Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Ambassador College was a tragic joke, but let's not go overboard. As late as 1950, aging blackface performer Al Jolson was the first performer sent overseas to entertain Korean War troops, who appreciated his act. Unlike Elvis Presley who offensively stole black music and denied its heritage, Jolson's blackface honored the music as the legacy of Black America. It was simply a different mindset than we find today. I realize that most younger people today have a poor grasp of history and have mostly been indoctrinated by the purveyors of identity politics, but the truth is that blackface in its heyday was morally neutral; it could be used to acknowledge and even honor the original Black performers of a piece just as readily as it could be used to demean Black people. Without watching the particular AC performance, we can only speculate as to whether these students were honoring or mocking Black America.
The Armstrong system had no problem speaking out on a wide variety of allegedly ungodly customs of modern society. But, on this, they reflected mainstream society rather than presenting a transcendent view. Still, in our white suburban school in the 1960s, one of my white classmates wore blackface to play the part of African American Jim when we did a Tom Sawyer play for the community.
I recently became aware from watching the HBO TV series "Treme" that there is a centuries old custom or heretage of Mardi Gras black Indian tribes. Participants make ornate costumes costing thousands of dollars, speak a kind of chant to a beat of hand-carried percussion instruments as they wander the streets, stage mock confrontations with other "tribes" throughout the city. Some consider this to be a tribute to Native Americans, while others call it misappropriation of culture. There does seem to be an element of respect involved,mwhich is probably why this custom has been allowed to continue, while acting in blackface has fallen into disfavor.
Wow. Fot the first time in years a comment of mine gets deleted. After I said this was offensive and pointed to biblical examples. That is very interesting. I would understand many deletions, but certainly not this one. New intern no2hwa, you have never been a hypocrite so far?
The world of 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'Father knows best.' I recall the 1961 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' showing married couple Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore sleeping in separate beds. Very different to todays 'Sex and the city.' A different era.
Blackface, like cross dressing, was once used in theater as a form of comedy. Obviously, times have changed, and the practice has died out. Milton Berle, did "Aunt Mildie", and Flip Wilson did "Geraldine" amongst others.
Here is an example from 1965 of Football players dressed in "drag" https://youtu.be/bxVk1MS_AeU?t=35s
As an Aussie we don’t have the historical hangups with whiteys painting their faces black as you Yanks do. I remember it was in the late 1990s when on the TV show “Hey, hey it’s Saturday!” during the Red Faces segment that a group of white singers who had their faces painted black came on and although everyone found it funny the American Harry Connick Jr. was highly offended and expressed his dismay. I remember it causing some controversy in the Australian newspapers too back then. Personally I don’t care what color you are and if you paint yourself a color of another race! Just like I don’t care if you wear a burqa or hoody or turban or dress or kilt or whatever! It’s your choice. I think context is important though. I saw on the TV show “Botched” the other week a white German lady and her boyfriend turning their skin color black via melanin injections because she loves the black physiognomy and basically wants to be black and so is changing her hair to look more African too. What a weird world huh?!
Hey..what about all those Shirley Temple movies? Would they now be classified as "Politically Incorrect/Offensive??? And what about Little black Sambo? Hmmmm....
NCK....Are you referring to Acts 13:1? The use of the "N' word? If that's the case then could/ should the NAACP SUE the "Author" of the Bible?? (tongue in cheek, here :-)) The book being very politically incorrect. Just thought I'd toss that in- my 2c's worth....:-I
To the anonymous Aussie who claims his country doesn't have "historical hangups" about blackface - did you see the news in recent days about the Australian Penguin Football Club?
Their blackface post with a member of the Sydney Swans made news (and sparked controversy) in the U.S.
Given what they're now reading before the national anthem of every AFL match, it probably is controversial to people there as well.
R.L. I did actually catch a glimpse of the news item you referred to. But, it was something like a 15 second report that didn’t cause much ripples at all in the media here since nothing more was mentioned about it—not by politicians, sports commentators, or other social “experts” in the days after. Further, as I said, over 20 years ago Australians weren’t really aware of the historical baggage “blackface” seems to have attached to it in the USA hence the reason why Connick Jr.’s horror at the musical group’s painted face and the somewhat “holier-than-thou” reaction he had causing controversy in the Australian media for a little while afterwards. But, since then due to our ever closer ties with America (some disparagingly referring to Australia as the 51st state of the US LOL!) and the impact of the Internet the cultural sensitivities with re to black/white relations in the US have been exported to a degree here so that now American views (rightly or wrongly) become the standard by which other views in other countries are measured. And so if Americans find something “offensive” in Australia or Sweden or wherever it’ll spark “controversy” even though the context like our history or social and cultural attitudes is completely different to yours. For example Mark Knight’s recent cartoon of Serena Williams caused “offense” to some Americans online even though Knight’s reasons for his depiction of Williams and Osaka were completely satisfactory and not racist or sexist at all imho.
10 comments:
Ambassador College was a tragic joke, but let's not go overboard. As late as 1950, aging blackface performer Al Jolson was the first performer sent overseas to entertain Korean War troops, who appreciated his act. Unlike Elvis Presley who offensively stole black music and denied its heritage, Jolson's blackface honored the music as the legacy of Black America. It was simply a different mindset than we find today. I realize that most younger people today have a poor grasp of history and have mostly been indoctrinated by the purveyors of identity politics, but the truth is that blackface in its heyday was morally neutral; it could be used to acknowledge and even honor the original Black performers of a piece just as readily as it could be used to demean Black people. Without watching the particular AC performance, we can only speculate as to whether these students were honoring or mocking Black America.
The Armstrong system had no problem speaking out on a wide variety of allegedly ungodly customs of modern society. But, on this, they reflected mainstream society rather than presenting a transcendent view. Still, in our white suburban school in the 1960s, one of my white classmates wore blackface to play the part of African American Jim when we did a Tom Sawyer play for the community.
I recently became aware from watching the HBO TV series "Treme" that there is a centuries old custom or heretage of Mardi Gras black Indian tribes. Participants make ornate costumes costing thousands of dollars, speak a kind of chant to a beat of hand-carried percussion instruments as they wander the streets, stage mock confrontations with other "tribes" throughout the city. Some consider this to be a tribute to Native Americans, while others call it misappropriation of culture. There does seem to be an element of respect involved,mwhich is probably why this custom has been allowed to continue, while acting in blackface has fallen into disfavor.
Wow. Fot the first time in years a comment of mine gets deleted. After I said this was offensive and pointed to biblical examples. That is very interesting. I would understand many deletions, but certainly not this one. New intern no2hwa, you have never been a hypocrite so far?
Nck
The world of 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'Father knows best.' I recall the 1961 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' showing married couple Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore sleeping in separate beds. Very different to todays 'Sex and the city.' A different era.
Blackface, like cross dressing, was once used in theater as a form of comedy. Obviously, times have changed, and the practice has died out. Milton Berle, did "Aunt Mildie", and Flip Wilson did "Geraldine" amongst others.
Here is an example from 1965 of Football players dressed in "drag"
https://youtu.be/bxVk1MS_AeU?t=35s
As an Aussie we don’t have the historical hangups with whiteys painting their faces black as you Yanks do. I remember it was in the late 1990s when on the TV show “Hey, hey it’s Saturday!” during the Red Faces segment that a group of white singers who had their faces painted black came on and although everyone found it funny the American Harry Connick Jr. was highly offended and expressed his dismay. I remember it causing some controversy in the Australian newspapers too back then.
Personally I don’t care what color you are and if you paint yourself a color of another race! Just like I don’t care if you wear a burqa or hoody or turban or dress or kilt or whatever! It’s your choice. I think context is important though.
I saw on the TV show “Botched” the other week a white German lady and her boyfriend turning their skin color black via melanin injections because she loves the black physiognomy and basically wants to be black and so is changing her hair to look more African too.
What a weird world huh?!
Hey..what about all those Shirley Temple movies? Would they now be classified as "Politically
Incorrect/Offensive??? And what about Little black Sambo? Hmmmm....
NCK....Are you referring to Acts 13:1? The use of the "N' word? If that's the case then could/
should the NAACP SUE the "Author" of the Bible?? (tongue in cheek, here :-)) The book being
very politically incorrect. Just thought I'd toss that in- my 2c's worth....:-I
7:24
No I said: This is offensive. But mentioned Captains log Stardate 2o september 2018.
And made a reference to the unpaid laborers of the early christians hosting the apostles from the epistles
Nck
To the anonymous Aussie who claims his country doesn't have "historical hangups" about blackface - did you see the news in recent days about the Australian Penguin Football Club?
Their blackface post with a member of the Sydney Swans made news (and sparked controversy) in the U.S.
Given what they're now reading before the national anthem of every AFL match, it probably is controversial to people there as well.
R.L.
I did actually catch a glimpse of the news item you referred to. But, it was something like a 15 second report that didn’t cause much ripples at all in the media here since nothing more was mentioned about it—not by politicians, sports commentators, or other social “experts” in the days after.
Further, as I said, over 20 years ago Australians weren’t really aware of the historical baggage “blackface” seems to have attached to it in the USA hence the reason why Connick Jr.’s horror at the musical group’s painted face and the somewhat “holier-than-thou” reaction he had causing controversy in the Australian media for a little while afterwards. But, since then due to our ever closer ties with America (some disparagingly referring to Australia as the 51st state of the US LOL!) and the impact of the Internet the cultural sensitivities with re to black/white relations in the US have been exported to a degree here so that now American views (rightly or wrongly) become the standard by which other views in other countries are measured. And so if Americans find something “offensive” in Australia or Sweden or wherever it’ll spark “controversy” even though the context like our history or social and cultural attitudes is completely different to yours. For example Mark Knight’s recent cartoon of Serena Williams caused “offense” to some Americans online even though Knight’s reasons for his depiction of Williams and Osaka were completely satisfactory and not racist or sexist at all imho.
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