Simon Roper | AAVE, Implicit Bias & Prescriptivism with Blayzen BM @simonroper9218 | Uploaded March 2021 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
Thanks to Blayzen and Alex for preparing and recording most of this video! I can only apologise to everybody for the state of the comment section.
To those who are angered or upset by this video, I would invite you (sincerely, not aggressively) to ask yourselves why it has elicited this reaction. As I think Blayzen has said in his pinned comment, the point was not that implicit bias only occurs in one situation - it occurs all over the place, and can cause all sorts of problems. You are very likely to have been subjected to it yourself at some point, and perhaps to have felt the ill effects of it. I don't think this video implies that implicit bias only exists in one cultural situation (in fact, I think several cultural situations are mentioned), but if that is what upset you about this video, rest assured that that was not my intention, and I'm confident that it was not Blayzen's either.
Some comments have brought up the semi-popular but deeply flawed idea that people of certain demographics want to 'take over' a given country. I understand that adherence to this idea often comes from a fear of 'losing grip' of ones culture. As somebody studying anthropology, of course I am sympathetic to the concerns of anybody whose culture is legitimately threatened - but in this case, that threat has been exaggerated by public figures who want to instill anger in people. For one thing, cultures are constantly evolving. With the photographic record that we now have of our own culture, this is increasingly obvious; people as little as sixty years ago ate differently, listened to different music and spoke markedly differently than people do today. This has always been the way of things. It may well be jarring - it is heartbreaking to see aspects of the culture of my grandparents seemingly dissolve, and if I live to be as old as them, I'm sure it will be heartbreaking for me to see certain things I once loved slip out of common culture. However, this change has got nothing to do with race; it has always happened.
A lot of comments equate race to culture, and suggest that people of different ethnic backgrounds should 'return to where they have come from.' 'Race' (as vague a term as that is) and culture are two separate things. You may find much more in common with the black man two doors down than you would with a white man from three hundred miles away, or a white woman from a very different neighbourhood than you live in. Consider that on an individual level, these people are not the threat that you may feel they are (because you were raised that way or because you have consumed certain media). The same is true on a demographic level. Then consider how frustrated, angry and exhausted you would be if you were in the situation of many of the people around you.
Admitting that you may have preconceived biases is not admitting to being an evil, irredeemable person; these biases are, to some extent, a product of your environment. By acknowledging them and trying our best to shed them, I think we can all contribute to a world where fewer people suffer.
_____________
'Mythologies' by Jack Adams: youtube.com/user/PebbleStudio/videos
Thanks to Blayzen and Alex for preparing and recording most of this video! I can only apologise to everybody for the state of the comment section.
To those who are angered or upset by this video, I would invite you (sincerely, not aggressively) to ask yourselves why it has elicited this reaction. As I think Blayzen has said in his pinned comment, the point was not that implicit bias only occurs in one situation - it occurs all over the place, and can cause all sorts of problems. You are very likely to have been subjected to it yourself at some point, and perhaps to have felt the ill effects of it. I don't think this video implies that implicit bias only exists in one cultural situation (in fact, I think several cultural situations are mentioned), but if that is what upset you about this video, rest assured that that was not my intention, and I'm confident that it was not Blayzen's either.
Some comments have brought up the semi-popular but deeply flawed idea that people of certain demographics want to 'take over' a given country. I understand that adherence to this idea often comes from a fear of 'losing grip' of ones culture. As somebody studying anthropology, of course I am sympathetic to the concerns of anybody whose culture is legitimately threatened - but in this case, that threat has been exaggerated by public figures who want to instill anger in people. For one thing, cultures are constantly evolving. With the photographic record that we now have of our own culture, this is increasingly obvious; people as little as sixty years ago ate differently, listened to different music and spoke markedly differently than people do today. This has always been the way of things. It may well be jarring - it is heartbreaking to see aspects of the culture of my grandparents seemingly dissolve, and if I live to be as old as them, I'm sure it will be heartbreaking for me to see certain things I once loved slip out of common culture. However, this change has got nothing to do with race; it has always happened.
A lot of comments equate race to culture, and suggest that people of different ethnic backgrounds should 'return to where they have come from.' 'Race' (as vague a term as that is) and culture are two separate things. You may find much more in common with the black man two doors down than you would with a white man from three hundred miles away, or a white woman from a very different neighbourhood than you live in. Consider that on an individual level, these people are not the threat that you may feel they are (because you were raised that way or because you have consumed certain media). The same is true on a demographic level. Then consider how frustrated, angry and exhausted you would be if you were in the situation of many of the people around you.
Admitting that you may have preconceived biases is not admitting to being an evil, irredeemable person; these biases are, to some extent, a product of your environment. By acknowledging them and trying our best to shed them, I think we can all contribute to a world where fewer people suffer.
_____________
'Mythologies' by Jack Adams: youtube.com/user/PebbleStudio/videos
![[PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION] Interview with an Anglo-Saxon in Old English](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oFX1nbD3dV0/hqdefault.jpg "[PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION] Interview with an Anglo-Saxon in Old English
DISCLAIMER: This obviously isnt an actual Anglo-Saxon, its me in a sheet.
*RETROACTIVE DISCLAIMER* - The Old English in this video comes from a time when I was much more interested in modern and recent dialectology, and is full of grammatical errors (and a number of pronunciation errors, as well). This should absolutely not be used as a reference text for somebody wishing to learn Old English; its main value now is in showing how different Old English is from Modern English, and in presenting an ancient language in a conversational context. My more recent videos are more focused on phonology (which I can talk confidently about) and contain fewer errors when I do use grammatical constructions, although there will certainly still be some dotted about. Im in the process of making a short film in Old English which I hope to check with somebody else so that the speech is both natural and period-accurate.
*Original Description*
A fun little thing to show reconstructed pronunciation of Old English in a casual setting. Ive tried to throw in a few natural abbreviations (for example c rather than ic), but I know I missed the mark on one or two of the diphthongs. Either way, hopefully this gives some idea as to how the language sounded in casual speech. Message or comment if youd like any clarifications, want to correct me on anything, or if youre just interested in the topic and would like to know more!
I didnt have any decent Anglo-Saxon clothing and, rather than cobble together something inaccurate, I just chucked on a linen sheet to hide my modern shirt. An actual Anglo-Saxon would be wearing something more like the reenactors shown in a couple of the other clips; a man would usually wear a tunic with a belt, although styles would vary massively from decade to decade and from place to place.")
