Monday, April 28, 2008

It has begun.

Me: Do you want waffles this morning?

Bean: No!

Me: ...I thought you liked waffles?

Bean: (Getting upset) No! I don't want waffles!

Me: OK, that's all right. You don't have to have waffles. ...What's the problem?

Bean: Waffles are old school!!
Posted by Plain(s)feminist at 10:40 PM

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What, is Bean going through a phase where he thinks he's black?

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 4:22:00 AM CDT
Plain(s)feminist said...

Um...ok, I'm not really sure where you're coming from on this one. It's a pretty ubiquitous phrase...

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 9:16:00 AM CDT
Anonymous said...

I'm not coming from anywhere. Around here, that's considered black.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 11:29:00 AM CDT
Plain(s)feminist said...

Well, so that's where you're coming from, then. I have heard it primarily from White kids (using it to talk about things that happened four or five years ago), though the Sesame Street DVDs of the early years are called "Sesame Street: Old School." If it originated in Black culture, it's made its way into the mainstream.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 8:43:00 PM CDT
Anonymous said...

So, what you mean is that he's starting to call things old that are relatively new in your eyes?
I feel you on that one. My teenage cousins are saying "Way back in the nineties" now.
If a white person said "old school" here, people would think they were trying to be black.

Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 1:16:00 PM CDT
Plain(s)feminist said...

If a white person said "old school" here, people would think they were trying to be black.

I guess I just don't get this - it sounds like high school. "ooh, you said something I usually hear Black people say - you must be trying to be Black!

And what does "trying to be Black" even mean?

In any case, what I meant was, he's acting like a teenager, because declaring things "old school" in a dismissive way (as opposed to a descriptive way) is something teenagers do when they're trying to be cool.

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 9:23:00 PM CDT
Anonymous said...

Do you think that him acting like a teenager is a negative thing?

I have been laughed at for liking black music. I have been accused of this for knowing the words to black gospel songs and singing along.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 8:18:00 AM CDT
Plain(s)feminist said...

Do you think that him acting like a teenager is a negative thing?

Danielle, he's six. So, yes, not really anticipating all of that just yet.

Re. being laughed at for appreciated Black culture - sounds like it's time to find new friends who are less racist, eh?

Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 11:39:00 AM CDT
Green said...

Okay, I really just came here to wish you a Happy Mother's day - what a coincidence that your last post is one about your son, when you usually don't write about him. Anyway. Happy Mother's Day!

More on topic, I understand what Danielle is saying. I'm white, and if I used the phrase "old school" in front of my parents would get told, "You're not black."

Is Sesame Street supposedly a city street rather than a suburban street? I think it is, right? Damn that was a great show - I learned how to rap from watching that. I still get a happy feeling from hearing the opening song.

Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 2:13:00 PM CDT
Plain(s)feminist said...

Sesame Street is definitely a city street. There was a travelling exhibit here this year that had all kinds of information on what it was supposed to be and how it was started and what the goals were, and that, along with Sesame Street Old School, explained that it was directed toward kids in an urban environment as a way to help them learn to read.

And, I guess that if I cast my memory back, I remember people saying that kind of thing, too. It's just been a long time...

Monday, May 12, 2008 at 9:48:00 PM CDT

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