#providing facts
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lithuilgreenleaf · 2 years ago
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Some people say Elvis was racist; this is false
 Go to the bottom for summary (tl;dr)
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I sometimes see some wrongly directed hate for Elvis and just want to try to clear it up. I’m a POC and I’m not a fan of his even a little bit, and I’m not saying he didn’t do some of whatever you accuse him of, but I don’t want people hating on others with misinformation.
Elvis was not racist. He never said anything racist, and he admired and respected black people.
The only two allegations on record that I can find against him of racism are these:
One magazine in 1957 started a rumor that Elvis Presley once said, “The only thing Ne**oes can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes.” This claim was debunked and proven false when a black reporter, Louie Robinson, investigated. He interviewed Elvis, who declared, “I never said anything like that, and people who know me know that I wouldn't have said it.” Elvis had never even been to the place where the magazine claimed he said this quote. Robinson found no evidence that the remark had ever been made, and on the contrary elicited testimony from many individuals indicating that Presley was anything but racist, including black people who knew him since childhood and black artists who performed with him. After his investigation, Robinson concluded, "To Elvis people are people, regardless of race, color or creed." (link) (second link)
“Fight the Power” was a 1989 rap hit by Public Enemy, which had the lyrics, “Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant shit to me / Straight-up racist that sucker was / Simple and plain / Motherfuck him and John Wayne” (John Wayne was actually racist). However, Chuck D, the singer and writer of the song, later clarified his lyric associating Elvis Presley with racism. In an interview with Newsday timed with the 25th anniversary of Presley's death, Chuck D acknowledged that Elvis was held in high esteem by black musicians, and that Elvis himself admired black musical performers. Chuck D stated that the target of his line about Elvis was the white culture which hailed Elvis as a "King" without acknowledging the black artists that came before him. (link)
One time, Quincy Jones claimed Elvis was racist, but he had never actually met Elvis. He said that a white performer named Tommy Dorsey told him Elvis was racist, after which Quincy Jones refused to work with Elvis. However, it is on record that Tommy Dorsey liked Elvis on a personal level. Quincy Jones also claimed that every time he saw Elvis, Elvis was being taught to sing by Otis Blackwell, a black composer. However, Otis Blackwell never met Elvis in his life (according to Otis himself). On top of this, Quincy Jones is known to have said some questionable things over the years. Also, Quincy Jones had state din 2002 that Elvis was one of the innovator’s of pop music.
Part of the reason Elvis is sometimes accused of racism is that much of his visual and musical performance came from African American sources. People say that he “stole” African American music, and then became known as the “King of Rock and Roll” despite the many African American performers that preceded him.
Elvis acknowledged his debt to African Americans throughout his career, such as when he stated, “A lot of people seem to think I started this business. But rock 'n' roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. Let's face it: I can't sing like Fats Domino can. I know that.” (That term is considered racist now but was widely used at the time)
Elvis never liked being called the “King of Rock and Roll”. It was a title forced on him by others. He believed the real “King of Rock and Roll” was Fats Domino.
The reason for his singing African American music was that he grew up in majority black community and he grew up listening to black music. He often broke segregation laws by attending black clubs (often with the help of musicians like Ike Turner) and watched black musicians perform. He loved attending all-night gospel singings at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. The performances he saw there are where he later took some of his dance moves and songs from.
Basically, the reason Elvis Presley sang songs by black people and performed in their style was because he liked and respected their music and style. It was his own music too, to him, because it was an integral part of his life.
Elvis always looked up to black musicians.
Once, he recalled how he would listen to Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup—the originator of "That's All Right"(which Elvis later did a cover of)—”bang his box the way I do now, and I said if I ever got to the place where I could feel all old Arthur felt, I'd be a music man like nobody ever saw.”
Once, surrounded by the Las Vegas press, Elvis was asked a question by a reporter who referred to him by his common moniker: “the king.” Rather than accept the title and all the praise that would come along with it, Elvis alerted the media of Fats Domino’s presence in the room. “No, that’s the real King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Elvis said.
Elvis also expressed much love for Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
One time, Elvis refused to perform a concert when the organizers refused to allow the Sweet Inspirations (Elvis’s black female backup group) to perform with him. Elvis only agreed to perform once the organizers said the Sweet Inspirations could perform with him.
Black musicians admired Elvis right back.
B.B. King ("The King of the Blues"), who maintained a friendship with Elvis throughout his life, said of him, “Let me tell you the definitive truth about Elvis Presley and racism. With Elvis, there was not a single drop of racism in that man. And when I say that, believe me I should know”. King wrote in Elvis’s defense, “Elvis didn’t steal any music from anyone. He just had his own interpretation of the music he’d grown up on, same is true for everyone. I think Elvis had integrity.” Presley also helped King land gigs, overcoming racism.
Little Richard was also friends with Elvis. Although eh pointed out that Presley’s whiteness helped his career, he did say, “I love him. That’s my buddy, my baby. Elvis is one of the greatest performers who ever lived in this world.”
"Elvis created a new style all his own, and gave an injection to black music like no other artist had ever done." - Rufus Thomas.
Sammy Davis Jr said of Elvis, “I have a respect for Elvis and my friendship. It ain't my business what he did in private. The only thing I want to know is, 'Was he my friend?', 'Did I enjoy him as a performer?', 'Did he give the world of entertainment something?' - and the answer is YES on all accounts. The other jazz just don't matter.” He also said, “Early on somebody told me that Elvis was black. And I said 'No, he's white but he's down-home'. And that is what it's all about. Not being black or white it's being 'down-home' and which part of down-home you come from.”
James Brown once wrote, “I wasn't just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him ... I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There'll never be another like that soul brother.”
Muhammad Ali admired Elvis. “When I was 15 years old and saw Elvis on TV, I wanted to be Elvis,” said Ali. “Other kids in the neighborhood were listening to Ray Charles and James Brown, but I listened to Elvis. I admired him so much and I decided that if I was going to be famous, I’d do it just like him. He’s one of the reasons I wanted to entertain people and be loved by the people and make the girls admire me so much.” He later developed a friendship with Elvis.
There is evidence Elvis donated money to civil rights organizations. (link) (and charitable organizations)
tl;dr Elvis wasn’t racist, and he had no intention fo stealing music. He thought he was just another singer of those genres of music which he admired. He didn’t even think he was that good. He believed there were many black singers much better than him. He credited black people as the sources of the music he performed, and never thought he was king of anything. He loved, respected, and was inspired by black performers, and many of them loved him back.
The fact that interpreting black people’s music made Elvis more rich and famous than black performers was mostly the fault of the racist white public. He appreciated black music and black performers, who were role models to him, while the white public refused to listen to black people’s music unless it was performed by a white person. He did try to use his success to help black performers break racial barriers though, and his success did maybe open the door for black performers to gain access to the mainstream public.
tl;dr again: Elvis had a sincere affection for gospel, soul, and R&B, and a willingness to acknowledge his debt to the African-American musicians who had influenced him.
Elvis had problems, but being racist in this way wasn’t one of them.
If you hate him for other reasons, that’s fine, because the man was problematic as hell, especially regarding women.
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doomdoomofdoom · 2 months ago
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Kamala Harris does want "transgender surgery on illegal aliens that are in prison", btw.
So since Trumpists are getting mad enough about the jokes to actually cite their sources, I thought I'd put the source out into my left extremist commie faggot echo chamber, too.
The claim originates from an ACLU questionnaire she filled out for her 2020 presidential candidacy, specifically this section:
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She wasn't given a new questionnaire for 2024, and has stated that while her policy on some things may have changed, her values had not. (This most likely means she moved more to the center to appease larger demographics and cut corners to reach compromises. The basic politician stuff.)
It boils down to this: If you're in prison, whether for "illegal" immigration or other crimes, you rely on the state to provide you with necessary amenities, like food and health care. Her argument isn't "hell yeah everyone in prison should get sex changes for free". It's "gender affirming surgery is a necessary medical procedure. If you are in the states care while this becomes necessary, the state should provide it." If you're outraged by your tax money being used on this, consider the massive amount of people being incarcerated in for-profit prisons, on your dime. Then ask yourself if maybe a prison reform might be in order.
Worth noting: In 2015, while Attorney General, Kamala Harris actually argued against providing gender-affirming surgery to an incarcerated trans woman, claiming that HRT and psychotherapy were sufficiently covering her medical needs. She has since obviously changed her stance and assumed responsibility. (I would like to take this moment to remind my fellow left extremist commie faggots that "willingness to learn and rethink your views" is infinitely more valuable than "perfect from the start and unwilling to listen to anyone")
Also found in the source: This image of Kamala Harris participating in the 2019 San Francisco Pride Parade, wearing what I believe to be a sequin rainbow embroidered denim jacket.
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I encourage you to read the provided CNN article and the answers to the ACLU questionnaire, as they give great insight into her values.
TLDR: Based.
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inkskinned · 2 years ago
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the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.
capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.
now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.
and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.
and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.
and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".
it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"
#this was much longer i had to cut it down for legibility#but i do want to say i am aware this post doesnt touch on human rights violations as a result of fast fashion#that is because it deserves its own post with a completely different tone#i am an environmental educator#so that's what i know the most about. it wouldn't be appropriate of me to mention off-hand the real and legitimate suffering#that people are going through#without doing my research and providing real ways to help#this is a vent post about a thing i'm watching happen; not a call to action. it would be INCREDIBLY demeaning#to all those affected by the fast fashion industry to pretend that a post like this could speak to their suffering#unfortunately one of the horrible things about latestage capitalism as an activist is that SO many things are linked to this#and i WANT to talk about all of them but it would be a book in its own right. in fact there ARE books about each level of this#and i encourage you to seek them out and read them!!! i am not an expert on that i am just a person on tumblr doing my favorite activity#(complaining)#and it's like - this is the individual versus the industry problem again right because im blaming myself#for being an expert on environmental disaster (which is fucking important) but not knowing EVERYTHING about fast fashion#i'm blaming myself for not covering the many layers of this incredibly complicated problem im pointing out#rather than being like. yeah so actually the fault here lies with the billion dollar industries actually.#my failure to be able to condense an incredibly immense problem that is BOOK-LENGTH into a single text post that i post for free#is not in ANY fucking way the same amount of harm as. you know. the ACTUAL COMPANIES doing this ACTUAL THING for ACTUAL MONEY.#anyway im gonna go donate money while i'm thinking about it. maybe you can too. we can both just agree - well i fuckin tried didn't i#which is more than their CEOs can say
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squeakadeeks · 7 months ago
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hello cookierun nation here are all of the cookie cosplays i humbly offer to ye that ive done so far. love those lil dudes
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javelinbk · 1 month ago
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“When we sang together,” Lennon told Mintz in one of their conversations, “Paul and I would share the same microphone. I’d be close enough to kiss him. Back then, I didn’t wear me specs onstage – Brian Epstein said they made me look old. So we’d be playing these concerts, in front of thousands of people, but the only thing I could see was Paul’s face. He was always there next to me – I could always feel his presence. It’s what I remember most about those concerts.”
Excerpt from 'We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me' by Elliot Mintz (link)
With thanks to @anotherkindofmindpod for originally posting the quote
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lesbworth · 2 months ago
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anyone making an adaptation of the life of wolfgang amadeus mozart for some reason
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phrysic · 5 months ago
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cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other
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leescheyenne · 4 months ago
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A daring rescue ft. the Dudleys
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super-firepaw119 · 9 months ago
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Again, this is false!! There are no hearings for KOSA on March 13th—or even in March!
Proof:
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These are all of the hearings scheduled for March; the one on the 13th is for Veterans. You can even look at hearing schedule on the Congress website (pictured in first image) & periodically check for yourself—just tap on the hearing to read what it’s about.
I understand people are scared, but please make sure you’ve got your facts straight before posting; otherwise you’ll make people panic for nothing.
Please spread this around, there’s still no set date for a vote—WE STILL HAVE TIME!!!
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casscainmainly · 28 days ago
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Excluding Jason because he's been through enough <3.
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rooolt · 7 months ago
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guy whos sooooo normal abt the Mountains of Chaos fantasyhigh. Like, the fact that Brennan establishes it as this classic adventure location full of monsters and dungeons for learning adventurers to explore and gain xp, and it’s also the site of kalvaxus’ lair and the temple of the earth defiant its a very fantastical place. BUT, it’s also the place where riz’s grandparents immigrated from, and it’s the place where the cultures worshipping gods like ruvina and ankarna originated from, and the fact that solace literally has a border patrol for the mountains of chaos that the Applebees are literally apart of. It’s something about these fantastical elements that are so often focused on by the people in solace, so completely glossing over the people and cultures that live there and originate from there. I’m so regular about it and I think about it a normal amount
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somegrumpynerd · 5 days ago
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How did he know…
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introspectivememories · 1 month ago
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im sorry but i choose to believe that tim drake is the most insufferable "my man, my man, my man" girl about bear. he does not shut up about him. steph is cooking smth in the kitchen? oh my man can do that. bear cooks really well. dick triaging some poor victim on an emergency site? oh my man is really good at that. mhmm, bear is on his way to becoming a paramedic. damian building something? oh my man is really good with power tools. have you ever seen him build ikea? it takes him less than an hour. for our anniversary, he built me a coffee table. mhmm isn't he amazing? yeah my man did that. yeah my man, mhmm that's my ma-
#and on and on and on#like it never fucking stops#jason gets a tattoo? tim manifests in the tattoo parlor to talk about his man's tattoos#'yeah they're sooo gorgeous! he has a grasshopper over his heart cause that's what he calls me! yeah that's like his little nickname for me#'and there's two cardinals in flight on his forearms! isn't that sooo cute!!! he says he's keeping me with him!!!'#and like everyone thought is was cute at first bc like first gay relationship!!! let tim gush about his boyfriend!!!#but then it like quickly and i mean quickly became annoying#like dick puts on his police uniform and tim immediately is like 'have you seen my man in his paramedic uniform? dont his biceps#look so good in it? and he's providing service for those in need without being a pig! isn't my man so great!'#and dick just has to sit there with his eye twitching bc the last time he tried to defend his police job the whole family laughed so hard#they almost cried.#also i hope you know that all of tim's lines are said in a valley girl accent. with the tone of a woman who is so fucking annoying about#her man. like he's the kinda guy at sunday brunch 2 mimosas deep trying to one up bart on like who has the better bf#spoiler alert bart wins only for the sole fact that he's not annoying about kon the way tim is about bear#meanwhile the rest of the group is creating enough of a ruckus that they're like 2 seconds away from getting kicked out of dennys#and while i would like to say that bear knows about this i just think that he has such hearteyes for tim that it completely flies over his#head. like he sees tim and he turns into a fucking idiot. he's putting in the saline line wrong he's doing chest compressions on a guy#who is perfectly fine. he's letting the steak burn on the stove#so theyre like both fucking useless together. and i think that's love.#bernard dowd#tim drake#timbern#timber
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aroaceleovaldez · 10 months ago
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yknow i was gonna make a post about how happy I was to see the show acknowledge adhd/dyslexia/learning disability stuff and the way they handled and showed Percy's experience with that system, and how it influenced his reactions to things. But i'm honestly glad I didn't because WOW the show completely ditched all of that immediately. There was set-up for a really interesting arc about the demigods = neurodivergence metaphor and "You are singular" (pun off of "half-blood"/"demigod" and a very direct rejection of the "puzzle" metaphor for things like autism) and a very quick acknowledgement in like episode 2 of an off-hand "oh yeah all demigods are like that (adhd/dyslexic)" and then. nothing. absolutely nothing.
heck, they even changed the design of the zoo van (in the books very explicitly a black van with white text, which Percy notes specifically because white-on-black text is more dyslexia-friendly) which is a personal affront to me because That's My Dyslexia-Friendly Van, How Dare You.
i know some people have argued that maybe Annabeth pausing in the store was supposed to be her having a dyslexia moment, but if it was then we would have gotten the Dyslexia Effect™ on the text (and dont tell me they didn't have the budget for it cause HAVE YOU SEEN THEIR BUDGET FOR THE SHOW? They clearly haven't been using all of that). It's almost definitely supposed to show that Annabeth hasn't been in mortal spaces in a very long time and is, yknow, a kid, being indecisive of which snacks to buy.
i have said it before and i'll say it again: the core of PJO is disability. You can never remove that, or else it is no longer PJO. The heart of the series will always be a story made for an ADHD/dyslexic kid to help them learn about and be interested in mythology, and if you stray from that it's going to be very noticeable very fast. Almost every character in PJO has a learning disability. The entire series is framed as a way to introduce kids to mythology in a fun way and emphasize those themes of mythology being important even in modern day with how it still affects our lives, to ask you to look at what lessons we can still learn from these myths and how they apply to modern lives, and that you can be a hero not despite your disability, but alongside it. That is the core of PJO, always and forever. And the show failed that.
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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 1 year ago
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You're mine now, old man.
[First] Prev <–-> Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#wei wuxian#a-qing#xiao xingchen#A-qing's story kicks off so strong. You really get a sense that she feels strongly attached to xxc during the pre-empathy scenes#and that she has a strong sense of loyalty and perseverance with strong survival instinct#but then you see her before all the tragedy and you *immediately* learn she is a clever trickster!#She follows xxc not out of gratitude but out of a sense that this guy is her meal ticket.#xxc is kind and strong but most importantly *noble*#she can smell the self-sacrificing bright eyed hope on this stranger. She knows the mere fact she's a young blind girl means#he will protect her. The fact he gives her a little money doesn't hurt her justification but tbh she would have followed all the same#a-qing is *the* catgirl of all time actually. Follows you for the fact you provide food and shelter. Opportunistic. May grow to be loyal.#That's not even getting into the parallels here between these two characters and wwx (who is seeing these events play out)#the yi city trio are arguably the three split aspects of wwx: who he feels like (a-qing the opportunist) who he wants to be (xxc the noble)#and who he feels seen as (xy the vengeful).#one day I'll write a more robust analysis on that. prob in the tags though#(His a-qing parallels are also tied with the fact they both were street rat orphans who learned how to code-switch to be whoever#they need to be to feel safe. I have a lot more thoughts to share but augh another time...another time)
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utilitycaster · 6 months ago
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one more thing (started to put this on the previous post but realized it applies to CR too) but between CR and D20 discourse, why are so many people surprised when US-based actual play shows are coming out with the message of "being angry and resentful and using your pain as an excuse makes you prone to radicalization into a violent cult with little regard for the lives of others, and that is not good of you" and what does it say about them that they keep trying to argue against this.
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