Ok, so I finally watched the video of the black bloggers panel from SXSW 2006 after reading Jimi’s somewhat harsh critique. Having read Jimi for some time now and briefly met him many moons ago, I know he can be brusque so I thought wow, they couldn’t have been that bad. And they weren’t but I do agree with some of his points. I am glad they all went, I’ve been reading most of them for a while, George and Jason mostly and Tiffany Brown on blackfeminism.org. I used to read Lynne all the time, it’s nice to re-discover her blog.
I was disappointed by the discussion on standard english and black english. I felt like, Wha-? I mean c’mon, why are these obviously intelligent folks giving a hot biscuit about what folks think about their language usage. I can’t waste my time about it, really, and I’m not nearly so smart. I talk how I talk, and I keep it the same regardless of who I am talking to or think I’m talking to via this blog. In my experience black folks tripping out over someone sounding ‘white’, it’s not what you say in regards to english usage but how you say it – When I was younger I used to speak higher and in a ‘whinier’ or nasal sounding tone, (and I can still slip into this when I get nervous) and people would often comment that I sounded ‘white’. As I have gotten older and more confident in myself, as well as more vocal about how diverse the people in my culture are/sound, my sound has become more relaxed, my voice deeper, and not nasal sounding at all. While to some white people I sound ‘white’ simply because I don’t speak full-on black english, few black people mistake me for white anymore over the phone or whatever. Neither do most black folks mistake me for white online, if they come across my words without seeing a pic, or accuse me of being ‘bougie’.
I don’t care what white folks think I am or how they interpret my words, because experience has taught me that most are going to think what they want anyway (hit the link to read a PRIME example of what I’m talking about); most are going to pigeon-hole me anyway. I was disappointed that the panelists actually ‘weighed their words’ carefully with a white audience in mind, actually deliberated over whether to use standard or black english, as if their use of standard english meant a grand mal hot dog to some prejudiced white person reading their blog. As if! Um, aint you know you can write like a dictionary and they will either A) still hear/read ‘I ain’t got no’ or ‘We be’ or whatever or B) have an apoplexy that you know ‘big’ words let alone how to conjugate a verb! (they did talk about that; white folks telling them how articulate they were at last year’s SXSW)
Forget about it. Be real, already. Ya’ll should know this by now, panelists. Write like we are really free to be who we are. Because we won’t ever be if we don’t claim that right.
I was also disappointed by Lynne’s going off about Bol. He did dog her out, straight up, and is still being mean, but I would have not wasted panel time bringing it up at SXSW. Maybe mention it in passing, like about having issues with folks on or about the blog and how to deal with that, but she kinda went too far. You could tell she had thought about it a great deal and spent time preparing for it, planning to interject it into the discussion. I have been a member of a few message boards for a number of years more so than being involved in others’ blogs, but I have also had my little internet beefs. Like Bol, I said my ditty and moved on, often forgetting about it, but the other person stewed and fumed over it and dwelled on it and obsessed about it. Watching Lynne is another reminder to myself to choose my words carefully, because you never know how deeply you can hurt someone’s feelings.
But overall I thought the discussion was good, particularly the discussion on anger perception and race. Very interesting. I agree with Jimi that a panel on black bloggers should be more diverse. I’d go to SXSW 2007 to see a diverse panel representing.
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7 Responses to SXSW Black Bloggers Panel
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- I'm Trula and this is my mommy blog. Being the mother to these children has been one of the most beautiful things to happen to me. Trula Kids, formerly Mama Specific Productions, is part of the MSPmedia network ©2002-2011 All Rights Reserved
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the language discussion was not purely about what white people think. it was about how language use — not just b.v.e., but spanglish, and immigrant english — shapes perception and audience and how your audience perception shapes how you write.
to me it’s a legit question: if you are trying to build community via your blog (and most of us are), how does your language use help or hinder that process? try reading a spanglish blog and you’ll see what i mean.
Too right Tiffany, the language discussion wasn’t just on what white folks think but the aspect of the discussion that dealt with what white folks think rubbed me the wrong way, is what I’m saying.
trula i totally get your points and they are valid. i to agree there should be more voices. as for going off on bol, i don’t think i went off on him as much as recounted what happened in the past.
i did this by expressing particularly 1) hip-hop beefs in general 2) blog beefs in general and finally, how i’ve often felt isolated as a woman who is one of a handful who writes about the topics i write about on the web. if it was taken as my dissing bol – that is not how it was intended.
it was an example of something that happened to me, and of something that happens particularly with hip-hop blogs. truth be told i did not prep myself for that segment of discussion in the way you describe as it was one of the only times that i’ve gotten into “beef” on the web – so it was the only example i had to pull from.
i don’t normally get emails or comments from people offended by my posts and since we were talking about experiences of audience and voice – and in that vein we were discussing commentors and the like – that was my example.
but again, overall, i truly enjoyed reading your post and hearing another perspective on my actions as well as the panel overall.
Hi Lynne! Thanks for reading it in the spirit it was intended. My mistake, it did seem to me like you had thought about it a lot, which is understandable given the things he posted about you.
You’ll notice that a) she had this shit pulled up on her laptop and ready to go before the thing even started and b) she started out saying some, shit about “individuals who want to be the voice of hip-hop on the internet.”
You were right to think she had this all planned out.
Hi Byron! I am willing to take her at Lynne at her word though, you know? either way it seemed like her feelings were hurt bad enough to ‘go there’ about it.
Trula, I’m too busy over here, nodding my head in appreciation to post anything coherent, but I just wanted to give you a quick shout and holler, AMEN, and AMEN again, on your comments re: folks trippin’ over code switchin’. In the past I was of two minds on the subject, when it came to assuming multiple tongues to accommodate multiple communities, but these days, at least in the blogsphere, I’m about using the tongue that speaks to me and what I’m about. If folk are feelin’ that, they’ll hang, if not, they’re free to flow on. I ain’t trippin’ no more because the act of translation, particularly when you’re addressing the ‘white gaze’ or the ‘mainstream’ audience, is often, for me, counter to productivity. By the time I finish translating, I be done forgot what I was talking about! And also, some of the historical, cultural nuances, the music and the humor gets completely lost… I could go on, but I’ma quit here. Just wanted to say, yeah, say that, Amen. Peace!