Friday, July 29, 2011
Whiteness is Not Benign (continued): Beware of the White Man!
A quick followup to my post from yesterday. Did you know that many cultures actually developed a word for the "white man" as Europeans came into contact with their own? And no, its meaning was not too flattering as "white man" spoke directly to an experience of cultural exploitation and imperialism.
These brothers are doing some truth telling. No? Are there any other songs of a like bent that you would add to the track listing on a perhaps never to released compilation entitled, "Whiteness is Not Benign"?
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From a youngster: http://youtu.be/5HFY1s2g070
(Since I'm no computer wonk, couldn't embed it - Enjoy!)
The Raramuri of northern Mexico use the word 'chabochi' to refer to the white man. It literally means both 'he-goat' (or one with a beard) and 'devil' (or one with horns).
"Chabochi," I like it, it fits. Here in Thailand, they call us "Farang," which is the Thai word for the fruit, the guava. The French showed up here long ago and no doubt blandly told the Thais, "je soui Farangsait," (sic) "I am French." The Thais thought, so, they are the guava people? It's all fairly benign, so I just go with it.
Better than Japan, where they call us "gaigin," or "white devils."
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