one of a billion dialects of it. And all Indians learn English at school, so if you ever listen to Indians talking, they throw in a few English words and phrases, because meanings can have subtle differences in Hindi, and English isn't a very subtle language.
 
The American left have been using race in a devisive way for way too long. They realize they can destroy political enemies simply by labelling them racist, or intimidate dissenters by essentially threatening to label anyone racist who doesn't go along with them on illegal immigration amnesty, open borders motivated policies etc.

As a result of the almost constant drumbeat of race baiting, many progressives as well as everyday Americans have become hyper-sensitized to anything that they illegitimately view as racist. But remember, according to many progressives, only white people can really be racist in America, so it's almost never racist for a non white person to behave in ways that would certainly be considered racist if he or she were white....It would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad and ridiculous.
 
I may eventually stop being friends with them too. My husband and I can see some signs of their judgement creeping into their perception of us. One recent event is that I want to travel with my husband through the middle east and west Asia. He constantly goes to the east for his job, and we have a lot of friends from India right now. He also frequents Dubai and Islamabad. A friend of ours keeps telling me not to travel, and she talks like I am going to be sitting on the ground in a cave all day surrounded by terrorists while my husband will be trotting around an AK47. She thinks I am nuts. My husband says he wouldn't take me anywhere unsafe, and he knows what regions are safe. The cities he goes to are world class cities, but she doesn't listen. She talks like she knows more than him :lol: and he has spent most of his life traveling that region.

Before she met my husband she warned me that she saw a movie about a man took his wife to Iran, chained her to the stove and constantly beat her until she escaped... something like that. I think she should know my husband wouldn't do that to me, because she knows him now. I don't understand her concern for me at this point. She isn't an idiot, and her cousin actually works in Dubai. I think she should know what kind of cities we will be going to, right? I don't understand her attitude.

Most if not all racists are also gossips. Their too stupid to read a newspaper so their world view is established through the gossip of their peers. They see a dark skinned person and immediately make assumptions. I close friend of mine, I guy a trust with my life is a Sikh, Indian with turban, dagger, the whole package. People cannot make the distinction between a Sikh turban and the head wear of terrorists. He no longer takes his engineering expertise to the US.
 
Most if not all racists are also gossips. Their too stupid to read a newspaper so their world view is established through the gossip of their peers. They see a dark skinned person and immediately make assumptions. I close friend of mine, I guy a trust with my life is a Sikh, Indian with turban, dagger, the whole package. People cannot make the distinction between a Sikh turban and the head wear of terrorists. He no longer takes his engineering expertise to the US.

That reminds me of this crazy guy who shot a "Muslims terrorist" shortly after 9/11 at a gas station because he was wearing a turban. But it turned out it was actually a Sikh turban.
 
That reminds me of this crazy guy who shot a "Muslims terrorist" shortly after 9/11 at a gas station because he was wearing a turban. But it turned out it was actually a Sikh turban.



Sikhs are the most discriminated against people on the planet. Like Jews, they had their homeland stolen from them by the British, to resolve Islamic issues...which is why Pakistan is Muslim and Indian has five faiths.

Having lived among them 30 years, I have found them to astonishingly trustworthy, very friendly once approached, loyal to their marrow. A cab driver I talked to once about why he liked Canada. "I don't like Canada. I love Canada. India I was born, Canada is my home...I would die for her!"

I was born here, have lived here most of my life and I have never heard a Canadian EVER say they would die for Canada. The fact is, knowing their culture, the man was deadly honest. We had bit of a controversy over Sikh's wearing turbans as part of the RCMP uniform. Knowing their general attitudes, when I see a Mountie in a turban I'm, filled with pride.
 
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