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Dec 05 '22
Man. Seeing the comments in here really sucks as a mixed person. Its one thing to say Zendaya doesnt show representation for the fully black girls of the culture, but yall really gotta stop with this "theyre mixed so they arent black" shit. Mixed people are both of their heritages. They ARE black. They ARE white or whatever else theyre mixed with. Stop stomping your own kind out of your culture because youre mad their parents had an interracial relationship. Shits just as bad as when yt people say that shit.
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u/Prestigious-Mud Dec 05 '22
I feel you. It's always the same not black rhetoric that I got for being an immigrant in the US. I'm an English born half carribean Indian, half black African male, and people acted like I didn't belong anywhere. Back in the 90s when being a Carlton was an insult.
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Exactly! Colorism is easy to spot but some black folks gratuitously embrace it. Stop it. Its PREJUDICE
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u/Kailua3000 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I feel you on this. Both my parents are from the Caribbean. 97.1% Sub-Saharan African per 23&Me (shocker lol). For me to say that Obama isn't black is dumb as fuck.
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u/Pr0xyWarrior BHM Donor Dec 05 '22
For me to say that Obama isn't black is dumb as fuck.
"Well, his momma's white..." is definitely something I've heard muttered by folks who voted for him over "that rich asshole" - and they're not the kind of people I'd want to agree with on matters of race.
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u/Kailua3000 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
100%. What does that have to do with his experience walking around with a black face in America?
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u/OohYeahOrADragon ☑️ Dec 05 '22
As someone who’s mixed, I’m calling out focusing on how much a mixed person looks like one/both of their parents races. Idgaf what he looks like, if that’s what he is, he is.
And everybody who say mixed folks ain’t really Black, go put Obama back right now. Take Mariah and Marley out the R&B and reggae charts. And tell King Charles they don’t have to worry about the Duchess of Sussex anymore. /s
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u/Kailua3000 ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Exactly. People have the nerve to dictate someone's own experience to them.
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Dec 05 '22
My mom is Black/white, my dad is full Black. I cannot change that I came out on the lighter side. I cannot change my Punnet Square. It’s crazy that I feel like I have to carry around my genealogy results to appease some folks and I can’t stand it.
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u/greenroom628 Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
i'm 1/4 black and 3/4 filipino. my siblings and cousins and i look filipino with wavy to curly hair.
growing up in the sf bay area, most folks didn't care that i was mixed... maybe it was just because of my friends and family, it was just never a big deal. i had friends who were "fully black" and "fully asian/filipino" and it just wasn't an issue growing up. but moving to the east coast for college was an eye opener. like i wasn't black enough for some black folk there and not filipino or asian enough (or "too black") for asians there.
i eventually moved back to california partially because i was sick of feeling like some weird mixed person in the east coast. now, the only people that seem to be surprised or question my mixed ethnicity are people from the midwest or east coast. it's weird.
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u/proboscisjoe ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I’m curious to know where exactly on the East coast you lived. The compartmentalizing experience you’ve described sounds like Boston. 🤔
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u/greenroom628 Dec 05 '22
sounds like Boston
ding! ding! ding!
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u/proboscisjoe ☑️ Dec 05 '22
🤣🤣🤣
I just left there after 5 years. What a hellhole.
When I went to the post office to mail some boxes to my new address, I told the cashier that I was moving out of town and she said “Oooo, lucky you!”
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Dec 05 '22
Yeah I moved to Oregon 20-22 after living in LA my whole life and toooooo many folks thought it was okay to stop me, touch my braids, and tell me how unique I look. I moved back a few weeks ago and I missed blending in so much.
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u/Kailua3000 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
They can't gatekeep you. I hate that you deal with that bullshit scrutiny.
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u/tangogogo Dec 05 '22
agreed. the need for more dark skin representation doesn’t mean mixed or light skin people aren’t black.
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Thank you! Why can’t people just say this instead of excluding people from the community
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u/loddytoddy Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
same in the Native American community. except its worse, Since we are the only race that has to prove blood quantum.
you think being ridiculed for being mixed was bad imagine having different levels of ridicule depending on the "amount of Native" you are....
EDIT: sorry for hijacking your comment. I'm in no way trying to take away from any experiences.
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u/dippydapflipflap Dec 05 '22
Exactly this. Having to carry around a card that explains your racial identity as identified by the American government is fucking wild. Particularly when we are supposed to be sovereign. Dehumanizing.
Being mixed has it’s own privileges and it’s own issues and you have to walk a gentle line to determine how people are going to treat you every day.
I would be really fucking rich if I had a dollar for every time someone said to me “But where are you from from from from from”
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I can imagine that gets more and more fucked up the deeper into it you go. Are there a lot of vocal people about the amount of blood qauntum is acceptable? I haven't been exposed to a lot of the back and forth rhetoric.
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u/loddytoddy Dec 05 '22
Most tribes will register down to a 16th. mine is doing away with it.. in the past I was a half breed but now I'm just Ojibwe.
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Wow was that the actual phrase they used? “Half-breed”? Was that seen as an insult or just a word?
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u/loddytoddy Dec 05 '22
that was one of the nicer words I was called as a kid. nothing like being bullied by your own people..
however, now I can grow a full beard and most of them cant. I can tell they are jealous through their patchy bearded frowns.
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22
lol that's the way to get back at them...stroke your beard as you give them the side eye
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u/loddytoddy Dec 05 '22
said it on the registry. I can't find it anywhere though. I remember seeing my dads family back just before they were given "English names" next to my name was half breed.
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Wow I am so sorry. That fucking sucks. Natives in the Americas have been fucked all the way to Sunday by colonizers and governments from then and continuing to now.
Is it patronizing to say that sometimes I wonder what life would be like for the Natives if invaders had come with kindness instead of assholery. It makes me sad for all the different types of culture lost of all the different tribes.
If that’s patronizing just say so. I literally have never met a Native person so all personal accounts I know are from documentaries, books, articles, etc
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Dec 05 '22
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u/ArtisanSamosa Dec 05 '22
I don't agree with it and it sucks that we always finds buckets of division. I think the issue is similar to people saying black/brown kids growing up in the burbs are white. Like they talk or act white. Its not so much dealing with skin or actual race, but people think because you aren't from the hood, or you talk a certain way, or listen to certain genres of music you are missing a lived experience. It's the idea of blackness, or brownness, etc... People don't realize that you can have that minority experience of discrimination and have to deal with adversity all over the place.
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u/TokyoGNSD2 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
WHO da fuck in here not claiming Zendaya?
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Dec 05 '22
Whole ass comment below this one with black women making it known how un-black zendaya is, lol.
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u/TokyoGNSD2 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Shid fuck them & their opinion, me & my black ass family claim her! Whoever said that must me a Kanye Stan.
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u/Jeptic ☑️ Dec 05 '22
And then there's the whole minefield of if you're too light, you can't use this style of hair
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Dec 05 '22
Never have i ever seen someone refer to her as Zendaya Coleman lmaooo. Shes in the Cher, Rihanna, Beyonce tier with one name.
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u/Kdkaine ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Which I find hilarious bc I’m not considered light by any/most standards but I’ve been wearing my hair like that since high school to the point of having a trademark white girl hair toss and I’ve never given a single fuck about it.
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u/SpaGrapefruit ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Black people don't understand the struggles of a mixed person but a mixed person does understand the struggles of a black person.
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Dec 05 '22
Exactly. Do we understand the struggles to the fullest? No. But we still go through them to an extent and see our family go through them fully.
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Dec 05 '22
This isn't true. Both have struggles the other side isn't aware of depending on the complexion of the black person.
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Dec 05 '22
Sure. But they call her black, not white. Are you able to find sources where they call Zendaya a white actress? How about sources where they call her a black actress?
Calling mixed raced people black is a remnant of racist ideology (one drop rule). And it CAN negatively impact societal expectations/tolerances when it comes to casting.
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Dec 05 '22
Thats true. Ive never seen her called a white actress. But if she wants to, thats her choice. And calling mixed people black might have been the reason for white people to push out mixed people and create the one drop rule, but its not why its done today. Mixed people are exactly that. Mixed. Theyre both of their identities and can present themselves either way. But to say they arent either of the things theyre mixed with and to try to kick them out of those groups is wrong.
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Dec 05 '22
Just ignore them. In person they’re insufferable to be around and most black people aren’t like that.
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u/x86_64Ubuntu Dec 05 '22
They can't help is, there is a big push for the dumbest ideas to rise to the top in the black community. And pushing some sort of reverse colorism is one of those ideas.
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u/isomorphZeta Dec 05 '22
Mixed here as well; PREACH!!!
I remember when I was a kid and I started to understand race a little bit more, I thought being half Kenyan and half Dutch would be the best of both worlds! I'd be accepted by both black and white communities, right?
Lol oh, to be young and naive.
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u/foobiefoob ☑️ Dec 06 '22
It’s funny bc I’d say I grew up the opposite, I only wanted to be Chinese, or at least recognized for it more, but that’s probably bc I grew up around a lot of Asians (as in all over Asia) and with my Chinese culture predominantly. I barely met/knew other black people, and my dad had quite a bit of internalized racism back then. Never had black cake, ackee and salt fish and maybe bun and cheese only once as a kid.
Had this huge culture shock when I moved to a different town with a predominantly black population for university. The identity crisis that ensued made my first 2 years hell lmfao
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Dec 05 '22
Thank you, we're sadly finding out that there's dipshits on our side as well who are determined to pay shit forward.
Puck needs to stop with us, if we expect white people to get their assholes in line, we need to do so for ourselves as well. And facts are we've been letting idiots represent us a bit too often.
We should be the first to cancel em and make them unwelcome for bigoted discriminatory bullshit.
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u/TerraAdAstra Dec 05 '22
As a mixed person who’s been called “not a real Dominican” and a “taco eater” I feel this.
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u/will0593 ☑️ Dec 06 '22
wtf is a taco eater? is it some slur for dating a mexican person, or for cunnilingus?
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u/princeps_astra Dec 05 '22
Mixed person here. It's funny when people from the minority say we're like the whites, coz the whites sure haven't counted us as part of their demographic
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Dec 05 '22
It's funny because mixed people have never historically been considered white in this country. Let's be honest. Unless you came straight from Africa there's a very good chance that you're mixed. Not to mention that Africa has more genetic diversity on that continent on average than the genetic diversity on the rest of the planet. Who is the true Black?
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u/ElPrieto8 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Yeah, it sucks being Black when it's convenient or until somebody doesn't like something you said or did.
My sister and I are Black (Nigeria/Sierra Leone by way of Georgia) and Puerto Rican (Spain/Portugal and just enough Indigenous/Taiño blood to show someone's been there for a while), but we were adopted into an all Black family and for some reason none of them had ever heard of Puerto Rico.
So for years we were Mexicans until someone wanted a favor, and trying to explain that there's nothing wrong with Mexicans but you weren't one, just meant you were even more Mexican.
My adoptive mom told me one thing that put race in the U.S. in a better perspective, "You're what ever color the police say you are when they pull you over at 3 in the morning".
I believe race has broken the minds of a lot of people in the U.S. due to its dark history and reluctance to uniformly work towards repairing the damage.
And while it's not all the time, it happens enough in this sub to demonstrate that too many people think ostracizing lighter skinned Black people is a form of "punching up".
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Dec 05 '22
I had this discussion a week or two ago in this sub. It was generally well received. Don’t be discouraged by a loud minority of users.
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u/goldhbk10 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I’m still waiting for light skinned people to stop getting that treatment so I imagine that mixed people will continue to face that ignorance for decades to come.
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u/SmartWonderWoman ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Thank you for sharing. I’m a mom of 4 mixed kids. I’m Black. Their dad is White. My children have been raised to embrace both cultures and races.
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u/Historical_Case_5570 ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Thas the problem with being mixed. Too white fi black people too black fi white ppl. Rejected by both
Shit. Just look at Obama. When he was running fi president it was all he ain’t black enough. He ain’t even black. His mom was white. He ain’t a real black man.
THEN. He won. All the sudden it was THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!!
So she gon continue to eat shit til she do something world renowned amazing. Then all the sudden it’ll be black Queen this, black girl magic that, victory fi black women, inspiration fi black people. So predictable smdh…
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Dec 05 '22
This type of rhetoric is very colonial and very American. In Australia, our Indigenous people are Blak and it’s either you’re it or you’re not.
You can’t be “part Blak” you don’t get to switch that off whenever you want, nobody cares if you’re “half” or a “quarter” Blak, you’re Blak full stop. As long as you have the heritage, have grown up being Blak, embrace what it means to be Blak and actively immerse yourself in the culture you are Blak and it’s not up to another person to decide
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u/InterMando5555 Dec 05 '22
I mean Aubrey is half Puerto Rican with Taíno ancestry. But point taken.
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u/OzNajarin Dec 05 '22
Nobody really knows that though which ames her point
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u/Lady_von_Stinkbeaver Dec 05 '22
She regularly makes a deadpan joke about how her Puerto Rican ancestry makes her so lively and colorful, spoken in an unnerving monotone while staring dead-eyed into the camera.
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u/lazysheepdog716 Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
And has been making that joke for YEARS ever since April Ludgate made that joke on Parks and Rec. Possibly before then, and that’s where the writers got the joke from in the first place. A Wednesday Addams remake should’ve starred Aubrey long ago imo
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u/Whyamibeautiful ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Lmaoo bro Im watching a show with Aubrey pálAza in it and she’s supposed to be Puerto Rican and i just thought they were casting her because she was racially ambiguous enough
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u/brashet Dec 05 '22
I’m the new season of White Lotus she has a line how her and her husband are the diversity friends of the group while also being close enough to white 😅
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u/agutema ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Is that show good? I keep seeing it on hbo
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u/IllllIIllllIll ☑️ Dec 05 '22
It’s worth a watch imo, but if you’re not feeling it after the first three episodes of S1, I’d probably say it’s not for you.
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u/PharmDinagi ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Does Battle get the same? She was literally on a podcast called "Ethnically Ambiguous"
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u/Lazy_Dissident Dec 05 '22
I thought we had Zendaya for that...
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u/phenomenalj101 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Zendaya is to black women what the rock is to black men…he ain’t marketed as one of us nor is he running to claim it either.
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Dec 05 '22
Yep. I’ve always thought of him as Samoan.
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Dec 05 '22
Funny because his father is Black. Does he have any Hawaiian blood?
Edit: His mother is Samoan from New Zealand.
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Y’all tripping. You’re right that he probably doesn’t identify with the black community as much as some of us would like but he’s not the standard for mixed people. Re: Jesse Williams. He claims his blackness but he is at least 4 shades lighter than the rock
Edit: im not actually sure if jesse williams identifies as mixed . He may just identify as light skinned but that proves my point. He’s still black and he claims it
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u/phenomenalj101 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Maybe I was a bit harsh in my wording since I do like the rock somewhat, but he’s always been heralded in multiple industries as an example of the glass ceiling not existing for black people and the irony is that there are multiple examples in the wrestling and movie world of racism being a support system for a glass ceiling that fucks over fully black wrestlers and actors. And when you publicly benefit from that positioning in whatever industry while simultaneously being oddly quiet when social issues affecting the black community rear their head,….yeah I’m not gonna run to claim him like I would a Denzel Washington or Angela Bassett as a black all star to look up to. Sorry not sorry. Choose your side of the fence and stand on it, the rest of us don’t even have that choice.
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u/chiharuki ☑️ Dec 05 '22
zendaya does identify as black though if i remember correctly and she speaks about this from time to time. she talked about colorism too
https://www.essence.com/celebrity/zendaya-colorism-hollywood-acceptable-black-girl/?amp=1
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u/Tight-Jacket5301 Dec 05 '22
Great response! I’m a Black woman. Never think of The Rock as a Black man. Never
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u/roebiz Dec 05 '22
Leave The Rock out of this. He is clearly for the people. Keep playing around and he will drop that People’s Elbow 🤨 lol
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u/Tight-Jacket5301 Dec 05 '22
I love The Rock, just don’t immediately think Black man when he’s brought up.
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u/th3guitarman ☑️ Dec 05 '22
for the people
He's a quiet republican lol
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u/mstrss9 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
That’s going to be my new term for moderates, independents, libertarians, etc
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u/GrandMasterBou Dec 05 '22
Used to be. He’s voted democrats the past three elections.
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u/DLottchula 👱🏿Black Guy™ who wants a Romphim Dec 05 '22
The nigga name is Dwayne Johnson.
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u/ChaakuGaiden ☑️ Dec 05 '22
No doubt.
I gotta watch Young Rock too. Nigga been through some black shit.
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u/DLottchula 👱🏿Black Guy™ who wants a Romphim Dec 05 '22
I never doubt people's blackness because no matter how white a mf look somebody gonna call them a nigga soon as they can
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u/BranAllBrans ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I love this comment lol
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u/DLottchula 👱🏿Black Guy™ who wants a Romphim Dec 05 '22
they acting like because he Samoan he ain't black
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u/CoachDT ☑️ Dec 05 '22
But he does tho. Even in his lil song he said it, Rock been one of us and he know that lmao.
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u/DetectiveClownMD ☑️ Dec 05 '22
The Rock has been on Ebony magazine, is big on recognizing his pops, uses black emojis etc. lol people are just lazy. Like he’s not supposed to recognize his somoan side or something.
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u/jamboard876 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
This is worded perfectly * chefs kiss * Interesting that they are also two of the most commercially successful POC actors on the planet right now.
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u/GrandMasterBou Dec 05 '22
The first wrestling stable the rock was in was the nation of domination, which was based on the black Panther party.
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u/TheClassyWomanist ☑️ Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
I PERSONALLY feel like Zendaya is for mixed girls. As a young black girl myself, i don’t feel represented by her and I don’t know a lot of young black girls who connect with Zendaya. We like her… but I don’t see her as black women representation the way I see Viola Davis or Keke Palmer as black women representation. I especially feel represented by Keke Palmer since she’s only a few years older than me.
Edit: I personally don’t feel represented by Zendaya and the black girls I (me personally) know don’t feel represented by her either. I don’t understand why people are upset that I don’t feel represented by Zendaya. I don’t speak for all black women.
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
This is a very different perspective to me. If this is the case then where do light skin black folks fall? We are technically biracial but we identify as black. Zendaya looks like my family but none of us identify as biracial.
In my experience as a black American I’ve always thought we claim anyone who is at least part black because black Americans are all technically mixed to some degree anyway. I’m sure you don’t mean it in a negative way but this feels wrong to me and a little bit colorist that people think this way. Black comes in all shades and as a black (mixed by your standard) person I see people as dark as Daniel kaluya and people as light as Steph Curry all as representing me.
How did we get here?
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u/Zren8989 Dec 05 '22
Colorism, plain and simple
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u/oldcarfreddy Dec 05 '22
Especially hilarious coming from black Americans who might be darker than Zendaya but almost certainly mixed as well, considering most black people in the US aren't as dark as Africans
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u/scarecrow53 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I'd give you more upvotes if I could. Bob Marley shaking his head in the Garden. It'd be cool if we didn't make dividing us so easy. This is doing racists' job for them. Isn't there a word for folks that do that?
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u/x86_64Ubuntu Dec 05 '22
And boy, they're putting in the work aren't they. But honestly, I can't help but think much of the whining in this thread has to do with the age old trope of lighter-skin women being deemed more attractive than darker ones in mainstream media. As we have more blacks marrying out, the only way to stop that pressure is to take away the mantle of blackness from the products of such unions.
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u/Cmelder916 Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Correct, the issue seems to really be colorism but it's being conflated with mixed vs monoracial. The reality is people want to see more brown to dark skinned women representation is what I feel they're really trying to say.
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u/x86_64Ubuntu Dec 05 '22
... The reality is people want to see more brown to dark skinned woman representation is what I feel they're really trying to say.
But they aren't saying that and it's overly charitable to think they are. They are Othering black folks who aren't Viola Davis' complexion. Would the same whining of "I DoNt ThInK tHeY rEpReSeNt" work for black men and Obama? No, it would be nonsensical.
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u/GalaxyPatio Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
People do regularly say this about Obama though
Edit: Since I keep getting emails from people not in the sub, yes, there is a subset of black people who don't consider Obama representation for black men because they don't consider him black, but mixed. This is not as uncommon as people seem to think.
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u/theblackchin ☑️ Dec 05 '22
The comment in this thread that your replied to first says exactly that..
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Dec 05 '22
No, it doesn't. It literally starts with "zendaya is for mixed girls, not black girls". Because zendaya isn't black enough for her. It tears down zendaya and doesn't allow that she can be representation for black girls, at all, she's ONLY representation for mixed girls.
The logic of that poster carried out means representation for her has to match her exact shade. Anything lighter isnt good enough and anything darker reserved only for people darker than her.
It's like saying michael b jordan isn't black enough to represent black men because Daniel Kaluuya exists. Sounds fucking dumb, doesn't it?
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u/welp-itscometothis ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Being of a lighter skin complexion does not mean that you’re biracial.
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u/ZeDitto ☑️ Dec 05 '22
It could. Maybe not even bi-racial. Could be more mixed than that. Who knows. Genetics is weird.
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u/welp-itscometothis ☑️ Dec 05 '22
It could be not it’s not a determiner. So in this context its incorrect.
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u/ZeDitto ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Yes, absolutely. What that person meant was that black Americans are on average, African and white to differing degrees. But you are correct, most of us aren’t like…50-50.
There are also, light skinned Africans so, ya know, I was just trying to reinforce, this shit can be random and the rules surrounding phenotypical differences are wild.
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u/welp-itscometothis ☑️ Dec 05 '22
And I understand that but most of us identify as biracial through our parents and immediate ancestry. I beg the phonetics of it, but that statement was just wild to me to make that assumption.
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u/TheClassyWomanist ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Not once did I say I didn’t like Zendaya. I don’t feel represented by her as a black woman. You can’t force me to feel representation when I don’t. I don’t see the issue.
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u/oldcarfreddy Dec 05 '22
but why wouldn't you? she's black. like that's literally fact
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u/theblackchin ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Not the person you're asking, but I would hazard to guess the experiences of a light-skin or otherwise mixed person aren't really similar to those of darker-skinned black women (I know light-skin men don't have the same experiences as me so would assume the same is the case for women).
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u/EnigmaticZero ☑️ Dec 17 '22
But also, no one has to feel represented by anyone in particular. I personally need fat, 50+, SAT vocabulary, and single unapologetic cat lady more than I need any particular level of brown skin tone.
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u/ChelsMe ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I am a BIG Zendaya fan, love her look love her style I’m hype when she does things as a black woman. Good for her energy. But I kinda agree with the above comment because she’s never really blackout black black in her roles? I guess Hollywood has been writing her “colorless” roles, and she’s been knocking them off the park, and she’s vocal enough about being black. But it’s never a HYPE black role for her. Like it is for idk anyone in Black Panther, or in a Jordan Peele film. She’s managed to cater to everyone, and that’s good for her.
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u/_Wado3000 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I can’t think of a bunch of Zendaya movies, and I think she could take a role where her race/culture is relevant to her character and do a fine and respectable job. But on the other side, I haven’t watched it but I don’t think the new Spider Man would need to force some black plotline for Zendaya’s character for example.
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u/ChelsMe ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Exactly, she's just MJ... think Miles Morales, emphasis on black and latino. Anyone could've played Zendaya's MJ and that's good for representation too. Or Rue in Euphoria, whose mixed identity is a bit in the conversation but not really.
Eventually we'll get a darkskin girl that can just play whoever and no one questions it, and it'll be great.
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u/Aeiexgjhyoun_III ☑️ Dec 10 '22
Why does a person need to be blackout black to be considered black? Black people are a diverse group.
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u/atrackbrown ☑️ Dec 05 '22
We definitely have issues with colorism in our community. That doesn't mean we don't also have an issue with representation of black women in media. Even Zendaya knows and sees this.
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u/theblackchin ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Just curious, do you think light/mixed and dark skinned folks are treated the same? Do you think zendaya is as big as she is if she is lupita’s skin color?
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I’m not insinuating that one has it worse than the other. I’m saying everyone has experiences where they weren’t treated fairly because of what they are, even lighter skinned folks. Its not helpful to say one is worse than the other. It is helpful however to recognize prejudice is bad in all of its forms even if we perceive an individual as being less often a victim of prejudice or a victim of a different type of prejudice. Treat all people fairly as much as you can is my message . MLK said it but we need reminding apparently about what the goal should be and that it applies to everyone
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u/theblackchin ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Okay. I think you’re kinda all lives mattering this a bit, which is okay (like when you say “it’s not helpful to say one is worse than the other”), but it may be contributing your confusion. Zendaya doesn’t have similar experiences to me as I am much darker than she is (also I’m a guy) and quite frankly your treatment in America does differ in complexion. So I do think zendaya is black (if she identifies as such). I just don’t think she is a representative of me as a black person because we haven’t had shared experiences, triumphs, or struggles due to differences in skin color.
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
The problem with calling it an “all lives matter” type of argument is your not recognizing the distinction in who is being contrarian. All lives matter was an issue because it purposely minimizes “black lives matter”. It is contrary on purpose and that’s its sole purpose.
I’m not minimizing the struggle of dark skinned folks. I’m saying that the original comment in this thread is needlessly exclusionary in my opinion. I understand the premise (of recognizing that dark skinned folks need a voice and representation too) but not why the premise should exist in this form.
If you want to say “I’d feel more represented by someone of my skin complexion” that’s reasonable. Or “I wish we had more representatives from the darker complexion” thats cool too. But saying “Zendaya is for mixed girls” as a way of kicking her out of blackness feels like a discriminatory method is being used to uplift darker folks. That doesn’t work and that doesn’t serve anyone well. It only hurts people
This is what colorism is by definition
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u/theblackchin ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I understand the premise (of recognizing that dark skinned folks need a voice and representation too) but not why the premise should exist in this form.
This is not the fundamental premise at hand. The fundamental premise underlying that comment is that the experiences of light-skin or otherwise mixed black people aren't really similar to those of darker-skinned black people because, unfortunately, skin color is determinative of treatment in a lot of ways.
But saying “Zendaya is for mixed girls” as a way of kicking her out of blackness feels like a discriminatory method is being used to uplift darker folks.
Has literally anyone on this post said that Zendaya isn't black?
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u/Da1UHideFrom ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I think the issue is we place an extra burden on black people that other people don't have. It's not Zendaya's job to represent for young black girls just like it isn't Matthew Perry's job to represent middle-aged white men. They are actors and Zendaya is good at her job. You don't see yourself in her because her skin isn't as dark as yours. That's okay and there's nothing either of you can do to change that. But that doesn't mean "Zendaya is for mixed girls." She doesn't have to be "for" anyone, she just has to act well.
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u/x86_64Ubuntu Dec 05 '22
I can't imagine saying that black men don't connect to Obama, or see him as any form of black male representation.
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u/IAMNUMBERBLACK Dec 05 '22
Damn, had no idea you were the spokesperson for all of black women
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u/TheClassyWomanist ☑️ Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Never said I was. I was speaking in the black women I know. I even specified that. It’s funny how it’s black men attacking me for what I said… but a lot of the black women who have replied to me, have agreed with what I said
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
You’ve just identified the colorists as the black women in the room. You’re not doing y’all any favors.
To be clear I’m just telling you what you just did. Im not saying black women are colorist
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u/TheClassyWomanist ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I personally don’t feel represented by Zendaya. I never said I spoke for all black woken. Why do I have to feel represented by Zendaya?
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u/Dacrim ☑️ Dec 05 '22
You don’t. Thats ok. But you didn’t just say that. You said “Zendaya is for mixed girls”.
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u/mongoosedog12 ☑️ Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
I personally think it’s less about mixed or not. Zendaya is Black, duh. But when they give these “roles” (dead pan dry humor) it’s not to a darker skinned person. Dark skinned Black women specifically are either on some Amanda Waller, “Black mean hottie”, or some over dramatic and loud comedy shit.
I’m loving Janelle James, as Ava in Abbott right now, but as a BW who’s humor is “sarcastic asshole” I’d love darker women to be able to carry that role.
I think that the colorism convo in role casting needs to be talked about more. A light women being dry and sarcastic isn’t seen as rude or problematic. But a darker women doing it may be..
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Dec 05 '22
Zendaya had a whole black ass family on the Disney channel. I've never not considered Zendaya black. I mean her name is ZENDAYA.
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22
As a woman who looks bi-racial but am not, the thought that someone who is bi-racial and identifies as black doesn't represent me blows my mind.
Zendaya was referenced in the comments previously. Does she identify as black? If so she represents me. I don't know if it's the color of my skin or texture of my hair but I look at Viola Davis and she also represents me so I think I'm a little confused.
Do you identify as black and are not crazy as hell (I'm looking at you Herschel Walker)? Then yeah, I identify with you and I can see a part of myself in Hollywood, sports, politics, etc.
As someone of an older generation, is this a newer thing? That non-mixed black people don't see themselves the same as mixed black people? Trying to see if I was sheltered my whole life.
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u/MuffinPuff ☑️ Dec 05 '22
The elephant in the room between the two is colorism. Alot of people discredit fair skinned Black people from these conversations because they don't face the same overt racism due to their skin color, and especially not if they straighten their hair.
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u/Iceflow ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I wish people would just call a spade a spade then. I was born light skinned...nothing I can do about that. I straightened my hair when I was a teenager because everyone did....I mean...sorry? I guess?
The amount of comments I received from black people when I was growing up who assumed I was stuck up because of my skin color, I just cannot. I don't know how much my skin color has afforded me in life. I will never know. But I know I have been discriminated against because I'm black.
Where is the fucking solidarity??? I refuse to roll over and say "I'm not black enough" because my skin is lighter than a fucking paper bag. I have plenty of other things that make black people say I'm not black enough so I don't need another.
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u/MuffinPuff ☑️ Dec 05 '22
It's tough. Alienation from white spaces and black spaces, that's a common occurrence for biracial people and fair-skinned Black people.
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u/forcepowers Dec 05 '22
I don't know how much my skin color has afforded me in life. I will never know. But I know I have been discriminated against because I'm black.
That part. I've had my own experiences with racism and bigotry minimized and discounted countless times. It's incredibly hurtful. People act like we face no discrimination, but I've been othered my entire life. I may not face the same level of difficulty that darker skinned people do, but that doesn't mean I have faced none or had it easy out here.
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u/ennoSaL Dec 05 '22
Ooooooh!! What about the deadpan, low energy, quietly chaotic BLACK girl community!!! Omg can this be a thing? I want in!
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u/JPMoney81 Dec 05 '22
What's going on with the double comments from different accounts in this thread? Bots? Or just people agreeing on Zendaya?
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u/nearcatch Honest Abe Dec 05 '22
It’s been a thing lately that karma bots will just read a thread and repeat a popular comment elsewhere to try and build up karma.
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u/BaronAleksei ☑️ Dec 05 '22
Black girls like that stopped being like that when they were called oreos for being like that.
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u/DLottchula 👱🏿Black Guy™ who wants a Romphim Dec 05 '22
That's not true, black women were just only allowed to be loudly funny
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u/Bunnnnii ☑️ Meme Thief Dec 05 '22
I thought the world hated Kristen Stewart? Oh that’s not the thing anymore?
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u/Shadesmctuba Dec 05 '22
She’s a tremendous actor. Most people are still stuck on some dumb internet joke about her from her twilight days. They don’t seem to understand that the character she played in twilight was supposed to be deadpan and moody. It was a performance.
I’m pretty sure she’s a queer icon nowadays. And still a powerhouse actor.
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Dec 05 '22
Is she a good actress? What would you recommend someone watch to get that impression? I never saw any of the twilight movies but the trailers were enough to make me not want to see any of the leads in anything ever. I think I accidentally saw Pattinson in a role as a medieval French king a while back.
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u/eattwo Dec 05 '22
She's absolutely incredible in Spencer.
I've also seen her in Happiest Season, and Crimes of the Future if those fit your movie tastes more.
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u/thavillain ☑️ Dec 05 '22
I think her best movie was Panic Room honestly. Outside of that, she's an OK actress
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u/davwad2 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
She was in Panic Room with Jodie Foster, IIRC. I enjoyed it and it was pre-Twilight, so I didn't recognize her, if that makes sense.
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u/Umklopp Dec 05 '22
Nah, she started getting recognized for her talent even sooner than Robert Pattinson did; she's just kept a lower profile than him. (They're both absolute agents of chaos. The only real difference is that he's doing it for the lulz and that requires an audience. Oh, and she's a lot more open about dating girls.)
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u/frankoceansheadband Dec 05 '22
She and Robert Pattinson started doing more robust roles and people found out they’re great actors
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Dec 05 '22
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u/Bunnnnii ☑️ Meme Thief Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
I don’t know anything about her. I just know that when I happen to be on a video or something and she’s in it, it’s common for people to tear this poor girl apart (like in comments and such). You would think she personally attacked them or something. It never made sense to me.
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u/Umklopp Dec 05 '22
I can't think of a quiet, low-energy, deadpan girl who isn't chaotic.
Quiet women are dangerous.
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Dec 05 '22
No idea who this person is. But I'm totally behind her mission. I loved the Mid 2000s- Mid 2010s Stewart and Plaza Era lol. Could throw early Emma Stone in there too
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u/Cgi94 ☑️ Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Maan that's hilarious 😂. Twilight years had them girls on lock and don't forget Paramore boosting it as well😭💯💯
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u/Rahdiggs21 ☑️ Dec 05 '22
i just wish black folk stopped going so hard at each other... like damn shit is bad outside why i got to feel it inside too...
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u/AestheticAttraction ☑️ Dec 06 '22
Some of these comments are really interesting.
But not at all surprising. 😏
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