NT, your thoughts on these images/pictures?

[superantigen]

"I know I ain'ts da' only one up fa' draft dis' yea'"[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)][/color]
[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]"But...Lawd, Lawd, Lawd!!! Please let me git picked in da foist round!!!"[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]"And please, please lemme keep ma' chains!"[/color]




These are some of the depicted images in Hank Willis Thomas' "Unbranded" series.

I was lucky enough to see the "Unbranded" series, in person, about ayear ago at Columbia University (NY) and I thought it was prettyperceptive. I just thought it would be worthwhile to post in light of the upcoming NBA draft (see the 4th and 5th image), and also because I'm really interested in getting your thoughts and reactions to these images.

Is Thomas just hating or is there a nugget of truth to be unearthed here?


His website--for those who want to check out the rest of series, and then some: http://hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html



...

 

[hieu23]

 

[cabron james 23]

AYO

 

[DCAllAfrican]

I can see how a person would label the NBA as some sort of black circus entertainment. Think about what they do/use (body) and who they are entertaining for the most part.

I also can see how someone would call that train of thinking to be reaching.

But if you think about it, it isn't too far off to grasp. I often think about it. Well, I think about it pretty often to be honest.

Originally Posted by rashi

Playing basketball is voluntary.

Tell that to people that BELIEVE that is their only way out. So it being voluntary depends on your mindset, upbringing, and socio-economic status. If your father and mother bring in 200K per year, of course it is voluntary for you.

 

[rashi]

Playing basketball is voluntary and so is representing a brand.

 

[crumbs]

ehh

 

[cobra kai]

looks like images that could have been used for $40million dollar slave.

 

[jking0821]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

I can see how a person would label the NBA as some sort of black circus entertainment. Think about what they do/use (body) and who they are entertaining for the most part.

I also can see how someone would call that train of thinking to be reaching.

But if you think about it, it isn't too far off to grasp. I often think about it. Well, I think about it pretty often to be honest.

Originally Posted by rashi

Playing basketball is voluntary.

Tell that to people that BELIEVE that is their only way out. So it being voluntary depends on your mindset, upbringing, and socio-economic status. If your father and mother bring in 200K per year, of course it is voluntary for you.

Um if you paid me the league minimum per year i would love to join that circus

 

[ruxxx]

WOW!
"The Million Dollar Slaves"

 

[DCAllAfrican]

I mean you have to compensate folks enough that they won't feel like they are being used. Especially if those folks are perceived to be worthless but people are willing to pay top dollar to view these worthless individuals. Can't pay them peanuts even though they would like to.

 

[rashi]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

I can see how a person would label the NBA as some sort of black circus entertainment. Think about what they do/use (body) and who they are entertaining for the most part.

I also can see how someone would call that train of thinking to be reaching.

But if you think about it, it isn't too far off to grasp. I often think about it. Well, I think about it pretty often to be honest.

Originally Posted by rashi

Playing basketball is voluntary.

Tell that to people that BELIEVE that is their only way out. So it being voluntary depends on your mindset, upbringing, and socio-economic status. If your father and mother bring in 200K per year, of course it is voluntary for you.

Yeah, because only highly talented Black athletes were the only ones to "make it out", right? Please, dude. Doesnt matter how much your parents make, everything you do is voluntary and by choice.

If anything, college ball is "slavery", people are making money off those kids and they arent being paid. Atleast professional ball pays them handsomely and enables them to bring kids into the world with a better life.
    

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Again, playing basketball is more important to some than it is to others. It DOES matter how much your parents make. Why? More $ can give you more opportunity, more options, chance at a better education and a higher education. Yes we can say, everyone can get an education, it depends on the individual to take advantage of that.

You are correct, but whether you know it or not, not too many people from low-income areas truly believe they have a chance to make it in this world if it isn't by way of entertainment (sports and music). While that is a sad mindset, it is a true mindset. These individuals don't believe they can make it academically.

But that is all part of the plan. But we can make it academically, we just need motivation and support from people that look like us that have made it.

So when I say it isn't voluntary for them, it really isn't voluntary for them because to them, there are no other options.

 

[18th letter]

Good points DC

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Just because they are getting paid handsomely doesn't mean it isn't slavery. You can be a slave to a job. If these NBA dudes weren't in the NBA, a large majority of them wouldn't be much in life. So as I said, to keep them satisfied, they are paid large amounts of money (which "they" know these athletes will most likely mismanage). They don't have any options. They can't go anywhere else and do anything else. (Again, not all of them). So it is essentially a form of slavery.

Yes college sports is the ultimate slave ship. Ultimate. I don't even want to get on the NCAA. But they should go to prison for rape.

 

[starzinoureyes]

Originally Posted by SuperAntigen

sorry, but




...with the exception of those unsightly nike marks, of course.


/beast

 

[jking0821]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Just because they are getting paid handsomely doesn't mean it isn't slavery. You can be a slave to a job. If these NBA dudes weren't in the NBA, a large majority of them wouldn't be much in life. So as I said, to keep them satisfied, they are paid large amounts of money (which "they" know these athletes will most likely mismanage). They don't have any options. They can't go anywhere else and do anything else. (Again, not all of them). So it is essentially a form of slavery.

Yes college sports is the ultimate slave ship. Ultimate. I don't even want to get on the NCAA. But they should go to prison for rape.

How so?  Slavery by definition is "work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay ".  If some one in the NBA said hey i want to run a business for the rest of my life not play basketball.  They can then retire from the NBA and go live their dream.  Thanks to the NBA and how much they pay these players they can now do whatever they want to in life.  How is that slavery. 

People in the nba play in the nba because they want to.  There are 1 million people out there that would give anything to be in their position.  I don't see anyone lining up to be an actual slave.

 

[rashi]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Again, playing basketball is more important to some than it is to others. It DOES matter how much your parents make. Why? More $ can give you more opportunity, more options, chance at a better education and a higher education. Yes we can say, everyone can get an education, it depends on the individual to take advantage of that.

You are correct, but whether you know it or not, not too many people from low-income areas truly believe they have a chance to make it in this world if it isn't by way of entertainment (sports and music). While that is a sad mindset, it is a true mindset. These individuals don't believe they can make it academically.

But that is all part of the plan. But we can make it academically, we just need motivation and support from people that look like us that have made it.

So when I say it isn't voluntary for them, it really isn't voluntary for them because to them, there are no other options.

Just because your parents have money and better resources doesnt guarantee anything, it's true there is more oppurtunity there, but is doesnt make you.
  
Regardless, nobody should insinuate that Black athletes are "slaves" to the NBA and the brand they represent. They're making money and they "got out". Be happy for them, stop trying to put them down and make them out to be slaves, I think it's blatant disrepect to people who were/are actually involved in INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE. Entertainment is a business, if you arent "exploited" or if you arent on TV all the time you arent making money. Though, is glorifying worthless paper money and a particular lifestyle something I approve of? No, because to a vast majority it is unrealistic, not everyone can be a NBA player. That is the constant "celebrity stalking" the world has come to be, worrying about what everyone else has.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Just to make things clear, I personally have never felt that basketball was my only way out. I am from a low-income area but I was still able to get things I wanted as a kid. So my family wasn't a low income family. Some of my friends were though. With that being said, we have to remember that these kids honestly feel the world is already against them and from their living conditions, educational conditions, and perceived lack of support from their respective cities/states/nations, it is not hard to see why they feel this way.

Authority is the enemy.
So that means, they naturally hate the police, teachers, coaches, or anyone that will potentially tell them what to do.

Which is why they resort to entertainment. They can essentially create their own style without the direction of anyone else. Yea, eventually you have to be coached, but we all know players believe they made themselves without the help of any coaches.

So making it in sports is also a way for them to say, "Look at what I did on my own. Even though YOU didn't think I was going to make it." (You can be anyone).

So since this is the only arena in which they think they have the first and last say in their success, that is why I said they don't have many options or why sport isn't VOLUNTARY as it would be for the young boy growing up in the suburbs living in the house with the 4 car garage.

 

[1000xcartel]

I dont understand the 2nd pic

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Originally Posted by rashi

Just because your parents have money and better resources doesnt guarantee anything, it's true there is more oppurtunity there, but is doesnt make you.
  
Regardless, nobody should insinuate that Black athletes are "slaves" to the NBA and the brand they represent. They're making money and they "got out". Be happy for them, stop trying to put them down and make them out to be slaves, I think it's blatant disrepect to people who were/are actually involved in INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE. Entertainment is a business, if you arent "exploited" or if you arent on TV all the time you arent making money.

1. You are correct, your parents having $ doesn't guarantee anything, but it damn sure makes life a WHOLE LOT easier. It also allows you to fail and have the financial support to be able to get back on your feet. I never said it guaranteed anything, I simply said that someone from a well-to-do family doesn't have to rely on athletics as their only means of success.

2. I am happy for each and every person that makes it. It was a dream of mine and I know it was most likely a dream of theirs. I enjoy seeing people make it happen. But we have to remember that involuntary servitude in this country is illegal so it isn't fair to directly compare the two because you won't see the exact setup today that you say when people were actually enslaved. The methods in which people are enslaved have been updated and this situation just so happens to include compensation.

3. I don't think it is disrespect to those who were involved in involuntary servitude because I am not directly comparing the two. One is happening in 2010 and the other happened in the 1600s. While both similar, they have very different. But it doesn't make one slavery and the other not. One is just a legalized version while the other is an inhumane version.

The act of making anyone feel like they need you because without you they have no options, is slavery. So any NBA player that feels that way is in fact being enslaved.

 

[jking0821]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Just to make things clear, I personally have never felt that basketball was my only way out. I am from a low-income area but I was still able to get things I wanted as a kid. So my family wasn't a low income family. Some of my friends were though. With that being said, we have to remember that these kids honestly feel the world is already against them and from their living conditions, educational conditions, and perceived lack of support from their respective cities/states/nations, it is not hard to see why they feel this way.

Authority is the enemy.
So that means, they naturally hate the police, teachers, coaches, or anyone that will potentially tell them what to do.

Which is why they resort to entertainment. They can essentially create their own style without the direction of anyone else. Yea, eventually you have to be coached, but we all know players believe they made themselves without the help of any coaches.

So making it in sports is also a way for them to say, "Look at what I did on my own. Even though YOU didn't think I was going to make it." (You can be anyone).

So since this is the only arena in which they think they have the first and last say in their success, that is why I said they don't have many options or why sport isn't VOLUNTARY as it would be for the young boy growing up in the suburbs living in the house with the 4 car garage.

I get what your saying and all but its hard to call something slavery that very few people ever get to obtain.  Also the word slavery has such a severe negative connotation that to place it next to 1.8 million/year just seems like polar opposites.

I think the argument is better made to say "Children from poverty stricken house holds have less opportunity, or chance, to succeed monetarily in life".  That seems to me what you are saying.  But that can't really be correlated too strongly with the NBA = Slavery

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Originally Posted by Jking0821

I get what your saying and all but its hard to call something slavery that very few people ever get to obtain.  Also the word slavery has such a severe negative connotation that to place it next to 1.8 million/year just seems like polar opposites.

I think the argument is better made to say "Children from poverty stricken house holds have less opportunity, or chance, to succeed monetarily in life".  That seems to me what you are saying.  But that can't really be correlated too strongly with the NBA = Slavery

Again, the money is the blessing and a curse.

It is a curse because the majority of those that get it don't know how to be responsible with it. So is giving someone something that they PROBABLY will waste really a form of payment?

The fact that very few people get to experience life as a pro athlete makes the athlete even more slave-mentality-prone. Why? Because they know they can be replaced instantly. They know that THEY need the NBA more than the NBA needs them. And because they have invested so much time, money, effort into this project that they have neglected the other millions of other things that exist in this world to the point where all they know is basketball. Without it, they are lost. That is why I believe it can be compared to slavery.

Again, the money means nothing. I won't say nothing but the fact that they are getting compensated doesn't mean it isn't a form of slavery.

Erase the idea of the Atlantic Slave Trade from your minds because you might be thinking about that too hard which is why it might be hard for you to grasp this idea of slavery.

 

[superantigen]

Originally Posted by 1000xCartel

I dont understand the 2nd pic

Refer to starzinoureyes post. Her response, in of itself, should give you an idea of the intent of such an image.

Also, I never thought I'd say this, but DC is making some good points...

There's way more going on with these pictures/images than some of you seem to realize.

Entertain for example, the psychological and education-related commentary (that which pertains to the African American community but specifically, African American men) underlying some of these pictures. Also consider the role Corporate America, a profit driven entity, is playing in these pictures, and the previously mentioned communities.

There are no "right" answers--only informative ones.



...

 

[jking0821]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Originally Posted by Jking0821

I get what your saying and all but its hard to call something slavery that very few people ever get to obtain.  Also the word slavery has such a severe negative connotation that to place it next to 1.8 million/year just seems like polar opposites.

I think the argument is better made to say "Children from poverty stricken house holds have less opportunity, or chance, to succeed monetarily in life".  That seems to me what you are saying.  But that can't really be correlated too strongly with the NBA = Slavery

Again, the money is the blessing and a curse.

It is a curse because the majority of those that get it don't know how to be responsible with it. So is giving someone something that they PROBABLY will waste really a form of payment?

The fact that very few people get to experience life as a pro athlete makes the athlete even more slave-mentality-prone. Why? Because they know they can be replaced instantly. They know that THEY need the NBA more than the NBA needs them. And because they have invested so much time, money, effort into this project that they have neglected the other millions of other things that exist in this world to the point where all they know is basketball. Without it, they are lost. That is why I believe it can be compared to slavery.

Again, the money means nothing. I won't say nothing but the fact that they are getting compensated doesn't mean it isn't a form of slavery.

Erase the idea of the Atlantic Slave Trade from your minds because you might be thinking about that too hard which is why it might be hard for you to grasp this idea of slavery.

Compensation does matter.  If an NBA player feels enslaved.  And feels that they have no other options why can't they take their millions and leave?

They could pay for their own college tuition to learn and go get a real job that they actually want.  It's not slavery if you are enjoying what you do.  So for arguments sake lets say there is an NBA player that doesn't enjoy playing basketball.  Well since they made it to the NBA they now make a yearly salary that allows them to do whatever they want in life.

 

[callhimar]

Becausethey know they can be replaced instantly. They know that THEY need theNBA more than the NBA needs them. And because they have invested somuch time, money, effort into this project that they have neglected theother millions of other things that exist in this world to the pointwhere all they know is basketball. Without it, they are lost. That iswhy I believe it can be compared to slavery.

So in essence aren't we all slaves then? People who work for big businesses, outside of upper level management and owners, can be replaced by someone else in a heartbeat. We know that we need the company more than they need us. We've neglected the millions of other things that exist in the world to the point all we know is our function at this job.

Didn't really agree with you until I thought of it like this, but you have a point.