Tuesday, June 19, 2007
A couple of quick comments
1- As an immigrant who came to Canada only recently, I think I can confirm Prof. Kalmar's theory on the construction of "Blackness". Before I came to North America, I never thought of race as an essential characteristic of people I meet on daily basis. But ever since I arrived here, I was astonished by the taboo-ism surrounding race. Sadly, labeling certain terms as absolutely unusable or racist only sustains the old racist system (I think) and constructs a mythical space in which a certain ethnic group is alienated. I expect that there would be some disagreeing opinions but this is merely the experience of an outsider to the culture.
2- Today's lecture was very enlightening. A lot (and i mean, a lot!) of things make perfect sense now. The majority of people in the Middle East are confused by the ever-changing relationship with the Jews. The Arabs' modern hostilities against the Jews always made me wonder about the clear (with a little bit of research) cultural and linguistic similarities. Possibly, people are confused because these similarities are constantly undermined due to political factors. Also, although Edward Said is my all-time hero, I never really understood his work (plausibly because of that confusion I mentioned or the misquotation the professor addressed) until today. A recommended book to read for you all: Out of Place (1999) (a memoir of Said)- it sheds light on his life and how his palestinian-American upraising influenced his later work.
2- Today's lecture was very enlightening. A lot (and i mean, a lot!) of things make perfect sense now. The majority of people in the Middle East are confused by the ever-changing relationship with the Jews. The Arabs' modern hostilities against the Jews always made me wonder about the clear (with a little bit of research) cultural and linguistic similarities. Possibly, people are confused because these similarities are constantly undermined due to political factors. Also, although Edward Said is my all-time hero, I never really understood his work (plausibly because of that confusion I mentioned or the misquotation the professor addressed) until today. A recommended book to read for you all: Out of Place (1999) (a memoir of Said)- it sheds light on his life and how his palestinian-American upraising influenced his later work.
# posted by Najat @ 1:51 PM 
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Hey Najat!
Know what else I noticed with this concept of Blackness? I have a friend who listens to mostly rap music, dresses in urban wear and usually dates "black" men. She just happens to be "white", blonde and Russian. When people meet her, more often then than not, I've heard them say, "Man, that girl was supposed to be black or at least she was in a past life" and she's often looked down on for it. The concept of blackness in class totally ties in. Don't you think?
Know what else I noticed with this concept of Blackness? I have a friend who listens to mostly rap music, dresses in urban wear and usually dates "black" men. She just happens to be "white", blonde and Russian. When people meet her, more often then than not, I've heard them say, "Man, that girl was supposed to be black or at least she was in a past life" and she's often looked down on for it. The concept of blackness in class totally ties in. Don't you think?
To tell you he truth, this concept of "Blackness" you just mentioned is one of many things I find hypocritical and contradictory in the North American culture. It is weird how other people who grew up here can't understand the seemingly obvious observations I had one year into being in Canada. I guess that makes it more scary: people do not see their powerful (but powerfully hidden, to use the professor's term) constrution of race. Your white friend who "acts black" is the perfect example. People are very vocal in denouncing racism and prejudices, but comments like the ones your friend hears dismiss such claims. Again, i'm not an expert in Canadian culture so I hope I won't offend anybody (if, that is, anyone else besides you, Stacey, reads this :)
I agree with you totally Najat. However I feel that when people make these comments it may be for completely different reasons. Here's a thought and let's see if we can run with it: when she is in a group of black people, if a black person tells her that she's "acting black" (as in a member of the group that she is with) then it is meant not so much as a compliment or slur but as a validation. By validation I mean that the fact that she "acts black" makes it ok for the black person to associate with her, who otherwise would be seen by their peers as "whitewash" for having a white friend. That was a mouthful (rather screenfull) but do you get where I'm going? My basic premise is that yes, we are extremely contradictory here in Canada and you're not the first visitor to notice it.
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