Black history month

[wetkingcanute]

It's important not to talk about Black people using stereotypical cliches.

They might stab you.

[voice]

I teach courses on back country tripping and long distance hiking, and you'd be amazed the gear some lug along, but also by others who bring a Walmart tent and sleeping bag on a spring camp where, cos it's BC, it's gonna rain and might even snow.

If you buy your gear from one of the big outdoor supply stores it's very costly, an Arterex or RAB gortex is gonna run you close to a grand, but if you know where to go there are much cheaper options that work almost as well

Though to be fair, you're not born knowing this stuff, but it depends who's telling you whether you think you can do it

[perrykneeham]

"black country tripping"?

[Repat Van]

Oct 3, 2023 13:46:37 GMT mids said:

So we're agreed then. If you want to go for a walk in the country, just go. Don't whine about "barriers" and "not seeing people who look like me" (wtaf on that last one). And if you live in the big city, don't bleat about it not simultaneously being the country.

You didn’t read the article did you.

But to repeat - what’s wrong with encouraging more people to explore the countryside?

[mids]

Ah. I see you're unable to understand. Anything.

[flatandy]

Do you think you should not encourage urban types into the countryside?

Do you not think rural public transport should be improved?

Do you think that people who have lazy fat parents should be obliged to spend their lives being lazy and fat too?

[mids]

I don't care if urban types go to the countryside or not. In fact, I'd rather the ones that didn't have the gumption to get up and just go stayed in their urban. They'll only start wailing for chicken shops at the top of Ben Nevis or steal things. The ones that know how to dress themselves and travel to places are fine. Rural public transport should be better but for the benefit of the rural types. People who have fat, lazy parents should tell them not to be fat and lazy.

[Repat Van]

Oct 4, 2023 13:22:21 GMT mids said:

I don't care if urban types go to the countryside or not. In fact, I'd rather the ones that didn't have the gumption to get up and just go stayed in their urban. They'll only start wailing for chicken shops at the top of Ben Nevis or steal things. The ones that know how to dress themselves and travel to places are fine. Rural public transport should be better but for the benefit of the rural types. People who have fat, lazy parents should tell them not to be fat and lazy.

Why are you so upset at people being encouraged to go out and explore the countryside? Why do you see this as a bad thing?

[mids]

Good. Also ha fucking ha.


"A BBC plaque celebrating the “first black Briton” has been removed because scientific evidence shows she was not African in origin.



The sign honouring the 1,800-year-old remains of “Beachy Head Lady”, a female said to be of African origin, was erected in an East Sussex village as part of the 2016 Black and British series fronted by Prof David Olusoga, the historian.



The Telegraph can reveal that the plaque celebrating what a BBC documentary billed as the earliest “black Briton” has now been removed.



DNA analysis by The Francis Crick Institute has found that Beachy Head Lady’s origins were in “southern Europe – most likely Cyprus”, according to an article by the researcher who first studied her remains.



Parish councillors in the village of East Dean, where archaeologists discovered the remains of Beachy Head Lady, voted to take down the plaque that had been installed at a cricket pavilion."


www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/25/bbc-plaque-earliest-black-briton-removed-wrong/

[Repat Van]

You’re strange.

[mids]

Why do you hate and fear science?

[Repat Van]

Oct 25, 2023 19:43:01 GMT mids said:

Why do you hate and fear science?

You seem giddy with excitement over something so small and trivial.

You’re strange.

[mids]

Oct 25, 2023 19:43:01 GMT mids said:

Why do you hate and fear science?

[mids]

Good. Also bad that it's so high because it's not that important.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/26/half-of-britons-cant-name-a-black-british-historical-figure-survey-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[perrykneeham]

Surely everyone has heard of Lenny Henry. That'll do, surely?

[perrykneeham]

Oct 25, 2023 19:35:56 GMT mids said:

Good. Also ha fucking ha.


"A BBC plaque celebrating the “first black Briton” has been removed because scientific evidence shows she was not African in origin.



The sign honouring the 1,800-year-old remains of “Beachy Head Lady”, a female said to be of African origin, was erected in an East Sussex village as part of the 2016 Black and British series fronted by Prof David Olusoga, the historian.



The Telegraph can reveal that the plaque celebrating what a BBC documentary billed as the earliest “black Briton” has now been removed.



DNA analysis by The Francis Crick Institute has found that Beachy Head Lady’s origins were in “southern Europe – most likely Cyprus”, according to an article by the researcher who first studied her remains.



Parish councillors in the village of East Dean, where archaeologists discovered the remains of Beachy Head Lady, voted to take down the plaque that had been installed at a cricket pavilion."


www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/25/bbc-plaque-earliest-black-briton-removed-wrong/

"A BBC History Project" is what is written on the plate. It's not an actual, official blue plate, so it might as well stay. Nobody gives a toss anyway, so they might as well save the money. They could just sellotape a kebab to it.

[flatandy]

Oct 26, 2023 7:06:32 GMT mids said:

Good. Also bad that it's so high because it's not that important.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/26/half-of-britons-cant-name-a-black-british-historical-figure-survey-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Without wanting to be rude, I think this woman's an idiot.

She would have expected people to name figures such as Quintus Lollius Urbicus, who became governor of Roman Britain; the formerly enslaved Olaudah Equiano, who became an abolitionist and writer; Mary Seacole, who provided sustenance and care for British soldiers during the Crimean war, and the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

We hear a lot about Seacole, but that's a pretty nothing list isn't it?

How many other governors of Roman Britain could we name? Zero, I think, in my case
How many other Crimean war nurses could we name? One
How many pieces of music by Coleridge-Taylor or pieces of writing by Olaudah Equiano have we ever encountered? Zero. And my suspicion is not because of blackness.

These are people of limited historical significance whose fame - such as it is - only exists because they're black.

Her list makes it very clear that for most of British history there weren't many black people in the country, and the few that were here didn't really have many opportunities given all the structural social barriers. This is a perfectly good explanation of why nobody can name historic black Britons. It's because historic black Briton were few in number and Britain (like everywhere) was massively racist.

Even in the US - where the black population is much higher - the list of historic black figures up to maybe 80 years ago who weren't part of the movements for freedom from slavery and for black rights is fairly limited.

[mids]

Quintus Lollius Urbicus wasn't black. He was African but he was a Berber so would have looked something like Zinadine Zidane, also a Berber. I can name one of Henry VIII's trumpeters- John Blanke. I can only name him because he was black. I don't know the name of a single other British royal trumpeter from the 100s or maybe even 1000s of years that they've existed. I don't know why they do this. Like you say, none of the black British people before about 50 years ago were of any consequence, much like almost all white British people. I don't know why the message isn't, "Look, there were almost no black people living in Britain before the 1950s so historically, there isn't really anyone to speak of. Since then, we've had Lenny Henry, John Fashanu and Derek Griffiths. Let's learn all about them!"

[flatandy]

Or even just "Britain always was incredibly racist, so none of the few black people - no matter how brilliant - had any chance for their brilliance to become noted". Which, you know, you'd think would actually tie in with the message these people want to tell about Britain.

[voice]

exactly