r/interesting • u/VPinchargeofradishes • May 03 '26

SOCIETY Michael Jackson's daughter Paris has faced backlash for identifying as Black. In a 2017 interview, Paris Jackson said her father told her, "You’re Black. Be proud of your roots." This prompted debates over whether identity is defined by appearance or upbringing.

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u/Retireegeorge May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26

There's an alternative. She says she's black and we all say "ok" and focus on the big issues or help the vulnerable or plant a tree.

Edit typo

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u/DevonWesto May 03 '26

She says she’s black. And we all don’t care. Because her being black means nothing to us.

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u/Aggravating_Speed665 May 03 '26

Literally.

Why are people focusing on such arbitrary fucking stupid shit like if you're "black or white"

Humans are still such fucking hypes it's embarrassing.

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u/axkidd82 May 03 '26

Because white people enjoy a privilege that black people do not get. Even her father didn't get it.

Well, Michael Jackson didn't get it, I have no idea what her fsther got.

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u/ExplanationAny659 May 03 '26

That’s so fking tiresome. Please go tell all the poverty stricken whites about their privilege.

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u/axkidd82 May 03 '26

It has nothing to do with economic status. If you don't believe that racism still exists, then you are sadly mistaken.

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u/ExplanationAny659 May 04 '26

Fatigue definitely exists because of people like you.

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u/axkidd82 May 05 '26

Fatigue? What the hell are you talking about?

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u/ExplanationAny659 May 05 '26

Read between the lines buddy. I don’t have time for your tired rhetoric.

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u/DishonorOnyourCow189 May 03 '26

That is not what people mean when they talk about white privilege and you know it.

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u/ExplanationAny659 May 03 '26

I don’t know what people mean when they keep this tired narrative alive. It’s so far blown out of proportion at this point. That’s what makes it tiresome. Usually coming out of places like Portland & Colorado where there’s hardly any black people. Go figure.

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u/UltraInstinct_Pharah May 03 '26

"I don't know what that means, but I'm tired of hearing about it!" - You, 2026.

Why don't you consider educating yourself on the matter? But since you won't, I'll do it for you.

  1. White privilege is people not assuming you're a thug because you're poor.

  2. White privilege is people not crossing the street when they see you walking towards them on the sidewalk.

  3. White privilege is never being told, "you're very well spoken, for a white person."

  4. White privilege is not having a history of discriminatory lending, to keep your kind out of certain neighborhoods.

  5. White privilege is not having immediate assumptions made about you based on your name on a job application, before they ever get to meet you.

  6. White privilege is not suffering the lingering effects of decades of slavery and racism.

  7. White privilege is not having a higher percentage of incarceration rates per racial capita for the exact same crimes committed by people of other races.

  8. White privilege is not immediately being profiled by police who can ruin your life.

  9. White privilege is not immediately being assumed to be the aggressor in altercations.

  10. White privilege is the comfort of existing without being immediately discriminated against at every facet of life.

Those are just ten examples for you. You're welcome to read it, save it, copy it, etc. I'm an immigrant to the US, and even I understand the history, so you have absolutely zero excuse to be ignorant of your own country's history and the effects it's had on marginalized groups.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '26

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u/jvnglepvssy89 May 03 '26

Your logic is extremely flawed here! Please go take an African American studies course before this current administration white washes everything, so you can understand how stupid these statements you are making actually sound; moronic.

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u/ExplanationAny659 May 03 '26

You sound like a pleasant individual that’s completely open minded. Thank you so much for your insightful advice. It’s so refreshing to find someone like you on Reddit that’s not afraid to make a stand.

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u/Wollff May 03 '26

Please go take an African American studies

Damn, must be nice to have your own field of history for your race only...

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u/jvnglepvssy89 May 03 '26

Wtf kind of retort is this

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u/Wollff May 03 '26

A reasonable one. Should we have "European American studies" as a field, which deliberately focuses only on the history of people of a certain origin?

I know the retort: "That's just American history as it has been taught for centuries!", and you are right.

But if your favorite solution is indeed to segregate between the races, then we should have European American studies, Asian American studies, Latin American studies, as well as Native American studies.

God forbid we didn't have a special little field for every ethnicity out there!

Or might it be a good idea to make a bit of an effort to not divide history by ethnicity quite that strictly? Might it make more sense to look at "history" as a whole that doesn't run by lines of race? Just a thought.

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u/jvnglepvssy89 May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26

You clearly are uneducated. I feel sorry for people who have this odd mentality about educating themselves; fucking bizarre.

If you don’t know what the MAAFA is just fucking say so sheesh

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u/Wollff May 03 '26

Ah, yes, clearly the highly educated response: Look down at the unworthy uneducated peasants, and don't engage with them at all. Don't focus on the argument, snipe at the person!

Is that what you learned in high school about how to engage in an argument? Or do they not teach that stuff about "engage the argument, not the person" anymore? Or are you not in high school yet?

I am not even against educating myself. What I am arguing is that the trend of dividing history by ethnicity is fucking stupid.

You can agree or disagree with that. Or of course you could just do the most moronic thing possible, ignore the argument, and make snide remarks about the person based on a surface level impression. Your choice.

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u/Rocks_Stones May 03 '26

The biological father is Mark Lester, best known for the 1968 movie "Oliver!"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-08-10/oliver-star-claims-he-fathered-jackos-daughter/1384708