#racism

[torchlitinthedesert]

I'd be curious to hear your Ob-la-di Ob-la-da take lol

I claimed Ob-la-di Ob-la-da as a political song. No, I'm not kidding.

Obviously, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da isn't a protest song. It's a perky ska-style number about the happy, everyday life of an immigrant family. And it was released in 1968, when immigration had just become the most inflammatory topic in British politics.

In spring 1968, the UK government proposed a new Race Relations bill, making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to anyone on the grounds of race or national origin. It was a response to racism, particularly against recent immigrants, especially those from the Caribbean.

Cue a lot more racism, most notoriously from politician Enoch Powell, who gave what is still commonly referred to today as the "Rivers of blood" speech. Powell ranted about sending "the immigrant and immigrant-descended population" back to the countries they or their families had once come from. He was particularly freaked out by the idea that, having come to Britain, people would settle down and - horrors - have babies, eventually outnumbering the white population. Powell was sacked by his party the next day, but he sparked a horrible wave of racist protest and abuse.

All this was brewing over the summer, as The Beatles worked on the White Album, and on this song. What is Ob-la-di Ob-la-da about? It's an everyday love story. The ska style frames Desmond and Molly as Jamaican - which, in a British context, strongly suggests that they're immigrants. The song builds a happy ending out of exactly the things that racists like Powell were terrified that immigrants would do. They work, get married, and have children, who grow up and help with the family business. Life going on, happy ever after.

The Beatles were certainly aware of the tensions sparked by Powell, immigration and the Race Relations Act; they were still talking about it, and trying to write a protest song about it, in the Get Back sessions in January 1969. Ob-la-di Ob-la-da doesn't talk directly about any of that. Its subjects - work, home, children - are the sort of thing that 1970s rock journalists would put down as Paul's normie bourgeois sensibilities.

But normie is where most people live. The song presents Desmond and Molly as deeply relatable. It assumes that their happy ending is something everyone can root for and sing along with. That is not an apolitical act, particularly not in Britain in 1968.

And people did sing along, in their millions. Ob-la-di was staggeringly popular. The Beatles didn't release it as a single in the UK or the US (though it topped charts in Australia, Japan and Europe). There were multiple competing cover versions. One by the band Marmalade went to No 1 in Britain, and sold about a million copies. Paul's own favourite cover was by The Bedrocks, whose members were all first-generation immigrants from the Caribbean.

(Obviously, there are other questions here about race, music, and appropriation; The Beatles, and most of the artists doing cover versions, are white people singing black music. Hello, history of western popular music.)

As I said, this isn't a protest song. But it has been sung in protest. @beatleshistoryblog found this great footage from a Women's March in London in 1971. Just listen to the first seconds: la la la la life goes on.

[girlactionfigure]

The UN Secretary-General decided not to include Hamas on the list of sexual violence perpetrators. This decision comes despite findings in the report on Hamas’s sexual violence, which explicitly acknowledged the link between the October 7th attack and systematic and targeted sexual violence.

Artist: Ronny Gordon

TICP - The Israeli Cartoon Project

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is promising to escalate her party’s attempts to overturn a ban on wearing the keffiyeh inside Queen’s Park when legislators return at the beginning of May. In a video posted to social media, Stiles said that if Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not push to overturn a ban on the Arab headdress, she and her entire caucus would defy the rules. Speaker Ted Arnott banned the keffiyeh, a black and white checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures and often used to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians, this spring. Arnott decided it was a “political statement” and therefore violated the strict rules that stop MPPs from using props or clothing to send a message while sitting inside the house.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

[yasmeensh]

Book rant? Anthropology, apes, and racism discussion.

I started reading a book titled "Bonobo Handshake" by Vanessa Woods. I picked it up because a) I want to learn more about bonobos since my knowledge of them is minimal. b) the author had interacted with bonobos in person so it's an interesting perspective to read. c) the book had positive reviews.

I was not expecting the author to start off telling us about the 'discovery' of bonobos in this way.

W-what do you mean, in Belgium? The author makes it clear that bonobos live in Congo and she gives us a few examples of local bonobo lore. Meaning, people in Congo know the bonobos very well. Way to go to give a colonizer the credit??? wtf. In this perspective, she is letting us know THAT was the moment when Bonobos entered western science, which is true. But I was really hoping the author would give it a more holistic view than this, but it seems she really believes in this??? And let me tell you, from what I am picking up between the lines, she ONLY accepts western science. Here is an example:

This is the page that confuses me immensely. I don't know if she is trying to come off as sarcastic or not. She sets out for us that Takayoshi Kano is the star of Bonobo research, but in the next paragraph says there is no one studying Bonobos. "there was never a Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey for bonobos." UHM NO? YOU JUST SAID THERE WAS???

[highlighting and writing over a picture of the page (32) since it's a library book and I can't write on it.]

She says Japanese researchers are responsible for all we know on Bonobos, but then starts talking about de Waal's zoo discoveries in detail, and they seem pretty minor compared to Kano's work with wild bonobos. She did point out that scientists don't take de waal's observations seriously because it's from a zoo, but she doesn't remedy that by telling us if it can be supported by Kano's work or not when compared. Kano is ignored. He does have one book available in English, so it's not like we can't ever learn about what he observed. you said western mainstream media don't want to listen to a man who only spoke Japanese??? UHM. You are too??? Why did you jump to de waal? If it's a book about bonobos, then please give Kano a little spotlight and tell about his research. (I actually want to read Kano's book now but I can't find a borrowable copy of it. It's a complicated long loop to get one. But it's possible T-T!!!!)

I very much dislike her tone in 'oh it's the Japanese that tell us about bonobo'. It is as if no one is actually researching them at all. They are 'foreign' so it doesn't count. Meanwhile, if it's a white person's discovery, it is humanity's. But if it's someone else theeennnn well we are not sure if it's actually real :/ Not until a white person observes this can we really put this into humanity's archive of knowledge. Otherwise, whatever they learnt is not very important or worth talking about.

I'm not gonna drop the book, because it does get me thinking about stuff and that's what I read books for. I guess it reminds me of University days, of how irritated I get when we are assigned a problematic reading to pick apart and present to class. I hope I'm not picking this apart too much 😭 I'm not sure if I'm enraged and reading too much into it. I might be totally wrong. idk... I think I need to join an anthropology book club to have people to talk with about this. Only way for now is to share on the internet and maybe a discussion starts. Want to see what others think of this (especially if they read the book).

[vague-humanoid]

[animentality]

[thexphial]

New research being done at University of Washington regarding using "anti-Christian bias" to talk about white grievance.

[bea-needs-a-break]

Um remember that boy who told me to Kms?

Well, now he's gone and attacked another kid. As in, pushed him to the ground continuously kicking him, calling him slurs and telling him to go back to his country. He found him on the way back from school, and kicked and punched this kid till he drew blood, calling him the n-word. The kid he attacked is 2 years younger than me. This boy committed a literal hate crime.

His parents let him do it and refusing to speak to the victim's parents.

And my old school won't do anything about it.

Ugh.

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

Aemond was not only making fun of twins’ deceased mother and threatening to feed Baela to Vhagar but also being little bitch to Rhaena FOR NO REASON with the pig joke when the one who made fun of him the most was his own brother ? Baela and Rhaena didn’t even know him like that what the hell ?

That’s why I will NEVER buy that “b*llied and oppressed child” act they wanna sell, the first thing Aemond did after gaining some kind of power was to insult absolutely unrelated to his bullying orphan girls who just lost their mother instead of his big brother.

I just can’t stand the insensitivity from Aemond or his stans defending him, in regards to the whole “well if she wanted Vhagar she should’ve claimed her then”... she literally just lost her mother, pretty sure claiming a dragon was one of the last things on her mind. Plus she obviously thought she’d have time, and didn’t consider her cousin would pull a move like claiming her mother’s dragon, RIGHT AT THE WOMAN’S FUNERAL. Like c’mon, now.

Aemond stans pass him a lot of things, if not everything he does. The fucking show has turn him into some "poor bullied baby oppressed by the big bad bastards" even though he is kind of a psycho. They really forget that Aemond tried to claim Dreamfyre even though she was already claimed by Helaena, he didn't care as long as he had a dragon because he thought he deserved it.

I've seen people compare show Aemond to school shooters and I agree.

What he did to Baela and Rhaena wouldn't be so defended if the girls were played by white actresses.

[ancientorigins]

In a world where discussions of immigration and national identity often spark controversy, Britain's history offers a complicated story that challenges certain nationalist and anti-immigration policies. From the ancient Romans to the post-World War II Windrush Generation, waves of immigrants have left an indelible mark on British culture.

Robert Winder's seminal work, “Bloody Foreigners,” sheds light on this rich tapestry of diversity, revealing how seemingly quintessential aspects of Britishness are, in fact, imports from other cultures.

Delving into Britain's multicultural past uncovers a story of resilience, adaptation and integration, where cultural exchanges have contributed to Britain's national identity. In fact, many aspects held dear as quintessentially "British" are actually cultural imports integrated into everyday life.

[peonierose]

I was made aware that my art works, the one I commissioned for my birthday made Bryce and Keiki appear white washed. I apologize for any pain I caused anyone. I merely meant to celebrate my birthday and gift myself something small.

I haven’t caught the mistake until it was too late. I took down my original post and I reached out to everyone who has interacted with the post and kindly asked them to delete their post. I have not done this on purpose, and I didn’t say or give any instructions to make Bryce or Keiki appear lighter. I apologize to the people I hurt by sharing this white washed art of Bryce and Keiki. It was racist. I can only say I will be more mindful in the future.