A mild rant

[pasithea]

So. Lots of people have been passing around a link to a youtube clip from the latest episode of Top Gear. (A cool british car show) http://youtube.com/watch?v=G6MJVzXbqRU

Recently they did a trip through the US. Part of their quest was to 'get through Alabama without getting shot' and to make it more fun, they were allowed to decorate one anothers' cars in ways that might make them more likely to get shot.

They took the challenge in good fun, thinking they might get flipped off a few times or something. As someone who grew up in one of the shithole states, I could have warned them against this challenge.

Even with a camera crew, they got threatened, shouted at, rocks thrown at them, and assaulted.

Now imagine there was only one of them, there was no camera crew, and they were broke down.

A lot of people don't understand why I get so upset at right-wingers. They've never been a minority in a place like this. This is the world I grew up in, and when I express contempt for 'good christians', these people are the ones I'm speaking of. This is my reality. This is the america _I_ know. The people you see in this video aren't 'a few asshats', they're THE VAST MAJORITY in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas in my experience. Probably several other states too.

So, for you, maybe you don't give a rat's ass about what group is in power, or you think a racist or sexist joke is funny, even if it is in bad taste, and then don't get why I get so upset.

Watch this video. This is the world I come from. Imagine being there, being small and weak and different. Imagine these people not just as everyone around you but your family, your friends, your support network, the only people you know.

These are the people I know who call themselves 'good christians' and 'republicans'. This is the sick sad world I see the rest of America sliding into.

It doesn't excuse generalizing or going off on people. That really makes me only marginally better than they are, but if I'm over-reacting to something, maybe try a gentle reminder first. My reactions are often those of one dealing with memories of a very traumatic and stressful world.

Comments

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

To be honest... shit. What the Top Gear guys were doing in this clip is no different from any other game of tweaking your out-group. Here we have people on this show that can afford to occasionally crash very very very expensive cars, driving through one of the poorer parts of the US, waving their Alien Values high. Then when people say "Hey, what the fuck, are you trying to start trouble or something?" they pretend innocence. In an accent that says they're clearly Very Alien. They're mocking a fourth-hand caricature of the South, and are surprised when this offends.

To me, that clip looks no different from that Something Awful guy who snuck into some furry con to plant little flags all around. Hello, I am mocking you, and I am trying to start some shit. They're doing it FOR TEH LULZ and it's no surprise that this sometimes gets reactions larger than they expected.

I wonder if they got releases from that gas station manager, and 'the boys'?

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

I really believe they probably didn't know better. I mean, consider the flashmob Jon and I did in San Francisco. We got attacked by zombies and joined the legions of the undead, then staggered around moaning 'braaaaaiiiiinz'. Freak the norms, yes. And you know. In San Francisco, they loved it! They thought it was hilarious! People were getting their photos taken with zombies and in general having a grand time.

These guys are somewhat recognizable celebrities. Their show plays in the US on the same channel as like Monster Garage and such. It's a car show. Even in the sticks, there was a fair chance someone might recognize them. And the camera crews should have been a dead give-away. Why shouldn't they have expected people to get some laughs out of it? The people in the town could have laughed at them and boo'd them in good-spirited fun, and that was more likely the outcome they expected. They'd get some amusing footage and it'd be entertaining but light-hearted. Their show isn't exactly known for high-drama.

To me, that clip looks no different from that Something Awful guy who snuck into some furry con to plant little flags all around.
There is a big difference. The SA guy was going into it laughing AT the furries. The TG guys (in my opinion) went into it thinking they were going to be laughing _with_. Was their idea to make fun of americans or was it to make fun of stereotypes about americans?

Besides which, suppose instead of goofing around, they'd been sincere? What if it was a real gay person driving through the state that had a rainbow flag on their car which said 'Pride'? Are they going out of the way to bait people? What if you and your boyfriends road-tripped out to visit your mother? Would you dye your hair black and wear mens clothes for the trip so you wouldn't 'offend' people in towns like this? I think if you didn't, you be even more at risk than they were.

Disliking someone's political message is fine. I see cars with Christian fish on them all the time or 'Bush 04' stickers. However, I do not 'get the boys' and throw rocks at them, despite their invasion of a 'liberal' town.