there's this undercurrent of hatred for baller/rap/black (so-called "douchebag") culture which seems to aggravate every single PR problem they have.
Douchebag culture and black culture are radically different. First, there are several different black cultures: everything from upper-middle-class to working-class to poor African-American, plus several Afro-Caribbean cultures, plus a huge number of distinct African cultures.
Douchebag culture (which is in vogue among the VC darlings, especially in the elite networks OP described) is a historically white phenomenon: popped collars, brogramming, saying shit like YOLO and WHPH ("work hard play hard"). Douchebag culture is a dominant culture in the Valley (not the only one) and we need outlets like Valleywag to remind everyone how ridiculous it is.
"Douchebag culture (which is in vogue among the VC darlings, especially in the elite networks OP described) is a historically white phenomenon: popped collars, brogramming, saying shit like YOLO and WHPH ("work hard play hard"). Douchebag culture is a dominant culture in the Valley."
I don't work with anyone who sounds IN ANY WAY like what you're describing. I won't go so far as to say I think you're making it up, but if this is real, it's doing a very good job of hiding from us at least.
>> Douchebag culture and black culture are radically different.
You're talking about a bunch of white guys creating a rap site and telling me that they're not trying to channel black culture. If the stylings and bravado at RapGenius weren't related to culture from rap/hip-hop I'd be very surprised.
In the past in the UK we used to have "Wigger" culture [0] and it actually was fairly similar... I don't think this anger has anything to do with being a douchebag. I've met people that dressed and spoke weirdly that have been perfectly nice people. I think that people recognise the style as douchebag because it's uncomfortable for them to see white people "acting black".
>> You're talking about a bunch of white guys creating a rap site and telling me that they're not trying to channel black culture.
Oh, they're trying alright.
Said douchebags are roughly as representative of black culture as Ali G was. Though it would seem they're not in on the joke.
There is no "channelling" going on. You can be a person of any color who appreciates and celebrates hip hop culture without reducing its participants to cardboard cut-outs.
There's a difference between identity and affectation. When your affectation conflates "acting black" (as if that's even a thing one can do) with "acting moronic", your affectation is intrinsically racist. And when you willfully adopt a racist affectation because despite being a Yale/Stanford Law grad you're apparently incapable of understanding how fucking offensive that is, I am not obligated to show you one single iota of respect.
These guys don't represent anyone but themselves, and—of late—they're doing a poor job of it.
(btw — I think Rap Genius is a great product. I hope its founders don't ruin it.)
Stop insinuating that I don't understand you. I understand you, I just disagree with you.
>> There's a difference between identity and affectation. When your affectation conflates "acting black" (as if that's even a thing one can do) with "acting moronic", your affectation is intrinsically racist.
Do you think that they believe they are acting moronically?
Or is this perception of moronic behaviour your own? If it's the latter - which I expect it is - then you are projecting racism onto them. It's not something which is intrinsic - it requires the perceiver to have your value system.
(My perception is that they are not acting like morons. And that it's all just good fun.)
The problem I have with this whole argument is that even if a guy had a popped collar, was wearing dark sunglasses inside and kept saying everything was "baller", I'd prefer him infinitely over the guy that looked at him and declared him to be "moronic" and a "douchebag" because of his style. One is harmless but the other is something which to me signifies a close-minded asshole.
You asserted that the douchebags with popped collars saying stupid shit are "channel[ling] black culture." You further asserted that the primary objection to "'wigger' culture" (wow) is that white people "acting black" makes other white people uncomfortable.
Your assertions are objectively false.
You also suggested that the negative reaction to the objectionable behavior of the Rap Genius founders is in fact not a reaction to specific behavior by specific individuals, but part of an "undercurrent of hatred for baller/rap/black (so-called 'douchebag') culture". I don't even know what to do with that.
>>The problem I have with this whole argument is that even if a guy had a popped collar, was wearing dark sunglasses inside and kept saying everything was "baller", I'd prefer him infinitely over the guy that looked at him and declared him to be "moronic" and a "douchebag"
Good for you. I know plenty of black folks who wouldn't.
>> You asserted that the douchebags with popped collars saying stupid shit are "channel[ling] black culture."
I didn't say anything about people saying stupid shit. A negative statement like that would be inconsistent with the rest of my argument.
I also didn't say that they were douchebags. I said "(so-called "douchebag")" which is a british word to show that you believe a term is unsuitable and not correct [0] also I said: "I think that people recognise the style as douchebag because it's uncomfortable for them to see white people "acting black"." I was implying that it was just a term which people use to describe a behaviour that they do not like for classist/racist reasons but which allows them to dodge allegations as such.
>> You further asserted that the primary objection to "'wigger' culture" (wow) is that white people "acting black" makes other white people uncomfortable.
Yes. I believe there is a heck of a lot of underlying racism there - and that we're seeing the same thing here.
>> Good for you. I know plenty of black folks who wouldn't.
Who am I to take away somebody's right to be a dick or offended?
I don't want to continue arguing anyway - my core point was that we shouldn't judge books by their covers: there are plenty of people that speak differently and wear very different clothes from both you and me and we should allow them to be and (in the case of the OP, instead of RapGenius) actively include them in our own culture.
Douchebag culture and black culture are radically different. First, there are several different black cultures: everything from upper-middle-class to working-class to poor African-American, plus several Afro-Caribbean cultures, plus a huge number of distinct African cultures.
Douchebag culture (which is in vogue among the VC darlings, especially in the elite networks OP described) is a historically white phenomenon: popped collars, brogramming, saying shit like YOLO and WHPH ("work hard play hard"). Douchebag culture is a dominant culture in the Valley (not the only one) and we need outlets like Valleywag to remind everyone how ridiculous it is.