It finally happened. Cowboy and hillbilly costumes are now "crude and offensive"

[Colonâ„¢]

That dean is certainly guilty of being patronizing but as tends to be the case with the Telegraph and its ilk the story got twisted around somewhat so people could get to rage about progressive/liberal extravagance.

[The Mad Monk]

I know all about the Torygraph.

CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard told watchdog group Campus Reform that while the school condemns such costumes, students will not be penalized for wearing them.

"When you dress up as a cowboy, and you have your sheriff badge on and a big cowboy hat, that's not a representation of a cowboy, that's not a representation of people who work on a ranch that's not a representation of people who live in the West, that's kind of a crude stereotype," Hilliard said.

NBC News.

[mrmitchell]

I guess you're only looking at the initial notice. A university spokesman pointed out cowboy costumes specifically as being "a crude stereotype" while "clarifying" the statement.

Is your cite that one line in the Telegraph article? I'm unconvinced that context about Indians wasn't left out. There's nothing offensive about cowboys unless you pair them with savages to scalp them.

edit:: You ninja bastard. Thanks for backing it up. It looks like the spokesman was trying to use his own life as an example, since he begins that with "My people are ranch people from Montana" in NBC News's source (the odious-looking Campus Reform. I'll additionally note that 'crude' has divergent meanings - 'insensitive' and 'unrefined' - and it looks like he's meaning 'unrefined' since he uses "crude, kind of insensitive intentions" in another quote. It should be beyond argument that somebody's cowboy boots and stetson hat Halloween outfit is going to be unrefined.

[The Mad Monk]

Is your cite that one line in the Telegraph article? I'm unconvinced that context about Indians wasn't left out. There's nothing offensive about cowboys unless you pair them with savages to scalp them.

I'll let you catch up.

[mrmitchell]

see edited post and 13:06 timestamps

[The Mad Monk]

I'd say that's even more repugnant, since he would be admitting that there's nothing offensive about it, but he doesn't want them using that costume anyway. It's way oversensitive, and it's using a position of authority to push that on others.

[Sava]

it's using a position of authority to push that on others.

Uhmm no.

That person has no authority to push anything on anyone. The statement even says so. They are only "encouraging" people to not wear offensive costumes. There are no official consequences whatsoever to being an asshole.

Anti-PC people are such idiots. And they don't like being confronted by the fact that they are assholes that nobody likes.

[mrmitchell]

What else is authority for?

It seems like he was just answering questions off-the-cuff and thought his own life experience would make a good example, probably since he has some iffy understanding of the pitfalls of cultural appropriation and knows better than to speak for another group. Unfortunately for him there's no way to shoehorn Montana ranchers* into the paradigm of cultural sensitivity without it coming out silly. Obviously this guy isn't going to feel the sting of racism (whatever-ism) if he goes to a party and sees somebody in vaguely rancher-esque thrift shop finds.

* Even better - "ranch people from Montana"

[Sava]

I was referring to the UC Boulder Dean of Students, in my post... just to be clear.

[The Mad Monk]

Uhmm no.

That person has no authority to push anything on anyone. The statement even says so. They are only "encouraging" people to not wear offensive costumes. There are no official consequences whatsoever to being an asshole.

Anti-PC people are such idiots. And they don't like being confronted by the fact that they are assholes that nobody likes.

You mean force, not push. "Encouraging" is pushing.

[mrmitchell]

It's mildly irritating when people ask if Arkansans (least to most serious) wear shoes, ride horses to work, marry our cousins, or practice segregation, and those are all about prejudice and grouping people into 'others', but I'd rightfully get laughed out of any room in which I tried to compare that to the experience of Black or Native Americans. If I was invited to a "Arkie party" where they spread a bunch of hay in their living room and drank moonshine out of jugs with XXX printed on the side, it'd be crude and ignorant, but hardly offensive. The first two are binary propositions but the question of justifiably taking offense is where context comes into play.

edit: UC Boulder, if you're reading this, can I have a spokesperson job?

[The Mad Monk]

Yep. You want annoying? Tell people you're from New Jersey and watch all the Jersey Shore and Sopranos references come out.

[The Mad Monk]

Actually, once that Pandora's box is opened, which costumes are acceptable?

[mrmitchell]

Yep. You want annoying? Tell people you're from New Jersey and watch all the Jersey Shore and Sopranos references come out.

At least people know those are television shows. Try convincing some stranger you've never participated in or even known about a "f*g drag."

[Sava]

You mean force, not push. "Encouraging" is pushing.

Are you gonna be okay? Are you upset and threatening by this... "pushing"? ... By a dean of students at a school you don't go to? Is their personal opinion so threatening to you?

Is ignoring someone you disagree with such an unreasonable proposition?

For fuck's sake. Why are anti-PC people such whiny little babies? My entire life has been spent ignoring people who "encouraged" me to do what they thought was best. Ignoring people is an important life skill.