#this is latino america erasure

[usaigi]

some of y'all need to learn the difference between whitewashing and colorism

[tainted-liquor]

racism and 'hiimayee'/'mayearies'

hi! so, I know Im not posting as frequently as I should be n I kinda fell off, BUT! theres a reason for that that I will be discussing today.

so, around maybe a month or so ago I was added to an insta gc with a handful of writers. Some being ash, maye, Dalia, a mutual friend named Ash, who we refer to as Lash, and a few others. Keep in mind, just so there is no misconception, the dominant population of this groupchat was both black and queer. I am not going to define who as its not relevant, and I would like to respect everyones privacy.

So, one day in the groupchat, we were all joking around when maye decided to call Dalia, aka @primaviva, a b--der h**per.

Now, for some who are confused lets go over the term 'b--der h**per' and its history.

This is a racial slur that aims to offend the Latino community, specifically Mexican immigrants. it is a callback to the border laws that prevent non-U.S. citizens from entering the United States without legal documentation, otherwise known as a passport or a 'green card' that will recognize you as a U.S. citizen. Throughout history, the government has made it harder and harder to apply for U.S. citizenship. Especially if the person attempting to migrate doesn't have the appropriate funds to finance this kind of migration. This is a form of systemic oppression to further segregate POC from White America, and this system has been critized in the past due to its nature and America even being stolen land.

As stated above, this slur is aimed at Mexican Immigrants. However, anyone of any culture can be an immigrant. When Maye knowingly said this to Dalia, not only was she using a derogatory term used to berate those who spent years trying to find a way towards a better life against her, but she was also grouping her in a category that is not her own. Dalia is NOT Mexican-American. She is puerto rican and dominican. So not only does this term not apply to her, it groups the entire Latino community in a giant umbrella of ignorance that erases her culture, and throws it under one title that is not her own.

To put this into perspective, lets use a hypothetical example.

Jen is Mexican-American. Her culture has deep roots that contributed to everyday history. While some components of her history may be similar to other Latino heritage, they are not the same and differ in many ways.

Gabriella is Puerto-Rican. She too has some similarites to other Latino/spanish speaking cultures, but there is an entirely different story to how her people came to be.

Grouping Jen and Gabriella together is ignorant. Doing this overlooks and dismisses their difference in history and boils their culture down to one small similarity; Spanish. You wouldn't call Gabriella a deragotory term that doesn't apply to her, because not only is it racist, but it also takes a massive eraser to her culture and roots. To put these two under the same roof and unite them under one thing is essentially telling them "you're all the same."

Cultural erasure is already a big problem in non-white communities. Anything that differs from European american history is already not talked about, but to do this is just a slap in the face.

And to put the icing on the cake, this was her apology. Which took her 3 tries...

#1, which was already an issue in itself...an emoji for racism is crazy.

#2, which still wasn't sufficient for racism...

And #3, in which she attempt to deflect the situation by saying we use "problematic language". Which, is only the n-word amongst each other. Because we're all black!

She even got defensive when Dalia assumed she was Latino due to how quickly the word was sent like it was normal. This was not a PROPER apology, regardless of how lengthy it was.

And to make matters worse, this isn't the first time she's been caught saying some racist/problematic shit.

This post is lengthy, and for that, I apologize. But I would like to address one last component of this post before I sign things off.

As you can see in one image, Maye cracked a joke about 'curry' when talking about Pakistani women's education activist Malala.

Let's take a moment to explain why this is problematic, and how cracking jokes about curry when on the topic of Pakistan is an issue.

Pakistan is a country in South Asia that neighbors India. This country has a beautiful and unique history of its own that very rarely is taught in classroom settings, just like I said earlier with any sort of history that is not European. One of the racial stereotypes of its South Asia is their 'abundance of curry', and all of their meals being some type of 'curry'

This is again an ignorant and narrow-minded ideology regarding the topic of race and its similarities to other countries that are similar in certain aspects. It pushes people into a marginalized box, and labels them as 'all the same'.

I ask that you do research before spreading a harmful narrative about peoples culture, and don't be ignorant. Thank you for taking time to read this post.

[murcielagatito]

idk how even to start this post bc wile im using miles morales as an example his actual comic race differs and this is the fault of people just straight up not understanding how race in regard to us puerto ricans works. and its all thanks to racism colorism and the depiction and representation of latinos in media

to fully understand this and how deeply we are affected we need to go alllll the way back to the beginning

its 1490whatever and cristobal colon has just discovered the americas. and on one particular island, boriken, he discovers a tribe, the tainos <3. we brought him gold and showed him kindness. and to make a long story short he fucked us over immensely. if we didnt bring meet his gold quota it was chopped off hands. he killed us he raped us he did countless atrocities. we were given a new name: puerto rico “rich port”. most americans know what happened to the many indigenous nations on the mainland but not many are taught about us the indigenous islanders. los tainos. we spanned across el caribe: jamaica, cuba, haiti, dominican republic and puerto rico (where im from!)

but dont get it twisted we didnt just roll over and take it. the very first freedom fighter, cacique (chief) hatuey fought with many other tainos to be liberated. unfortunately, he was executed in 1512 and that was that

one year later, in 1513, what imma call ‘phase two’ began. with him this time, colón brought enslaved africans to work the fields alongside tainos. its over for us. we are miserable, malnourished, and theres no escape. and as one does when youre live and work and die together, you love together. and love we did!

everyone who lived in puerto rico loved and loved and every combination possible of taino, african, and spaniard was born. and this has continued for 500 years. a caste was created. and that caste still hurts and affects us to this day. because all it was is colorism and racism. and after seeing the horrid takes about latinos in the spiderverse fandom and beyond…. well here we are now because somebodys gotta say it

but hellbaby? why did you have to add all the history stuff?because the way miles’ family was portrayed could have been awesome representation for many afrolatinos. and they fumbled big time. its not bad representation so dont twist my words. it just could have been better

the representation of latino families in hollywood has always been a bit…. stereotypical. and not just sterotypical but homogenized and caricaturized. anyone remember george lopez (the show)? when someone thinks about latinos NOW, the household names are pedro pascal, gina rodriguez, or oscar isaac. pale people!!! and then as fame works, jenna ortega and all the other pasty latina biddies are who rise to fame and household name status. everyone recognizes them ofc

but what about gina torres, laz alonso, rosie perez, judy reyes, tatyana ali, selenis leyva, amara la negra and many more? how many of these actors can you recognize from name alone? did you know theyre all afrolatino? (and did you know theyre in extemely well known movies and tv?)

how many stories in television do you know in this day and age that have afrolatino characters whose latinidad isnt ignored? i can name one off the top of my head. monse from on my block. a show revolving latinos that was relentlessly made fun of. like i get it its a comedy and its funny and fun. but latinos may as well be synonymous with getting laughed at at this point and we are soooooo fucking tired of it

it all boils down to one simple message. the erasure of black and indigenousness from the latino community. “miles is latino because his mom is latina” “miles is black and latino” its not something you can put into two separate labels. miles is a black latino. he is afrolatino. and that means a lot of things for a lot of different people but until you can understand that black people can also just be latino we will always be stuck in this horrible era of people assuming that afrolatinos cant just literally be black hispanics…

when miles morales was first announced to be the protagonist of spiderverse so many rasict ass latinos were upset. “why does an afrolatino have to be the first representation we get of a latino spiderman?” and many other things like that were said about him. “well the reason hes latino is only because of his mom” and just like that, the knowledge of the existence of black people that have been latino for centuries has gone down the drain. a new (old) misconception was brought back to the surface and popularized. and its gutwrenching and heartbreaking and horrible. black latinos exist and miles morales is afropuertoriqueño

there are so many nuances when it comes to race and latinodad that ppl just dont bother learning more about and how racism and colorism plays into it. and it has had many negative effects to how real life afrolatinos and indijenolatinos are perceived and treated. we arent asking for the impossible we’re just asking for recognition and understanding

[yaqamole]

HWS Spain In Relation To LatAM

So I made a post talking about how I don’t like when people make HWS Spain the father to all of LatAm so I want to expand a little as to why. This also applies for Brazil and Portugal but in this post I’ll be focusing on Hispanic Latin America

I feel that it really pushes the concept of mestizaje first of all which is really harmful to indigenous peoples in Latin America. There’s already a lot of erasure in regards to our indigenous populations as is and I feel that writing Antonio as a parent gives the impression that our history begins with colonialism which isn’t true.

I also feel that it insults a lot of the indigenous groups because it suggests Spain’s interactions were non-violent which is why he was able to produce a kid with whichever indigenous group these LatAm OCs come from. It just gives a poor impression of what actually went on during the colonial era.

Then there is the way it treats LatAm like a monolith instead of various countries with their own rich histories. So much history exists from before the Spanish arrived and it feels a little insulting to me to lump all of our nations together as one family simply because they speak the same language or have the same colonizer. To me, it gives the same energy as people calling all Latinos Mexican because they don’t bother to learn about the other countries that exist. Even unintentionally, it just leaves a sour taste that says “they’re all the same because they speak Spanish/were colonized by Spain”

LatAm is more than just a colonized part of the world and places that speak Spanish. Every country has rich history that deserves to be spoken about. So much of precolonial history actively impacts these cultures to this day. The indigenous groups that exist in our nations aren’t dead. They’re very much alive. They aren’t just some “ancients” (in the sense that they disappeared long ago). Colonization is still fairly recent in history. Many of these groups are still alive as much as our current countries might try to erase indigenous existence and contributions.

This isn’t to say you can’t make him a father to some of them. I can’t control what other people do. But these are my two cents regarding it. It just overall feels like it treats all of LatAm like a monolith, ignored the violence that Spain committed, erases indigenous contributions and history, and reduces LatAm to being just Spanish speaking and colonized by Spain.

[mueritos]

God everytime I see your anons the more I think people need to just go touch grass and talk to people.

People really out here getting accusatory because “oh you’re not a REALLLL MEXICAN” like good lord go lay in the sun

I honestly get more spanish white supremacist/TERFS than I do compared to other hate anons, and they make even less sense to me than normal TERFS. I don't experience racism or colorism, I am a latino with white privilege yet I also cannot deny that I have rarely been treated as white, and I do everything in my power to honor the fact that I am half indigenous. Yet other latinos get sooooo angry when I honor my indigenous ancestry by simply acknowledging it, because they believe the Spanish/Portuguese half trumps the indigenous ancestry (which is frankly leading into blood quantum and indigenous erasure). They hate that I am a detribalized mexican because to them me being born in the US automatically removes the fact that I grew up surrounded by mexicans (US born or not), in mexican culture, and that parents told me that I am Mexican first ALWAYS before I am American. But its no secret either that the people who try to get me in a "gotcha!" moment because I wasn't born in Mexico or because I'm too pale to possibly be Mexican are also the people who refuse to acknowledge my mixed ancestry as a Mexican, but also misgender me, call me a tr*nny, a communist (lol ur outing urself as a mini fascist there) and say that i'm nothing but a gringa despite the fact that no white person EVER has seen me as one of them. There is no point in drawing lines regarding who is what within ethnic, racial, or national identities, because that just refuses to acknowledge the real life history and experience of colonization, slavery, immigration, and borders changing. Being latine is an extremely broad identity, and people like myself, Lupita Nyong'o, and Anya Taylor-Joy prove more about latine diversity and history than latinos who try to gatekeep Latino America. I literally have more in common with those 2 women than any latine who gatekeeps the entire global south lol.

[angel-bi666]

I saw some people on tiktok saying that Namor wouldn't 'go for/like' mixed people, only for those that we're 'pure latinos' and that's the most offensive shit I've heard...

Namor HATES people from the surface (specially if we're talking about colonizers) and seeing what he saw the europeans doing to HIS people, I can only imagine his reaction after finding out what they did to other latin american countries. He wouldn't despise mixed people cause he knows all the mixing in their blood wasn't their choice (since those mixing was forced by the europeans as an way of erasure of the people that originally lived in those areas)

So yeah, saying Namor would be 'disgusted' or 'despise' mixed people from latin america as much as he's disgusted and hatefull of colonizers is just some bullshit

[helloitsalexsworld]

Disappearing Acts

This piece is a reflection of the inner battle of identity. As a Latina, identity is a difficult conversation. As many Latinos are mixed races or due to colonization of the Native Americans in North and South America. In many Latin cultures and societies, we as a community battle against the erasure of our Native roots and identities, especially in America. Due to the misinformation , in racial stereotypes and social issues surrounding immigration and politics. This piece allows us to openly understand the inner struggles and personification of forced conformity that most Latinos face when it comes to their own identity.

[brazilspill]

Acho lindo gringos tentando "educar" latino-americanos sobre termos corretos :) Amigue, diga que você é gringo descendente de latinos hispânicos, dizer qualquer outra coisa pega mal... (Aliás, você não vai conseguir ler isso sem tradução, apesar de saber falar um pouco de espanhol, né? Deve ser porque nem todo mundo na América Latina é hispânico...)

@delgado-master, Here's another ask regarding you.

I'll translate since you don't speak Spanish or Portuguese:

I love gringos trying to "educate" Latin Americans about correct terms :) Friend, say that you are a gringo descendant of Hispanic Latinos, saying anything else is looks bad… (By the way, you won't be able to read this without translation, despite know how to speak a little Spanish, right? It must be because not everyone in Latin America is Hispanic…)

I wouldn't question your being of Latino origins like anon, but I do question your usage of Hispanic. Perhaps it's the Canadian in me that accepts people saying they're ___-Canadian regardless of how connected they are to that culture, but the Latino part isn't a big point of contention for me.

Your erasure of 50% of Latin America, however, is.

[rosethreeart]

Hi, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I simply want to inform you on the fact that making the border states “AmeMex children” is a bit iffy to say the least.

Now, I’m not here to tell you what to ship and what not to, my only goal with this is to inform you.

- States like Texas and California already had populations of indigenous peoples and later on Spanish colonial settlers and Mexican ranchers before the arrival of the Americans to these areas. Deducing these states to AmeMex babies sort of ignores the history of said states prior to American annexation.

I understand your America isn’t white, this however doesn’t erase the very real history between the two nations. I myself am a Mexican person who lives and studies in the US, I thankfully haven’t experienced many aggressions by Americans, but I can clock the animosity towards us and other Latinos as well.

Again, you do not have to stop shipping them just because of this, I only ask you to please reconsider making Texas and California or any of the border states / former northern territories AmeMex children.

Hi thanks for reaching out and talking with me about this!

I’m sorry but do you mind elaborate on some things? /gen

Is the issue basically that there were people before the states existed? I am aware that there were people before, and I mentioned how I view there being different personification for these types of areas/situations (I talked about something similar in a post about hawai’i a few hours ago and mentioned the importance of acknowledging the differences between places before and after statehood, hence why the state is always born afterwards).

I don’t necessarily understand/see why them being mexame’s children would inherently mean that it’s ignoring or erasing the history. Wouldn’t making them be as if they had no connection to Mexico or something be worse and wouldn’t that actually be erasing it? They would obviously have to go through, well, history, in order to get to that point which in itself would be an acknowledgment of it, wouldn’t it?

I also don’t see why the indigenous groups would stop having a personification just because there’s a state there now?

I am also very aware that there is animosity towards Latinos and Hispanics here in the US as a mixed Latino myself. I don’t make America or some of the states as poc as a way to try to erase the history(I think that’s what you’re implying??) but rather to acknowledge it and the people that came before and currently live in them, and I’m sorry if it hasn’t been coming off that way.

I’m not sure if any of my reasonings make it better or anything but like I said I’m not sure why it would imply the erasure of history and not the acknowledgment of it instead.

[pinkpepsican-moved]

It's such a strange thing to think that this is what we're told, because in all honesty, it doesn't make any sense.

Using Diego as an example: I am a white woman, light-skinned, with brown-black hair (though my eyes are green while his are brown). In terms of skin tone/color, we look almost identical, despite me being of Irish heritage and him being of Mexican.

And yet our educational/governmental systems want us to believe that I am a white woman and that he is a man of color simply because he was born in Latin America?

The logic is so unbelievably racist and I can't believe that it never clicked before someone pointed it out to me. I am genuinely grateful for folks who have pointed out the problem, guided me (and others) to ways to learn and understand more, and have given us the opportunity to correct our upbringing.

Right! It’s very bizarre to me specially because I’m white, I have brown hair and eyes, but I’m very clearly of European descent(Italian specifically which some people also say are… spicy white?? Even though my whole family’s pale as vampires??) and a lot of Americans would still think of me as being a woman of color just because I was born in Latin America.

I think a lot of people perceive this annoyance Latinos have with saying we’re not white as a weird pride thing for white latinos sometimes but the real problem with it is the erasure of the problems actual POC face in Latin America. When you look at me, a white latina, who’s benefited from white privilege her whole life, and a black latina, who’s suffered racism her whole life, and say we’re both women of color you’re dismissing everything she went through that I never did. And all that because I was born south of the US border? I’ve never been to the US, I’ve never suffered any for being born here.

I’m really happy to see so many people I follow were super understanding of this though! Thank you for sending me this!

(Sorry it took me a bit to answer this, I was telling my mom about the whole thing. I need to share this interaction though DJSKDK

Me: Someone said Diego Luna is a MOC because he’s Mexican

Mom: *looks up Diego on google*

Mom, in complete disbelief: This guy? This is the guy they said wasn’t white?

Me: Yes

Mom: These people are crazy. Completely insane.)

[papirouge]

Ugh, believe me, i was also cringing at many of the comments on those threads. Supposedly, theres this trend of redhead characters being changed to being black, like Annie, Starfire, Mary Jane, or April from the ninja turtles.

Oh, and speaking of such, they were also whining because april is gonna be black in a new TMNT movie... She already was in the newest cartoon, but they wanted her to go back to being white. Also, whining about her being fat and unattractive. We're talking about a kid here, since shes younger in this incarnation, so why even care if shes hot 😭 I bet half these dudes dont even care about TMNT... To be fair, the TMNT fans did raise some hell when shredder was gonna be white in a movie, since hes originally japanese, but i doubt they're even the same ppl.

The little mermaid thing is just very sad. I feel specially bad for the actress, specially after finding out shes just 19! I hope shes just ignoring the comments, because some people can be really cruel. Even some latinos were against the decision - i think theyre quite divided, but many were making racist memes and all. I guess we cant always relay in 'poc solidarity' or whatever.

Another good point you raise is how the japanese and many other east asian countries don't care about the white race or sees them as equal (once a friend of mine actually got targeted when she went to Korea). Also, I remember reading somewhere that the japanese public liked the appearence of younger white people, basically pre-puberty, but disliked the adults, specially the men as they lose the 'soft features' from infancy.

And youre right, i really shouldnt be visiting these places: they only make me sad or angry. I dont know why sometimes i cant help but hateread those threads. When people are behind a screen, they really can spew the most vile shit thats on their minds. Like they always say, just dont read the comment section...

As I already said: every single person remotely bothered by the skin color, sexual orientation, gender or attractiveness of FICTIONAL CHARACTERS is way too old to watch/play whatever show or video game they are from. Period.

That being said, I think there's a psyop of Black characters being shoved into random thing to get White simpletons mad and seethe about White erasure. Of course, they'll never bother looking into WHO produce those show or pick these Black artists to be featured in them..... Whites need to sort between each other their obsession to use POC as props for their agendas.

Black people never bothered about The Little Mermaid or TMNT like that....sure, this (positive) representation is great and that's why the community got hyped (and let's be honest, seeing some Whites seething fueled even more fire bc one thing we Black ppl be good at is being petty lol) but to act like Black people/wokistan are actively trying to erase White people, heterosexuality, masculinity or whatever is ridiculous. Again: they have to go after the higher-ups responsible of those casting choice (not Twitter randos) - and chances are they arent Black, non-straight or female¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Taking a peep at top companies CEO entirely debunks the oppression complex narrative of antiwoke acting like the statuquo was under attack.... It's not. They just want to play the victim - while pretending to fight wokistan victim culture 🙄

Halle is perfect to play a mermaid. She had those slightly alienish features (her eyes are quite far apart lo') but still conventionally pretty. I can hardly think of any actress having the same energy. Maybe Ana Taylor Joy, but she's now botched and is an anachan which may sparks controversy if she ever gets casted in a Disney production....

And I'm absolutely not surprised to see Latinos hating lmao Latinos are huuuuge negrophobe and I'm side eyeing them so bad whenever they try to leverage their non Whiteness calling White "gringos" when they are themselves pale and are descendants of European colonizers in south America 💀 I mean look Argentinians priding themselves "not looking like a Disney movie" (= not visible Blacks in their population).....those people Looooove aligning themselves with White whenever it comes to diss Black people. Therefore Black people are extremely distrustful of Latinos anyway ; we see how they treat they darkskined citizens

POC solidarity is a myth. Unmelanated non-Whites hate actual people of COLOR, and all races look down on Black Africans...That's why I'm foremost defending MY people.

Yeah, there's this misconception of thinking that bc they dye their hair blonde and wear color contact, East Asian want to 'look White'. i think they definitely fancy the diversity of White ppl's phenotype such as the eye and hair color, but for pretty much all the rest, they cater to their own specific beauty standards (especially when it comes to bone structure and face proportion). White people tend to favor sharper bone structure while Asian are all about rounder and softer ones. I don't think Asians look up White people face structure (that make them look older and faster). This contrast was really striking with Kotakoti stunts in japanese magazines where she looked so out of place : despite her dolly blonde hair and blue eyes, she still had those strong adult Westerner features which were so different from her japanese pals' 🥴 (more soft and rounder)

East Asian beauty culture is hysterical though, and even though Asian men have softer features than Western men, their obsession with 'softness' compels them to look more soft than they naturally are. Ultimately men regardless of their race are men ; if Asian men were naturally looking like soft potatoes they wouldn't need to resort to all these procedures to look like that🥴 Men with square jawline botching themselves to have egg face shape is a crime against humanity btw. (square jawline are beautiful on both sex imo♥️)

And the internet isn't a safe space for Black women. There was a stat showing that Black women were more at risk of online harassment compared to any other demographics..... Social medias (especially Twitter) literally feed off your anger (for engagement), so thread lightly. That's why Tumblr is my favorite social media ; it's mostly an image board, and my dash is only curated with what I choose to see.

[gscotty5150]

The United States of America is a melting pot of diverse cultures, languages, and traditions that contribute to its overall identity. Each state has its own unique history and cultural heritage. In this post, we will explore the origins of American nations, examining how different regions were shaped by their settlement patterns, economic development, and cultural practices. From the Puritan Northeast to the Latino Southwest, we will delve into the factors that have influenced the formation of these distinct American nations. By the end of this post, you will have a better understanding of the complex tapestry of American history and its contribution to the diverse society we live in today. The concept of the American Melting Pot has long been ingrained in American society. It represents the diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that have come together to shape the nation. The roots of the Melting Pot can be traced back to the early waves of immigration, beginning with the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. As more settlers arrived from Europe, each group brought their own customs, traditions, languages, and beliefs. Over time, the United States became a haven for people from around the world, creating a rich tapestry of diversity that defines the American experience. The Melting Pot suggests that these diverse cultures and identities would blend together to form a new American identity. However, there are also challenges and criticisms surrounding the concept, as some argue it promotes the erasure of individual cultural identities and forces conformity. In recent years, there has been a shift towards inclusivity, cultural exchange, and the preservation of individual heritage within a multicultural society. To understand the United States and its diverse cultures, it is important to explore the origins of its various nations. The United States is often referred to as a "melting pot," representing the blending of different ethnicities, languages, and traditions in its history. The origins of American nations can be traced back to the earliest settlers, including Native American nations with their distinct languages, customs, and spiritual beliefs. The arrival of European colonizers brought further diversity, as they established colonies with their own cultural markers. The forced migration of African peoples through the transatlantic slave trade also left a lasting impact. Waves of immigration from various parts of the world, including Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, Jewish, and others, further enriched American society. Understanding the diverse origins of American nations allows us to appreciate the complexities and nuances of American culture and identity, celebrating the contributions of different groups and fostering a sense of unity amid diversity. Before European settlers arrived, the land that is now the United States was already occupied by a rich tapestry of diverse Native American nations. These indigenous peoples had deep roots in the region, with vibrant cultures, unique languages, and complex societal structures. From the Plains tribes like the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot, who relied on buffalo herds, to the Southwest civilizations of the Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo, Native American nations played an integral role in shaping the continent. Understanding the original inhabitants is crucial for appreciating the complexities of American culture and fostering an inclusive and equitable society.

[c-40]

A-T-3 098 Algorithm & Blues Pt.2

Let's start with a story. In the mid 1970s New York City ran out of cash and in the Bronx landlords were setting fire residential buildings in order to get the insurance, giving it the name the burnt down Bronx. The Bronx looked like a war zone, it had been abandoned by the city and given up to adolescent street gangs. This is where Kool Herc began throwing parties. Lance Taylor was a "warlord" in the Black Spades gang, on his return to the Bronx after visiting Africa and meeting Zulu chieftains he changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa and transformed the Black Spades into the Universal Zulu Nation. Rival gangs showed up at Herc's parties which led to violence so Bam stepped in and organised a truce between the gangs convincing them to put down their guns and begin dancing. Breakdancing was born. "The roots of break dancing are steeped in hostility and frustration searching for a means of expression. Breaking was a way to cope and resolve gang quarrels. Ultimately, it became a mechanism of truce between rival gangs." The dance comes from mimicking kung fu movies, originally learned to defend yourself from rival gangs and evolved into the complex and athletic moves that characterise modern breakdancing

The above is a 'narrative'

Narratives can be used to simplify, package, promote, or discard complex phenomena, it’s also a way of making a thing palatable for mainstream culture or the dominant ideology, in this case white middle-class America

The story of breakdancing channelling from gang violence is deeply embedded in hip-hop history. Institutions like the International Olympic Committee and BBC adopt this story because it promotes the values they want to associate themselves with

Of course it's completely fabricated and unsubstantiated by the accounts of people who were there. In a 2019 article in the Journal of Black Studies Serouj Aprahamian disputes this story on the grounds of the reliability of the sources, and goes on to "discuss how the prevalence of this false narrative in studies of hip-hop history overall is part of a broader historic pattern of associating working class African American culture with criminality." - lets not forget Latinos, please

"The Bronx was truly a concrete jungle yet it was there in the middle of “gorilla warfare” that Hiphop Culture was born." This is from an article on the birth of hip-hop, "concrete jungle" and "gorilla warfare," not guerrilla, that's a Freudian slip if ever I saw one, shameful stuff

DJ Scratch DJ for EPMD, Busta Rhymes producer

Afrika Bambaataa is central to the hip-hop history narrative and the breakdance story could very well originate from him. I've written about his erasure from the hip-hop story since having to decide what to do myself when celebrating the seminal Planet Rock (A-T-2 039 A-T-2 387 A-T-3 039). Afrika Bambaataa has been accused of raping children and sex trafficking. Here's an article published by Rolling Stone yesterday about protests outside the Universal Hip-Hop Museum over it's connections with Afrika Bambaataa https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/afrika-bambaataa-abuse-allegations-bronx-universal-hip-hop-museum-1234705041/

The other week Crazy Legs of the Bboy crew Rock Steady Crew and perhaps the most famous breakdancer alive was on Drink Champs. He also dismissed the truce narrative and much more https://youtu.be/7arNsMJg-Wg. Crazy Legs has been accused of sexually harass women himself, the allegations don't come up and he doesn't talk about Afrika Bambaataa, but he mentions his participation in the Universal Zulu Nation a lot

The B Boys - Rock The House The B Boys follow-up to Two, Three, Break (below). The B Boys were a studio group put together by producer and label boss Vincent Davis. The original lineup included Guy Vaughn programming the drums and Chuck Chill Out on the turntables, for Rock The House Donald D is on the mic. The B Boys records hold a special place in the UK because Morgan Khan released them here on his Streetwave label and Two, Three, Break and Cuttin' Herbie appear on Street Sounds Electro 2

The B Boys - Two, Three, Break The Classic! Chuck Chill Out (Charles Turner) would come back to this under his new stage name DJ Born Supreme Allah with Two, Three, Break (Part II - The Sequel) in 1985 which made it on to Street Sounds Electro 10. DJ Born Supreme Allah also began the Hip-Hop On Wax series in 1984

The B Boys - Cuttin' Herbie Literally cuttin' a rerecord of Herbie Hancock's Rockit

[princelyhelp]

They also have white Ariel & white Hermione, and have a canon Puerto Rican character (America Chavez) played by a Peruvian fc, Miles Morales who is canon afro-latino is played by solely black fc, and have a Puerto Rican woman playing the sister of a white woman.

this is all a mess, especially when you think about how many of the characters they do have are using the actors from their movies and shows. for ariel, they could've easily used halle ( who does have gifs!!! ) especially if they're out here using zac efron to play a high schooler again. as for all of the characters, it's obviously a problem with the erasure of a characters identity and just choosing fcs that are close enough/has resources

[zoufantastical]

It’s 2020 and Marvel still messes up diversity casting?

I know everyone is excited because of the recent news Marvel has announced at Disney Investor Day. Personally, I haven’t been able to fully indulge in it given the recent circumstances that has been happening in the US. However, there’s a certain news that left a bad taste in my mouth. What am I talking about exactly? I’m talking about America Chavez.

As a biracial Puerto Rican myself, this is unacceptable. I look at this, look at the actress and I feel grossed out. I have to keep reminding myself to not take it upon the actress but I ponder if I should, since when someone auditions for a role, they MUST have SOME knowledge about the role they are auditioning for.

There’s something a lot of you need to realize. Hollywood has a bad track of hiring Latinos, Hispanics or a brown people to play each other. Especially white casting directors, writers, producers, directors because at the end of the day this doesn’t affect them; they just need the space filled, doesn’t matter by who as long as they at least look the role. This is stereotyping Latinos playing other Latinos.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened in Doctor Strange. Many of you may or may not recall how the role of the Ancient One, an Asian man, was given to Tilda Swinton, a white woman.

The reason this doesn’t get called out as often is because it was given to a woman. Erasure of a minority for another minority is STILL ERASURE even if it was done to make it more "approachable" and by that I mean straight up WHITEWASHING.

In the case of America Chavez, this was Marvel infamously placeholding. What does this mean? It's what I call when they couldn't bother find an appropriate person to fill the role so they went with the "next best thing".

No one should be celebrating these people insulting your intelligence and yet people are applauding the decision to cast a light skinned indigenous Mexican girl for the erasure of one of the FEW if not THE most well known established Afro-Latina Caribbean PUERTO RICAN superhero (the other three are the mantle of the White Tiger and the last two were americanized women of puerto rican descent).

I know people are going to mention that she's an alien and that she represents brown people alike and that's all fine and dandy. However, one can not ignore her being black and the acceptance of puerto rican culture as part of her identity. You can NOT call this representation when they are literally misrepresenting the charaters herself.

This is all done with the illusion of "diversity" and it's pretty damn disappointing y'all are so accepting with this knowledge that you're okay with because it's “at least diversity” even if at the expense of another marginalized group.

[kosmo-mckogane]

No because I wanna talk about Lance's name. Or rather just like poc names in general

Obviously names are important and representing and pronouncing poc names is Extremely important. My name is invented by my parents so it's pretty much unheard of in most of the world. But they're Mexican right, so literally all hispanohablantes get it right the first time because they are reading it and hearing it spanish. But in the US they butcher it and it sounds hideous and it bothers me. So I go by an American nickname here. And I do like my nickname but the point is that I had to find a way to sort of like. Assimilate (?) ish (?)

My mom has the sane problem. She used to Love her name which is also a unique and uncommon name. But then when she immigrated to the US and everyone would say it incorrectly and very ugly, she started hating it with a Passion. She doesn't like to see it or hear it at all. She legally changed her name to an American name and has asked everyone who already knew her to call her by this name instead of her old name. And she feels better now. The only people who she allows to call her by her old name are latinos because they say it how it's intended. And it made me sad to see my mom go through all of this as a woc immigrant in america. And it brought up some complicated feelings for me too lol

So like. It really really really bothers me to see the literal inmigrante de CUBA be named "Lance McClain"??? What the hell. It bother me that his family never spoke spanish, that he never spoke spanish, none of that shit. Even the whole thing with garlic knots bothers me like. idk if that was canon or fanon but. It couldn't have been tamales de maíz? Or yuca con mojo?

It's just like. They created this character and had the perfect opportunity for some good ole diversity and representation. But to me, my parents, and the very few other latino vld fans I know, it's just like a huge slap to the face

I'm sorry that was long but like I have a lot of thoughts and I kinda felt like maybe u would like to talk about it >><<

NO YEAH EXACTLY ALL OF THIS !!! i know exactly what you mean, this shit pissed me off too. likewise, a lot of my family has had to do the same thing with their names, in terms of creating a whiter/easier to pronounce nickname to go by outside of home. so it really, really irks me to see lance be given such a typical white passing name.

because this therefore leads to either further erasure and ignorance around hispanic/nonwhite names, or, if we do go with the idea that lance and/or his family modified their names to use outside of a family environment, perpetuates the idea that our name's aren't normal and need to be changed in order for us to fit in.

so, you're completely right, it's just... really annoying (and a further show of vld's ignorance and lack of shits given) that they created a brown character in little more than physical design, completely lacking in depth or forethought besides another item to check off on the diversity list.