Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black man

smartcooky said:
If people have questions about it or want to know what its about, then they should watch it.
If they don't want to do that, then they should just shut up about it and leave.
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This seems an odd argument.

"Watch this video!"
"What's it about?"
"How dare you question me? Watch it or **** off!"

smartcooky said:
Wonders of Life (Prof Brian Cox)
Summary: 4.5 billion years ago, the solar system is formed, then life starts.
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Honestly, the first Brian Cox series I tried to watch I did turn off because it wasn't telling me anything. It was supposed to be about entropy and it spent the first 10 minutes saying that the Arrow of Time existed and ran in just one direction. Then it spent the next 10 minutes saying exactly the same thing in a slightly different way. Then it spent the next 10 minutes repeating it again. Halfway through the programme and it had imparted information that could comfortably have fit into 30 seconds.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
This seems an odd argument.

"Watch this video!"
"What's it about?"
"How dare you question me? Watch it or **** off!"



Honestly, the first Brian Cox series I tried to watch I did turn off because it wasn't telling me anything. It was supposed to be about entropy and it spent the first 10 minutes saying that the Arrow of Time existed and ran in just one direction. Then it spent the next 10 minutes saying exactly the same thing in a slightly different way. Then it spent the next 10 minutes repeating it again. Halfway through the programme and it had imparted information that could comfortably have fit into 30 seconds.
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Or which you imparted to us in 3 lines of a post. How do those people get such good production values without learning to type?

But U tube is really good for how-tos. I can throw away my 500 pounds of technical manuals, videos put them to shame.
 
4 vids in and he has yet to Coverse about anything Uncomfortable. Pretty generic stuff for 2020. Well, except that he can run down white children on his bike if they dare not hang on his every word while he talks to their backs from meters away when they have headphones on. That's pretty Uncomfortable, for the white girl, anyway. Actually, it's a little Uncomfortable that we are expected to believe that white people evidently flock to him for life advice. He's a sportscaster, right? Is that the normal thing, to treat them as Life Coaches? I'm out of that loop.
 
smartcooky said:
Same applies to ALL video content

Titanic (all the movies and documentaries)
Summary: Big boat hits iceberg and sinks. Many people die.

Wonders of Life (Prof Brian Cox)
Summary: 4.5 billion years ago, the solar system is formed, then life starts.

Even in pure fiction...

The Martian
Summary: Fictional astronaut gets stranded on mars, and they rescue him.

So yeah, so all that story about how Watney was supposed to have got stranded, how he did the science and the math to enable him to survive, how he and the science guys figure out how to communicate and how to get him back, all clickbait, right?

A summary might give you the bare basics of what happened, but it does not truly represent the substance of the video. The joy of video is not just the information it imparts, its the way that information is presented.
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This isn't an artistic work. I'm not asking you to present to me James Cameron's artistic vision in your own words. That wouldn't be fair to you, and it wouldn't be fair to James Cameron. It wouldn't even be fair to the movie Titanic, really.

But this isn't an artistic work. This is advocacy. The author's vision should be adaptable and expressable by others in their own words. If you can't explain what he's talking about and why it matters for yourself, then his video has failed.

So you've got this video that you think presents important ideas that everyone should know and understand. But you can't explain what those ideas are, or why they're important, or how we should understand them. You've seen the video, you've got the knowledge, but you can't figure out how to communicate it in your own terms. The only possible way is for us to watch the video that you watched. That doesn't sound like good communication at all. That sounds like some weird cult thing.

Even Titanic does better than that. There are countless reviews and essays about the movie's themes, ideas, and meanings. Is it really just an old woman telling a story about how she got laid on a cruise ship? Good question. And I bet you could answer it pretty well, without having to say, "it's impossible for me to explain, you have to watch the movie to understand".
 
casebro said:
Or which you imparted to us in 3 lines of a post. How do those people get such good production values without learning to type?

But U tube is really good for how-tos. I can throw away my 500 pounds of technical manuals, videos put them to shame.
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Yup. Some time ago, I was trying to figure out what was causing an old Canon EOS model shutter to fire randomly (without pressing the shutter release, just bumping the camera would fire it). I even had the official service manual from the Canon Service facility, but it was no help. Then I found a YT video that not only explained the problem but showed exactly how to fix it, including which screws and covers to remove, thing to be careful of when dismantling it, and the exact part causing the problem.

I frequently use YT videos to help me repair old VHS tape machines for customers so that they can review their tapes before bringing them to me for transfer to digital format.

Yeah. YouTube videos - nothin' but clickbait :rolleyes:
 
Uggg, the usual misuse of the MLK quote about a riot being the language of the unheard. Let's remember what MLK said white America did not hear:

“I think that we’ve got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard. And, what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the economic plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years.”
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But of course the plight of the Black poor has not worsened over the last few years; up until covid Blacks were employed at record levels. And anyway it is obvious that MLK was finessing the issue of riots when talking to white reporters while discouraging riots to Black audiences. Non-violence was his credo, remember?
 
smartcooky said:
Yup. Some time ago, I was trying to figure out what was causing an old Canon EOS model shutter to fire randomly (without pressing the shutter release, just bumping the camera would fire it). I even had the official service manual from the Canon Service facility, but it was no help. Then I found a YT video that not only explained the problem but showed exactly how to fix it, including which screws and covers to remove, thing to be careful of when dismantling it, and the exact part causing the problem.

I frequently use YT videos to help me repair old VHS tape machines for customers so that they can review their tapes before bringing them to me for transfer to digital format.

Yeah. YouTube videos - nothin' but clickbait : rolleyes :
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Help me understand: Are these particular videos step-by-step visual instructions that I can follow to solve some specific and concrete problem in my life?

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Have you ever been run down by a black person on a bicycle while jogging with your headphones on? Here's how you can avoid that in three easy steps:

1. Take your headphones off! This is the most important step. Many black people don't think of music as something you listen to privately, drowning out other noises around you. When you are out in public, be sensitive to their needs and values. Keep your ears open to hear the warning when a black bicyclist is bearing down on you.

2. Be on the lookout for black people, and pay attention to them when you see them! For generations, black people in America have been ignored and dismissed. Taking off your headphones allows you to hear black people, but that by itself is not enough: You also have to listen to black people.

3. Check your privilege and embrace your discomfort! Yes, jogging without having something to listen to can be uncomfortable if you're not used to it. And constantly checking over your shoulder for black bicyclists is somewhat awkward. But really? It's the least you can do. Think of it as reparations for the soul.

Don't forget to hit Like and Subscribe! #reparationsforthesoul Peace out crackas!
 
Brainster said:
Uggg, the usual misuse of the MLK quote about a riot being the language of the unheard. Let's remember what MLK said white America did not hear:



But of course the plight of the Black poor has not worsened over the last few years; up until covid Blacks were employed at record levels. And anyway it is obvious that MLK was finessing the issue of riots when talking to white reporters while discouraging riots to Black audiences. Non-violence was his credo, remember?
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Is that why McConnihay kept pointing and saying "heard" when Emmanuel stopped speaking? Was he afraid of him rioting otherwise? I mean, he was a Philly lineman.

Or was he pointing and saying "herd", as in "go round up the sheep, bitch"? That would be Uncomfortable.
 
I'm really intrigued with this. If I say "on your left" three times to someone who quite obviously cannot hear me, can I run them over too, and it's their fault for not hearing me? Does this spell extend to motor vehicles? Light aircraft?
 
Thermal said:
I'm really intrigued with this. If I say "on your left" three times to someone who quite obviously cannot hear me, can I run them over too, and it's their fault for not hearing me? Does this spell extend to motor vehicles? Light aircraft?
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Apparently it depends on the races and ethnicities of the people involved. Some things just don't have a universal principle that is independent of race.

ETA: Ninja'd by Ron Obvious. I guess it really was obvious! Ah, but was it an American Ninja or a Chinese Ninja Warrior? Was it cultural appropriation when Quentin Tarantino wrote Hattori Hanzo into one of his movies?
 
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Thermal said:
I'm really intrigued with this. If I say "on your left" three times to someone who quite obviously cannot hear me, can I run them over too, and it's their fault for not hearing me? Does this spell extend to motor vehicles? Light aircraft?
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That crap torques me too. I used to walk the Mission Beach, San Diego boardwalk. Eye candy abounds, reward for walking. But the bikers acted as if they had priority over pedestrians. First time I heard "On your left", I moved left. Next time I'll just clothes line the guy. Do you think it will be OK as long as I say "On your throat" first? If he is white too, can I still claim White Privilege, or stick with Pedestrian Privilege?
 
casebro said:
That crap torques me too. I used to walk the Mission Beach, San Diego boardwalk. Eye candy abounds, reward for walking. But the bikers acted as if they had priority over pedestrians. First time I heard "On your left", I moved left. Next time I'll just clothes line the guy. Do you think it will be OK as long as I say "On your throat" first? If he is white too, can I still claim White Privilege, or stick with Pedestrian Privilege?
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I'm already playing around with "stop or I'll shoot" and "you are giving consent"
 
theprestige said:
Apparently it depends on the races and ethnicities of the people involved. Some things just don't have a universal principle that is independent of race.

ETA: Ninja'd by Ron Obvious. I guess it really was obvious! Ah, but was it an American Ninja or a Chinese Ninja Warrior? Was it cultural appropriation when Quentin Tarantino wrote Hattori Hanzo into one of his movies
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It was probably racist to make Hanzo both a sushi chef and a world class swordmaker. East Asian overachiever stereotypes were a little on the nose.
 
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