June 14, 2020

"So... I don't get what's 'problematic' with Madonna's putting her son's incredible dance on Insta? Thanks, in any case, it was great to see it."

That's the first comment I read on the New York Magazine article, "What Do We Want From White Celebrities Right Now?" Here's the section that labels Madonna "problematic":
[S]ome celebs have shown up to protest. Others have “opened up their purses” and lent their voices to decry racism and support detailed and specific calls for reform. But just like the rest of us, they have some problematic colleagues: Madonna celebrating her son’s interpretive solidarity dance; Ashton Kutcher posting an incongruously emotional video about Black Lives Matter that veered off on a bizarre and lengthy tangent about parenting; Ellen DeGeneres tweeting “for things to change, things must change”; Drew Brees’s willfully ignorant understanding of peaceful protests and inability to have his mind opened by the steady murders of Black people on film.... More of these bizarre blathers will surely come....
Here's Madonna's son's interpretative solidarity dance. The son is black, it helps to know. You can judge for yourself. According to Madonna: "David Dances to honor and pay tribute to George and His Family and all Acts of Racism and Discrimination that happen on a daily basis in America." Yes, it's miswritten. She didn't mean "to honor...  all Acts of Racism," but that is what she said.

Maybe I don't understand the way dance works these days. I was driving home this morning at 5:30 a.m. and a man up ahead of me was crossing the street in the middle of the block. I drove slowly. It didn't matter to me. There was a red light up ahead anyway. Midway through his crossing, he did a little dance, complete with pirouette. Was he dancing for me? Was he honoring some abstraction?

There was this guy...



And this...

39 comments:

n.n said...

Diversity (i.e. color judgments), including racism, notably anti-white bigotry, has been a progressive condition for several decades and a first-order forcing of recurring climate change (e.g. violence, protests, riots, redistributive change).

R C Belaire said...

The very day before George Lloyd was killed, where was all the concern about systemic racism? It's like an on/off switch was flipped in the collective consciousness of humanity...

Fernandinande said...

"What Do We Want From White Celebrities Right Now?"

A moment of silence, and, since "we" are all indulging in racism nowadays, a much longer moment of silence from non-white celebrities.

gspencer said...

"The son is black, it helps to know."

Cements the stereotyping, I suppose.

Kid would do better learning Algebra 1&2.

Maybe not since he probably got a look at mom's bank balance.

clint said...

Madonna is white.

Adopting black children from the third world, raising them with love, and celebrating them is not sufficient to erase her whiteness.

Nothing she does or says can be allowed to be anything but problematic.

No amount of penance can expiate her original sin.

Lyle Smith said...

I liked Madonna's son dance. Well done young man.

Drew Brees' comments have been willfully and ignorantly misunderstood. The writer of the article needs to open their own mind.

Biff said...

Intended effect: "If you have to ask what's problematic, you are. Now sit down, and shut up. Oh, and support diversity and inclusion by clicking the donation button."

Ann Althouse said...

"I liked Madonna's son dance. Well done young man."

It was hard to hear, but the song playing was Michael Jackson, and I believe he was copying Jackson video. That is, the dance was not his own choreography and not a response to the killing of George Floyd, as his mother styled it.

Rory said...

"The very day before George Lloyd was killed, where was all the concern about systemic racism? It's like an on/off switch was flipped in the collective consciousness of humanity..."

The next demonstration now sits on the shelf, already prepared, waiting to be deployed at the next opportunity.

Some Seppo said...

Wake me when Madonna spawn dances about architecture.

wildswan said...

Protestors are calling for an end to University of Chicago police and have prevented organizing a police force for Johns Hopkins. The Clery Act requires each university to issue a report detailing crimes of violence on campus each year especially certain crimes against women.

Here are the Clery statistics for the year 2018 for the main University of Chicago campus at Hyde Park. These include the campus and the surrounding area where students live and eat out - The University police have responsibility for that whole area.

Main Campus 2018
Aggravated Assault 13
Burglary 45
Domestic Violence 50
Sexual Offenses - Forcible 60
Rape 39 (rape in residence halls 35)
Stalking 55

So, maybe we could have dance showing how women on campus feel as police protection is stripped away. You can see this small department is dealing with a lot of major felonies. In addition, the University police will walk women to their buses late at night if so requested. This prevents a lot of crimes. If you cut down on the police escorts at night, will the criminals commit fewer assaults? One cause of the left - women's safety - seems to have been forgotten in the rush to join properly in the latest cause - abolishing the police and their protection of women. What dance is this? Step forward, left, left, left; step back, step back; left, left, left. The only constant is left, left, left.

Ice Nine said...

My favorite part of his honoring George Floyd (sic) was the snot wipe at the end.

Kevin said...

Maybe I don't understand the way dance works these days.

Everything must serve the interests of the (Democratic) Party.

That’s all you need to know, Comrade.

Wince said...

The dog's stationary bewilderment was precious, sitting on its ass with rear legs extended forward the whole time.

buwaya said...

Who is this "we"?
This seems to be a rather widely unconsidered, but quite important point.

Howard said...

Hellava workout.

Lyle Smith said...

Althouse,

You are totally right about that. I was thinking well done in in doing Michael Jackson's dance. It's very clearly a Michael Jackson song and Michael Jackson dance style, if not just a tik tok like copying of it.

jaydub said...

What do I want from White celebrities right now? Same thing I want from Black celebrities:

Either of the following: 1)STFU 2) ESAD

JAORE said...

Police brutality watching that man spasm uncontrollably without sending in an EMT.

Oh, dance? Oh a message in the dance? And it wasn't help me I'm having a seizure?

OK, sorry.... Lovely,just lovely.

Kevin said...

Madonna trots our her black child? Ha!

There is nothing a white person can do to get on the right side of this discussion.

That’s how you know it’s political, rather than serious.

gerry said...

Looks like a Michael Jackson routine.

gerry said...

Looks like a Michael Jackson routine.

wild chicken said...

Kid would do better learning Algebra 1&2.

If they could do that, there would be no problem.

wild chicken said...

I believe the "snot wipe" was a dab, done sort of drug gesture.

Most impressive. /s

rcocean said...

IS there a bigger freak than Billionaire "artist/singer" Madonna?

Darrell said...

"I've seen so many of my friends shot and killed"

Not by the police, mind you, but by other proud black men that took offense at something or missed who they were shooting at.

William said...

He's a good dancer. More than that, he has the moves of a professional dancer. I presume Madonna hired just the right choreographers to help develop her son's natural ability. It's useful to have a mother who knows the right people and has several hundred million dollars on hand. But you can't say he's had a privileged childhood. Only white people have privileges.

cubanbob said...

jaydub said...
What do I want from White celebrities right now? Same thing I want from Black celebrities:

Either of the following: 1)STFU 2) ESAD"

Embrace the power of the word And.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Was NYM expecting substance from these people? Something more than a couple is self-aggrandizing minutes or the quarters from their couch cushions?
Of course, the article itself is exactly what it criticizes.

Oso Negro said...

The bleating will continue until their is something else to bleat about. Guess what? I am having a great day feeling no more concern about racism than I did last year. Try it people, it can be done

The Crack Emcee said...

I did not see anything "incredible" there at all.

Not at all.

Birkel said...

"Silence is violence."
"Conservative ideas are violence."

I liked it better in the original language:
"Tutto all'interno dello stato, niente al di fuori dello stato, niente contro lo stato."
--Benito Mussolini

Leftist Collectivists are fascists, through and through.

Jupiter said...

interpret this

n.n said...

Warlock judgments and diversity (e.g. racism, sexism) are a progressive condition normalized by politically congruent people... persons, special and peculiar interests.

n.n said...

"Silence is violence."

Exactly. A life literally disarmed, decapitated, disemboweled, denied a voice to protest for the sake of social justice, social progress, and convenience. Then there are those lives that are politically incongruent, trans-narrative, exceed the diversity quota, the wrong color, the wrong sex, etc. There is also age discrimination: one trimester, two trimesters, three.

"Conservative ideas are violence."

Individual dignity. Intrinsic value. Inordinate worth. Reconciliation.

daskol said...

That was probably Michael Jackson's most problematic song, certainly single, with the original lyrics including the line "Jew me, sue me/kike me" something or other." Spike Lee directed the videos. Madonna's son revived the tune with a controversial Instagram post of her adopted song introducing Michael Jackson dance style to a whole new generation. The youths may have taken over in the NYT newsroom, but the old warhorses of the popular culture, including Woody Allen (despite Spike Lee's cowardice) and Madonna and even Spike hang on. Good luck!

Lewis Wetzel said...

"I've had so may of my friends killed, whether by gang violence or police violence."
Maybe time for a lifestyle change?

chuck said...

Shrug. What's problematic about it? It isn't even very interesting.

TrespassersW said...

"What Do We Want From White Celebrities Right Now?"

To echo a common refrain: Not a lot, really, beyond "Stop being such tone-deaf, entitled prats."

Thanks for asking.