White Fraternitiy says 'Can't You Niggers Take a Joke?' Theta Xi @ University Of Michigan Hosts Hood Ratchet Thursday. Then Uses Asian Man to Shadowbox
A University of Michigan fraternity is in hot water after sponsoring a WorldstarHipHop-themed party. Now, a fraternity member turned the blame towards blacks for overreacting to the party's racially insensitive invite and expressed disappointment that the students are making it about race.
A Facebook event page for a Nov. 7 Theta Xi party invited people to "World Star Hip Hop Presents: Hood Ratchet Thursday." Since removed from Facebook, the invitation was extended to: “rappers, twerkers, gangsters (no Bloods allowed), thugs, basketball players, bad bitches, ratchet pussy." It also promised a Kindle to the winner of a twerking contest.
"Started from da bottom now we here but now we goin back to da hood again!!" the invitation continued.
While host and author of the event page Allen Wu said that the party was supposed to be focused on hip-hop and wasn't intended to be "cast under a racial lens," it immediately offended many students. Students Erica Nagy and Brian Thomas sent a letter to administration claiming the party violated U of M's policies and calling on them to act.
"This party is one of many incidents that are symptoms of our disheartening lack of diversity and lack of social justice education and awareness that persists at this predominantly white institution," they wrote.
The school paper spoke to Black Student Union secretary Geralyn Gaines, who said she felt "utter disgust."
Theta Xi's Allen Wu and alleged creator (designated white supremacy defender) of the invite responded with an opinion piece that black students at the predominately white university were making a big fuss over nothing and that they meant no offense.
From Wu's opinion piece in the Michigan Daily:
Of course, I'm aware of hip-hop's roots in African-American culture, and I understand why so many are upset at my usage of the words “ratchet,” “twerking,” etc. But let me be clear: in no way was it my intention to appropriate Black culture. I was attempting to emulate the distasteful party culture of hip hop, not as a synonym for Black culture, but rather as the musical genre that is consumed by all races. I wish that we lived in an age where we as people could collectively celebrate the music that we consume without aggravating racial sensitivities. It pains me to see that “hip-hop parties” are immediately cast under a racial lens, even if not so intended. Just because we celebrate and enjoy the music and terminology used by predominantly Black hip-hop artists, that does not mean we are attempting to appropriate Black culture. Wu goes to great lengths to suggest terms like “twerking,” “ratchet,” and “swag” are the property of Hip-Hop culture and not necessarily black people, adding that the terminology dominates the culture thus it's part of the lexicon. - [MORE]
Racial Shadow Boxing occurs when victims of racism (non-white people) are directly or indirectly, "assigned", bribed, coerced, and/or otherwise influenced, by the racists (white Supremacist), to speak or act to do harm to other victims of racism. White Supremacists oftentimes hide behind others whom they use as shadows of themselves. [MORE]