Ever since then, white people have had the most serious, earnest, difficult conversations about white privilege, unpacking our personal knapsacks, and, well, being white. I have led or sat in many such sessions, so I can attest to how hard this work is for we white people and how seriously those of us who engage in it take it. Seriously serious. As in makes-me-wonder-about-white-people-and-our-collective-sense-of-humor-or-lack-thereof serious.
Don't get me wrong. This work is important and necessary. Doing the work changed and continues to change my life. But seriously white people, can we learn by laughing at ourselves once in a while?!
FOR EXAMPLE....
This week, thanks to my friend the amazing Erica (AKA Swirlspice) I learned about the invisibul backpak LOLcats. They were spawned in 2008 so I'm late to the table, but maybe you are, too.
Check out the whole thing here, but I have to post a couple of examples to give you a taste:
But seriously, I do wonder this: Do white people have to have read the essay, have to be engaged in the work, to get the humor in this?
Maybe we have to get serious before we can laugh.
Check our this post on the same topic on the blog "Stuff White People Do." Be sure to read the comment thread.
Related posts:
My Big Fat White Privileged Life
Louis CK on being white
Cute!
ReplyDeleteThe LOLcats were a big hit in the presentation!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing there are people who get it in a "I get what lolcats and I think I've heard of this concept" sort of way, and then another group of folks who really get it on a whole 'nother level.