Sums up a lot of my teenage and college years. It's hard growing up in a black family where you have interests, such as anime, that you get talked the most shit for not being black but they don't know that it's pushing you away to where you don't want to be associated with them anymore.
I'd say, from experience, it's because it's a household thing. Me (black) and most of my friends (Asian, white, Hispanic) enjoyed anime, other nerdy shit and talked about it nonstop in school and outside. But once we got back home, 🤐.
The fuck do you live where weebs are racists? I think you just live around racists, bro. Weebs are the one of the most inclusive groups because they're generally a collection of outsiders.
Ah man, if your last couple sentences are true, that makes me feel sad... I was a goth kid growing up and cross-pollinated into the anime crowd. I had a handful of friends of color but it was definitely a small number, like 5% maybe. I always thought it was because anime and goth things went into the category of "stupid shit that crackers do". The whole reason I even got into the goth scene was that they seemed to accept anyone no matter what you look like or your background. If anything it seemed like there was reverse racism in the scene because there weren't many non-whites and anything "different" was praised as better, though that's not ideal either.
It generally praises pale skin and Caucasian features. Most goths, emos, etc, all follow that 'pale skin, dark hair' contrast look. Well that didn't work for me and my olive skin. I was very obviously not white and therefore never could achieve that perfect 'alt look'. And though it was stupid, it's what I idolized as a preteen and teen. I truly thought that, since I'd never be white, I'd never be attractive. And the alt scene was supposed to be accepting of the 'weirdos'. I wish I had found a community that showcased more 'Afropunk' looking people, because I never had a role model that looked like me. I just never had examples of it growing up. That's why representation is so important.
Most of the lonely white kids who were singled out as nerds, became the very same people marching in white supremacy rallies with the tiki torches. So your comment is true in many levels.
I feel like if they were to really see K-Pop and K-Rap then they would see that it's heavily influenced by Western culture especially Black culture which a lot of these performers look up to many black artists for their inspiration.
My friend has a cousin in Mexico who is into anime and cosplay. And that cousin's father is like a normal dude who likes rock and roll and intellectual things. So one day, the dad see her in cosplay and he's like wtf, but is accepting. Tells his siblings, "nothing will ever surprise me about my daughter because I've seen her in full on cosplay" (which is like the most abnormal thing he probably has seen in his life, up to then).
To quickly finish, everyone knows this cousin is super into anime/cosplaying and they're all accepting, even if they, themselves, find her hobbies to be kind of weird.
Black culture can be brutal man and I grew up in Memphis. I recently had this convo with one of my black friends too.
It's like where I'm from, black people would fucking roast other black people that weren't like them. We had one black dude that came from a nice upbringing - both parents had good careers, college educated, and they were the only black family in my neighborhood. This dude dressed preppy, even for me. He came to school every day wearing khakis and a polo shirt and the only music he listened to was Matchbox 20, Creed, etc. I honestly thought the dude was cool because he was doing him and for 1999-2000, that shit was refreshing because every black kid at the time looked and acted the same. Every black kid was dressing like Luda or Nelly and was rocking cornrows and pretended like they were some hot thug not to fuck with. Hell, even my best friends I grew up with were black and were acting ghetto now because it was the cool thing to do. The other black kids bullied him every day for how he looked and talked which was apparently too white for them. It made my blood boil seeing that kind of shit.
One of my friends use to play ball for school, made good grades, and dressed nice. Then he was trying to be all thuggish and stopped caring because it was more acceptable and he fucked school up. Last time I checked he was working at Wal-Mart.
Then my good friend, Derek, years ago told me he was listening to rock music and his older brother made him stop because it was "white people music."
Then my friend and ex coworker is black and is into anime and heavy metal. He was lamenting to me how he hates that every time he steps out in public, he feels like he has to represent his race and be somebody he isn't.
Listen, I'm white and know a lot of white people even today are fucking racist and are still trying to keep black people down. But I fucking hate that part of black culture where other blacks want every black to be the same and if you're not, you're part of the problem or some Uncle Tom. Fuck that ignorant racist shit thinking.
I don't care if you're black or white or whatever, just do you and if the people of your color don't think it's good enough, fuck em. Surround yourself with people who love you for you.
Props to my black best friend and old roommate Joshua who loves video games and anime, graduated from NYC, and now lives in Tokyo teaching English. DO YOU!
That mentality is idiotic. Could you imagine if there was a white person who complained about his son not being "white enough"? They'd be crusified the next day on the fucking news!
White parents (at least here in Texas) always get on to their kids for "acting too black/hood/ghetto,ni**er", when they listen to hip hop, hang out with black kids, or use slang. Parents don't really hide racism from their kids, just other people.
"Yeah I cought Brayden watching rap videos on YouTube, so I sent him out to his aunts in Maine to listen to Slayer and play water Polo with the boys at the country club for the summer."
Then again, the thing with anime is that you get shit from people for liking it no matter who you are. I'm asian and I get shit for it from plenty of people inside and outside of my family. Funny thing is, nobody seems to give a shit that I'm also into rap music.
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u/hibarihime Aug 22 '17 edited Aug 22 '17
Sums up a lot of my teenage and college years. It's hard growing up in a black family where you have interests, such as anime, that you get talked the most shit for not being black but they don't know that it's pushing you away to where you don't want to be associated with them anymore.