Am I completely out of touch?

[schlmoe]

I had kind of a twitter fight last night. This dude (we are mutual followers) posted this:



We kinda went back and forth, and my last tweet was:

"I just don't think a gorilla is inherently racist. A depiction with stereotyped features sure could be."

My meaning was that if the gorilla has normal "animal" features, there's nothing wrong with it. If it has more "human" features, it certainly could be. If it had cartoonish features, it would depend on context. The dude never responded to my last tweet.

So forum members, am I a racist pig for believing that a gorilla is not inherently racist? Am I really that far out of touch with today's society?

 

[Ambers Troll]

Sometimes a Gorilla mascot is just a Gorilla....not everything black or white is symbolic of some racist message. Perhaps they should have done a male Gorilla rather than an all black female, added some silver/ grey? Would the private school be criticized for being sexist then, not racist?

Personally I like red heads, so an orangutan would have been better.

 

[Johndoe91]

I'm honestly confused how someone could see a person in a gorilla suit and find it racist, or offensive in any way...

 

[AmberCutie]

Sometimes a Gorilla mascot is just a Gorilla

OMG I'm agreeing with A.T. again... world must be ending.

You're not racist for thinking a gorilla is just a gorilla, @schlmoe. IMO people who try to make this into something racist are more of a problem in this scenario. Not everything is about race, FFS.

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

OMG I'm agreeing with A.T. again... world must be ending.

You're not racist for thinking a gorilla is just a gorilla, @schlmoe. IMO people who try to make this into something racist are more of a problem in this scenario. Not everything is about race, FFS.

This. So hard. This guy is trying way too hard and is grasping at straws.

 

[Tia]

Help me out here, guys.
Is this supposed to be racist against black people? If so, they are the racists for thinking of black people when they see a fucking gorilla.
Or it this supposed to be racist against gorillas?

 

[Picnic]

Context is key here.

Referring to a black person as a gorilla or monkey = racist.

Gorillas or monkeys just existing in time and space = not racist.

So...yeah. Kind of thinking it's just a mascot here, and not a racist one. Unless there's key information I'm missing.

 

[Worship Jaclyn]

Gorillas or monkeys just existing in time and space = not racist.

This needing to be said made me laugh out loud. But then I also want to cry for the world a little bit.

 

[ThePioneer]

Of all the blatantly racist mascots out there and this guy chooses this to get upset about??? This "Coach Nick" guy is a white male and hardly in a position to be speaking out about what PoC should find as offensive.

This is a perfect example of how completely out of touch most people are with regards to racism these days.

 

[Sevrin]

If that were as serious as racism got, we'd be one fucking happy planet.

 

[fandango]

Omg this is sooo racist.

On a side note I've also decided I have no option but to press charges against my local zoo because by having gorillas they are also being racist.

 

[BritneySiren]

hahahaha people are way too sensitive now a days... it's just a suit

 

[JoleneBrody]

that person is aware that gorillas are real animals right?

 

[EroticEevee]

Tbh it all depends on the context. I've definitely heard the term "silverbacks" used in god awful ways and I wouldn't be surprised if racist remarks have been used by non-black students regarding it since racism is still alive and well. I think in the end, does it really matter enough to have a lengthy discussion on it? ///Having "dumb ass" as an option doesn't necessarily help either.///

EDIT: I misread the poll and thought you were calling the person in question a dumbass, my bad!!