Just Looking ...

Our discussion of Muslim, Indian and Black stereotypes has reminded me of a particularly interesting exchange I once had with my friend’s boyfriend. The first time we meet he had his car radio tuned onto a station playing hip-hop music. As a rap song played in the background, he turned to me and asked, “So do you like hip-hop?”. After hearing me say that I did, he responded with enthusiasm, “So you down with the brown!”. This would be a good time for me to tell you that I am a third-generation Canadian Italian, and that this young man is a Muslim who immigrated to Canada when he was 13 years-old, from Pakistan. So what is going on here? To begin with, it reminds me of when professor Kalmar spoke about how Indians in Britain are referred to as ‘Black’. We all agreed that this was not a practice that can be seen in Canada; however I would argue that this does not necessarily mean that their no comparable cognitive connections drawn between South Asian Canadians and Black people. It appears that this young man feels as though what may be commonly thought of as ‘black’ music (particularly hip-hop and rap music performed by black artists) is in some way ‘brown’ (or South Asian?). Is he claiming ‘brown’ ownership or a kind of a joint-custody over this specific form of music? Or is he merely implying that this music is enjoyed by many ‘brown’ people, and therefore my enjoyment of it indicates that I understand or am in someway like ‘brown’ people? I think the bigger question is ‘Why is this young man identifying so strongly with black people? I would guess that this is largely based on the recognition that both ‘brown’ and ‘black’ people are often marginalized, discriminated against, feared, laughed at, and otherwise made to feel as ‘outsiders’ in Canada (as well as elsewhere). In this regard, it becomes particularly significant that he is a Muslim, and that this conversation took place after 911. Similar to the example given in the article about ‘thug realism’, the connection this man feels with African American music is likely to stem from a sense that he is left out (Tanzanian young men feel left out of development and my friend’s boyfriend likely feels, to some extent, left out of an imaged ‘white’ Canada). Do Canadians call Indians and other South Asian’s “Black”? No. But yet, in Canada, it appears as though some do see some kind of connection between “brown” people and ‘black’ people. What exactly constitutes this connection? I don’t know.
Mary Benedetti