Raye Racist

[AnonymousUser6]

Having never heard of Raye before her BAFTA success last night I decided to listen to some of her music. Was somewhat enjoying it until her lyrics “All the white men CEOs, fuck your privilege
Get your pink chubby hands off my mouth, fuck you think this is?”
I personally feel these are racist lyrics and they are unacceptable.

Do people not read? Literature? From different authors?

For anyone that has read any form of literature, both historic and modern - you will find that authors describe skin colour. I’ve read literature written by black people, by white people and often they describe skin colour - and yes, it can be uncomfortable to read, but we’ve fallen into this weird place in society where it’s better to not see colour than to accept that we are all different shades and races. If you cannot see it as a descriptive piece of text, then I guess this isn’t for you to listen to.

Can you just imagine the discomfort many people with brown skin feel when we have to sit through something like the Merchant of Venice at school… nobody says anything.

The lyric that has been taken from Raye’s song by the OP is clearly really descriptive and evokes emotion - and the fact that we can imagine a pink hand makes it so real. And as music and art and the rest is meant to do - it’s sparked debate (go Raye!)

Im sure if the abuser she was referencing had brown hands, she would have said brown.

Plus Raye is mixed race - that alone changes the argument.

Merchant of Venice is a great example - some of the most egregious racist tropes are directed at a white character, Shylock.

Raye doesn't sneer at skin colour. She expresses disgust at the hands that are abusing her. I'm really surprised some folk are desperately trying to minimise her abuse, smear her for singing about it and are trying to make it all about them.

WTF is wrong with people?🤯

She’s taking about specific experiences with several men who tried to ruin her career. They were ALL white, the music business in the UK is well known for being full of white, very posh men who are misogynistic.

Good for her for telling it as it is and making them all look ludicrous by becoming a huge star.

This is such a fundamental misunderstanding of so many things that I don’t even know where to begin.

It’s best to ignore really. You can’t argue with stupid.

Her album and awards are tremendous achievements even when you don’t take into account her life experiences and struggles with her former label. There is no need to always find ways of diminishing brilliant WOC.

By saying the following I’m in no way suggesting she shouldn’t identify as mixed race or acknowledge/ celebrate her black heritage. I’m also not suggesting that her race hasn’t informed her experience, but Raye is a mixed race woman who happens to have significantly more white ancestry than black. Trying to make this out to be discriminatory is such a stretch even before anyone enters into conversations about the nonsense concept that is reverse racism. She is describing specific men who treated her appallingly.

Oh dear.

Indeed!

@Teddleshon

Youre the one that kept bringing the law into it. Glad you now see that it's irrelevant to situation.

Well yes but not irrelevant to the frankly embarrassing claims repeatedly made on this thread.

Get a grip 🙄

Interestingly Sam Kerr (Indian heritage) the female Aussie footballer has recently been charged with the racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in London after apparently calling him a “stupid white bastard”.

@Hippyhippybake

I think that is positive as it shows racism applies to all ethnicities. I wonder if Kerr thought she could use a racial slur with impunity because of the 'power imbalance ' between the police and poc?

The conclusion is calling someone white as form of abuse is a racially aggravated offence and that should act as a message to society to prevent further racist abuse.

I think this also shows Raye's lyrics are racist in that even though she describes men who demeaned her it was still done in a way that involved a racial slur or a use of ethnicity as a form of insult.

Oh no, cold blue eyes or greasy blonde hair fine. It's the sneering comments re skin colour that isn't ok and I'm really surprised some folk are desperately trying to minimise it.

//

I'm white. I was assaulted age 11 by a family friend. I vividly remember his disgusting hands all over me. I can see as a lyricist you would describe their appearance.

Yet again I ask: why are you all so desperate to defend rich powerful white men? I’d love to believe you’re this outraged in the face of actual real racism, but I can pretty much guarantee that you’re not.

@peachgreen exactly!

<sighs>

Yes describe their appearance, not so much their skin colour. Change pink for any other skin colour and I'm pretty sure you'd be outraged.

This. Do people think racism is just about name calling? It’s the subjection of a race of people economically, politically and socially.

You keep conflating the terms racism and racist - which are nowhere defined in English law - with 'racially aggravated harassment', which is. As is racial discrimination. No one in the UK, of whatever ethnicity, has ever been charged with racism. No one has been found guilty of being a racist.

There's a reason why the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 was not called the Racist and Religious Hatred Act 2006. And the Incitement to Racial Hatred (Part III Public Order Act 1986) was not called the Incitement to Racist Hatred (Part III Public Order Act 1986).

Which is frankly stupid. The police officer may have been disadvantaged in life if he's 'stupid' because cognitive impairment is a disability. It's possible that h has been disadvantaged if he has a single mum because those families do tend to be treated more poorly.

But he has certainly not been disadvantaged because of his colour. In the POLICE FFS. We all know which way that trends. The only reason mentioning skin colour is included as aggravating in law is because of how black and brown people have been treated because of their visibility as a minority. Because of THEIR skin colour.

White people getting pissed off because someone mentions white skin is just using the law to their advantage. It's classic 'equality' not 'equity'. I struggle to see it as anything other than white people going "HAHA look what happens when you get rights, WE use them on you".

It's the same as when men say, "you feminists wanted equality" while screwing us. Well no, I want freedom from the patriarchy actually. Not equality. Equality is us killing 2 of you a week.

Good.

Criticise behaviour without including sneers about skin colour. I've no idea why this needs saying.

@Janiie you either aren't reading PP's or you aren't processing their meaning. I've therefore given up. I think you just want to misunderstand.

I think we are all allowed our own opinions aren't we. 'Stupid white bastard', I mean, wtf is wrong with 'stupid bastard' would you like to try and explain that?

Let's not have skin colour be of any relevance to any slurs and sneers. It is very simple.

Our own opinions, but not our own facts.