Was Chris Rocks tweet about Independence Day appropriate?

1. 59

   spbarton21posted 11 years ago

   Was Chris Rocks tweet about Independence Day appropriate?
   
   Yesterday Chris Rock tweet "happy white independence day. the slaves in this country weren't free" Is Chris Rock taking it to far when there were hundreds of blacks that fought for the continentals as freemen.

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   Josakposted 11 years ago

   It's not much of an independence day for blacks if the vast majority of them were still slaves now is it?

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      Longhunterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      In a free country, no one can make you feel like a slave unless, of course, that's the way you want to feel to get sympathy.

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      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am not quite sure what you mean, in the time frame we are discussing blacks were still literally slaves.

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      Longhunterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My bad. I thought it said "aren't" instead of "weren't."

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      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      OH, np then that makes sense and is true.

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3. 69

   vveaseyposted 11 years ago

   Talk about stirring up racial reactions! You didn't give the complete quote
   
   Chris said, “Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks”
   
   Since Chris is a comedian sounds like he was trying to be funny, making a joke.. Maybe it was a bad joke.
   
   He may have been jokng, but Chris is correct.
   
   Though there were some black freedmen, slavery was still the economic backbone of the land  with thousands of  Africans still enslaved. Slavery wasn't officially ended until 1865. But even after that there were still blacks living in slavery.
   
   The declaration of independence was July 4, 1776. It wasn't until 89 years later that slavery was officially ended so Chris is correct.

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      Longhunterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sooner or later, they're going to have to get past something none of us were around for and can do nothing about.
      
      Now, excuse me while I take my half-Irish ass over to the corner and get mad at the world for the Irish Potato Famine of 1845.

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   2. 59

      spbarton21posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      vveasey: I apologize for not placing the whole quote in the question. However just as it was in 1860 the north and south was split on slavery and was a major point during the constitutional convention.

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      How do you know if chris was mad? whether you think it's appropriate or not maybe he was just joking .
      
      Some people commenting seem angry when they think blacks are mad when they make comments about race or in this case a joke like Rock did.

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      Ralph Deedsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Here's one of Chris Rock's funniest schticks--
      
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhq0NDkUViQ

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4. 0

   Ghost32posted 11 years ago

   It's doubtful Crhis knows about the freemen, or the ongoing struggle between those who favored slavery and those who didn't--which was very much in force (the struggle) even then (1776).  Certainly the history courses as most public schools teach them do not cover that aspect of our nation's history. 
   
   Of course, he could have just as easily decided the date of the Emancipation Proclamation (Jan. 1, 1863) was "Black Independence Day"...or, moving forward through time, perhaps the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
   
   Or, since he makes his living as a hardcore, extremely profane, terrifically talented, and "utterly black" comedian, he might prefer the day of Obama's inauguration as President of the United States in 2009. 
   
   Bottom line:  Did he go too far?  From his point of view, clearly not.  From a historian's point of view, probably yes.  But my suspicion is that his take on things is at least partly due to the inadequate (and all too often inaccurate) historical education he's received to date.

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      chuckd7138posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ghost32, this is a very articulate answer. I very much enjoyed reading it. Thank you for posting.

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5. 60

   American Viewposted 11 years ago

   The tweet was inappropriate and racist. I do not want to hear he is a comedian and  it was a bad joke. That is just a BS fallback to allow such behavior.
   
   I find it interesting the ones who are a part of the 1% making these kind of comments trashing the country they have done so well in. And then I find it interesting all those that stick up for them while crying they are getting screwed by the 1%.
   
   BTW and just a small fact, while slavery was so wrong, they were sold into slavery by their own countrymen.

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   Two Minute Reviewposted 11 years ago

   Chris Rock hasn't been funny since the 1990s. He's sold out to be a movie star and I think it bothers him deeply. I loved his standup, and "Everybody Hates Chris" was well done, but that's been off the air for several years now. He's trying to remain relevant while all the time realizing that his career is headed the same way that his idol Eddie Murphy's is: a one-time ground breaking comedian who shows some promise in early films (New Jack City, for example), but ends up "selling out" to make crap like "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "Grown Ups". He may seem a tad bitter, and given that he has all of about 5 lines in the most recent Madagascar film, I think he's trying to keep his name in the papers. Given that America is probably the only country that Chris Rock is even possible, he should be more grateful....

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7. 92

   Faceless39posted 11 years ago

   Well, he's just stating a fact, and if you look at it right, it is funny.
   
   The irony is that as this country celebrated freedom, liberty, and justice for all in 1776, blacks were not considered to have these "basic human rights"; in fact, they were still being treated as chattel.  It's just ironic that our country, touting freedom and liberty and so on, would run almost entirely on slave labor at the same time.
   
   It's true, and I'm not sure why everyone thinks that's racist.  It's just a fact.  You could cut the irony with a knife.

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