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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME!
Don't we have better things to worry about?
Now ON WITH THE OUTRAGE!!!
Still waiting...
Not being from Seattle, or anywhere near Seattle, I'm curious, is there not much of a Jewish community there? Also, if that's the case, are commenters content to be the kind of people that don't care about anti-Semitism because they don't know any Jewish people?
http://www.billboard.com/articles/column…
@21: Nope.
It's "was it intentional to be antisimetic?"
Yes. Put together and called out the the disguise resembles a racist stereotype.
So do Halloween witches if framed right and unthinkingly. Should we have a "witch hunt" for every ten year old girl?
You act like Macklemore goes home and clutches the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Mien Kampfe, or some ridiculous shit, and cackles to him self about Jewish banking conspiracies.
He made a dumb mistake. That's all. You're acting like it's god damned Kristallnacht.
Half of why this "controversy" it getting traction is people never liked Macklmore in the first place finding some tangential moral justification for their hate of him.
Really?! This is your big victim moment? You are the guy who talks endlessly for weeks about that one time he almost sort of got hit by a car when riding his bike downtown. Get over yourself, get on a fucking plane and experience the world. If this is your idea of an outrage you shouldn't be allowed in public.
So what will you do if/when you don't receive your apology?
But this is clearly another Shoah you filthy antisemite! Never forget the six million! This is what the floor shows at Auschwitz were like!
I'll think he's an asshole who doesn't practice what he preaches. Clearly, a fate worse than death.
The first thing that stood out to me is a goofy costume, and even after all the talk I still don't see it as being Jewish. People need to stop being over sensitive and stop over analyzing shit.
Oh wow, he didn't make an apology - what a self pitying, privileged induced response that is. What makes you think you deserve an apology when nothing was meant with offense. I understand ignorance is one thing to be apologetic about, but this isn't even that. It's a silly costume.
Where was all this media outcry when Cloud Atlas did yellow face for all of its white actors? Slanting the shit out of peoples eyes. Not all Asians have slanted eyes, and not all Jewish people have big noses.
The media picks and turns and masks shit in one direction and it gains speed toward a nonsensical conclusion filled with rage. An incoherent mass that can't think for itself and see the truth. People need to grow up. There are bigger problems out there. Ukraine and Venezuela in turmoil, Drug Cartels running rampant in Mexico, 275 school girls kidnapped and missing in Africa, and this is the bullshit the US is so infatuated with - whether a mans costume is racist, even if he didn't mean for it to be.
Man. So many people on SLOG exited the womb so fully enlightened.
I must have missed the Human 2.5 upgrade. Because sometimes I, being an old Human 1.0, make mistakes.
These are not just 1930s stereotypes, either. You can find these images printed in newspapers in the Middle East today: http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/ArabCartoon…
There is a cliche that fans of popular music are dumber than clods of clay, which is unfair, but it is sometimes true. It's true here today. You don't even know what a clue looks like.
But I don't think it rises to the level of "anti-semitism".
Same goes for Macklemore, I guess it's possible he could be completely ignorant and made some bad decisions that turned into a caricature that he'd somehow never seen before. The correct decent human response is to say he made a mistake, explain what he's learned, and apologize.
Seattle has the smallest Jewish community of any major American coastal city (yes, smaller even than Portland's), as well as a deeply entrenched culture of not giving a shit about issues that don't intrude directly into each self-absorbed resident's personal bubble.
In addition, Seattle residents proudly eschew collective memory, mistake pop-cultural affinities for worldly well-roundedness, and conflate their own ignorant opining with having "an equally valid view of the facts that deserves equal weight in the discussion."
In short, no matter what you've read about Seattle's rates of post-graduate degree attainment, or its oft-professed affinity for books, this city is functionally stupid as shit.
I guess all I am saying is that I wish people in this world could wrap their heads around shades of gray, but they can't. Like all Americans, in particular, with this incident.. it's all or nothing. He clearly was in the wrong. He WAS making fun of Jewish people. There is no way he could have been emulating Ringo Starr, and even if he was.. tough cookies. White people are not allowed to emulate anyone because, no matter the context, my feelings will be hurt!
Your feelings should be able to deal with context. If they can't, then you still have some growing up to do. Terrorists and those who have become super sensitive to every little PC infraction, have lost all sense of proportion.
Who is this we you have been elected the spokesperson for?
We. An unknowable amorphous aggregate of anonymous internet complainers who will immediacy leap to the next outrage for which the ever changing "they" will "demand" an yet another apology over yet another trumped up outrage... and on... and on...
For. Ever.
There will always spontaneously congeal another internet posse of sanctimonious people who will never accept what ever apology he issues.
He can't win.
Should you be horrified if you've accidentally perpetuated a racist stereotype? Absolutely.
I'm floored by the insensitive and dismissive comments here and by Macklemore. Get fucking educated about anti-Semitism before you say there's nothing wrong with it or "it doesn't bother me." Christ.
For the record, I'm a huge Macklemore fan. His explanation is beyond bogus.
Well, I'm pretty much done with it. Adam, you feel offended, and I don't fucking care. Call AIPAC and tell them how you're so oppressed. They'll love you for it.
*Prussian Blue was a neo-Nazi hate-music band composed of twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede, who had been indoctrinated by their racist nutjob mother. When they were 14 they realized how fucked up the ideology was, renounced racism and anti-Semitism, and have since become fairly liberal in their views, particularly advocating for marijuana legalization. All's well that ends well, and all's WTF that was WTF the whole time.
They, like many of you, thought it was no big deal. But it is.
I don't think it was an accident, but I don't think it was supposed to be inflammatory. It's somewhere in between, and the hyperbole here thinks a strong side needs to be taken.
Like, between "Never again!" and "It wasn't racist at all!" is where the real action should be, which is:
An apology that says: "I thought it was funny, but I see now that it wasn't. It was poor judgement, and I've learned from it."
Seriously though, you shouldn't have to be Jewish to find this disgusting. I'm not Jewish and I oppose Zionist ethnic cleansing in Palestine. This is disgusting and offensive, absent some kind of very particular context. That context doesn't exist here in any way. It is disgusting and offensive.
The question of intentionality is a separate one. Clearly though, we are seeing that Macklemore has no one in his entourage who isn't an ignorant fool, nor anyone who has an ounce of sense.
This city isn't just a cesspool of stupid. It's a predictable cesspool of stupid.
Was it on purpose: eh, probably not
Does that really matter: nope
Should he offer a better apology: absolutely
Does Israel have anything to do with this: why would you even think that?
smh and a facepalm.
People look up to this moron? Seriously?
Here I was all ready to say, "well he's only 20 years old. In 10 years he'll realize what a fuckup this is and will truly apologize. He'll beg for the chance to live this down. Guys his age have a terrible time with this kind of thing."
But fuck! He's already 30. That's a bitch.
So never mind. Thirty years old and his head is still that far up his ass? Well, if it was coming out of there, it would have happened by now. His head is going to stay up there a good long time, maybe forever.
I predict worse to come from Mr. Haggerdy, and his defenders today will look like fools when his next debacle drops. And the one after that.
I personally think it's pretty silly and only very mildly offensive, kinda reminds me more of "my crazy unlce Yevgeniy" than "Jewish people" but then again, I'm a big jerk.
... or to see someone in a black wig, witch nose and a beard and think to yourself "huh, he looks jewish"?
because where you see anti-semitism, i see a rorschach.
Doesn't make either an act OK or either person wrong, it's just a bizarre mix that can lead to a bunch of privileged white people shouting at each other about an incident like this with people on both sides of the shouting not actually interacting with the culture or race being derided on a daily, weekly or even lifetime basis.
Yes, I know some of you actually ARE members of or related to a minority group or DO interact on a daily basis for your life or work with, say, Jewish people and culture and that a diverse city does not imply ACTUAL interaction between ethnic and racial groups, but sometimes Seattle feels like a step away from places like Australia where people are confused about why something like black face is bad.
But I'm going to give him, and others who commented "what's the big deal?" the benefit of the doubt. I'm going to posit that, like Macklemore, they are Seattle natives and because Seattle has very few Jews compared to east coast cities like NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, they can't see this from the same perspective as Jews or people who grew up with Jews.
He still should have offered an apology, even if he didn't intend to offend anyone, because he did offend people.
But I'm going to give him, and others who commented "what's the big deal?" the benefit of the doubt. I'm going to posit that, like Macklemore, they are Seattle natives and because Seattle has very few Jews compared to east coast cities like NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, they can't see this from the same perspective as Jews or people who grew up with Jews.
He still should have offered an apology, even if he didn't intend to offend anyone, because he did offend people.
Define "most people". Define "sane" and "nuts" for that matter.
Also, I could not give less of a fuck if dipshits like you think I'm "crazy" for expecting an apology from someone* who dressed as a fucking Nazi stereotype of a Jew.
*And when this someone has built a career on being a "tolerant", "accepting" social justice warrior. That is literally the only reason why anyone here knows who Macklemore is. Without "Same Love", he would be a nobody.
I've somehow managed to get through life without any displays of overt bigotry or racism, intentionally or accidentally. How about you? Or is it okay for you to have your head up your ass because you're a white guy?
The Stranger, Rolling Stone, the NY Daily News, NPR, Gawker, Billboard, and tons of other web sites are also covering this story.
I guess they must all be looking for ad revenue and clicks.
Or maybe this is a *real* story?
When a world-famous musician, who played in Times Square on New Year's Eve, who stands for progressivism, and almost wins a grammy for a song that strongly supports gay marriage dresses up in a costume that loads of people find to be an offensive stereotype of a minority, it's going to make the news. Every time.
I'm curious if you use such profanity and insult-laced drivel in person?
Since you're such a tough guy, why don't you tell us your ethnic background so we can post hateful stereotypical posts about you and your ancestry? Why don't you give us your email and physical address so we can target racist banter directly at you?
It won't bother you right? Because you're not a pussy like everyone else.
Actually Thrift Shop was huge
If you did, than maybe you'd understand why it's offensive. But I'm going to guess that since you resorted to name calling, you don't.
But there was a point I thought I too managed to get through life "without any displays of overt bigotry or racism, intentionally or accidentally."
And then I grew the fuck up and realized people make mistakes and maybe there were things I could do better.
But it must be nice to be a perfect human, like you.
Speaking of male performers, they all sucked on BBMAs last night.
But the females tore the place up.
Iggy&Ariana
Carrie&Miranda
Miley&a really weird guy who kissed her foot
Katie Perry (I turned it off here because it seemed to be for 8 year olds and under.)
In between was an unctuous assortment of drippy boy bands with childish names (Imagine Dragons...ooo...) or else male models trying to be tough guys by covering their perfect skin with sleeve tattos. How many dudes have to strut around in black skinny jeans before you say (Y-Chromosome Brand) Rock Is Dead.
Guys...give it up, the ladies won. Come back with something new next year.
Well clearly the correct response to making a mistake is to never apologize for it; Macklemore's preferred response so far.
Macklemore offers a real, timely apology: This goes away forever. The longer he waits, the deeper shit he gets into. You want to defend *that* stupidity? Be my guest. I'll just brush you off as an asshole as well.
Anyway, I think this is much ado about nothing. And besides, Ben is one helluva great human being and he would never in a million years mock any population. This uproar is ridiculous.
We are not amused, Dumb Dumb.