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It's the discussion that won't die. Mainly because some of those interested in having it choose to be so ignorant of the history of what "white pride" means culturally versus any other type of "racial pride."
But Cain Velasquez's "Brown Pride" tattoo continues to stir emotion from fans and fellow fighters alike.
The latest to step into the PR disaster is Team Quest's Michelle Ould:
How offended would ppl be if I wore a sports bra that said 'white pride' during on of my fights - or even a tattoo?
— Michelle Ould (@MichelleOuldMMA) October 29, 2013
@stormlandbrand seriously? Not only is it a rhetorical ? But it's a free country-ppl tend to forget. Only weak cowards are afraid to ask
— Michelle Ould (@MichelleOuldMMA) October 29, 2013
@stormlandbrand and if things such as these were never asked or challenged we would never grow as a species or civilization
— Michelle Ould (@MichelleOuldMMA) October 29, 2013
The Voting Rights Act hasn't even been on the books 50 years. There are still many, many people alive who lived through the ungodly struggles of the civil rights movement. Phrases such as "white pride" and "white power" are tied inseparably and unarguably to the ugliest aspects of racism in this country. Asking why you can't have flaunt "white pride" like Cain Velasquez wears his "brown pride" tattoo ignores these very basic realities.
That anyone would attempt to tie "why can't I do it too?" and pretend that it's about "growing as a species and civilization" when basic aspects of equality still need massive amounts of addressing in a country still not that far distanced from segregation being written law...it all just speaks to a kind of ignorance that I can't wrap my head around.
As a white man, I'll throw out the idea that the more important aspect to growing as a civilization is more about how to deal with aspects of lingering social inequality that have long needed addressing. Not why you can't flaunt a term almost exclusively associated with the white supremacy movement.
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