Mmm, but what we term the Empire didn't get into full swing until the 1700s. Until them it was basically saying "Yeah, this is ours." In full-blown Empire times, it was a very intense process of controlling the administration and infrastructure of the colony in question, which is why we have much stronger cultural…

I'm talking about logic as my own guide, I can't speak for what the UK was 'feeling' when I was six years old. And the key thing here is I said 'a person' not 'people'. Difference: painting your skin black and being like "Oh hey, my costume is black person!" is not cool. Going to a party as a famous black figure and…

Indian Indians, not Native Americans. I'm not sure we ever got round to serious colonising before the War of Independence chucked us out. More like massacres and panicky, ugly violence.

Not really. I base my opinions on logic not on feelings. If someone is offended and can also provide an intellectual explanation that satisfies me besides "black people were oppressed by white people, slavery and mumble mumble mumble THEREFORE this is wrong", I might consider changing my opinion. This is so weird,…

Look, you clearly either haven't read or haven't understood what I've said if you think I'm absolving Britain from responsibility. I try to be as crystal clear as possible in my last reply to yfunk if you're at all interested in something besides strawmanning and sarcasm.

Referring you to my last reply to yfunk.

I never accused anyone of being ignorant or stupid but you are perfectly at liberty to call me so if you like. But your comment really encapsulates what can annoy me about this site sometimes - the constant ideological bombardment and inability to accept any form of differing opinion without labelling it stupid, evil…

Oh, the stupid. I hope these people fall ill with diseases curable only by gay specialists. And are then cured and learn something, obviously. Totally not wishing for their deaths. Will accept a Driving Miss Daisy-like scenario, as am in good mood.

Whitesplain. Lovely. And maybe you can blackplain/Asiansplain/Aboriginalsplain the correct opinion back to me.

It isn't that I will never change my opinions, ever. In fact, I've had many eye-opening encounters on this very site that have changed my views on many subjects. I just reserve the right to maintain my opinion in any case, if I feel it's right. And in this case, I think it's a mountain being made of a molehill.

When did I even mention skin bleaching? All I mentioned was dressing up, not skin bleaching, which has a horrible history and trying to tie me up in it is pretty low. I'm not trying to make some grand racial statement here, I'm saying that in this one particular context, if no harm is meant it might be worth chilling…

Never claimed that. All I said was that, to clarify, in the modern (less than 100 years) era, no black person ever had to experience: Jim Crow laws, segregation, lynching, grandfather laws, the Great Migration, the blues, prison farms, chain gangs, the civil rights struggle or government-adminstered racism on British…

It isn't that I don't give weight to their opinion, it's that I don't give their opinion any more weight than anyone else's. I'm always going to give my own opinion first priority, as I assume everyone does - it wouldn't be our opinion if we didn't honestly believe it. Of course, we can change our opinions, but…

Like I say, it's not something I've ever done (I can barely cope with foundation, never mind full-on paint), I'm just defending the right of people to do it if they have an awesome costume idea that involves someone of another race. If someone gets offended, okay - maybe I'll agree and I maybe I won't - the point is…

'Were' servamts, not had servants. Anyway. No, blacks in the UK were not treated like blacks in the US. I am emphatically not denying they suffered racism at the hands of a society that knew no better. But we did not have Jim Crow laws, segregation, lynching, grandfather laws, the Great Migration, the blues, prison…

Naturally, minstel shows were popular here. As American culture has always been. But it doesn't come from the same cultural place or hold the same cultural currency.

I forgot my skin colour decided the worth of my opinion. And as I said, we are talking the difference between making your skin tone darker to better resemble a famous figure and 'blackface' as it is understood in US, ie. burnt cork, exaggerated features etc.

It depends what we're talking about. If we're talking 'impersonating a famous figure who happens to be black' I don't see the problem with darkening one's skin, in a low-key way. It would be stupid not to, in a way, like deliberately avoiding an obvious aspect of their physique.

It's just making your skin tone darker, not Al Jolson-style mockery (even though I personally like his music, and he was a progressive and ahead of his time). It's the most primitive, human way to resemble a person with darker skin that yours and there's no reason to be ashamed anymore than a Chinese person should…

It's very common where I live, and we are pretty nice, inclusive people, I hope. My friend from the city was pretty shocked, but tbh all the horrible racist things I heard in my childhood were from city people who had moved. Everyone here just educated me about how ignorant it was to judge people based on colour.