Racist "prom-posal"

[Dick Whitman]

Sign reads: "If I was black I'd be picking cotton, but I'm white so I'm picking you for prom."

Teen's racist promposal goes viral: 'If I was black I'd be picking cotton'

More importantly:

1. When did "prom-posals" become a thing?
2. Do your kids do "prom-posals" or is this fairly rare?

I want the '90s back.

 

[poindexter]

1. When did "prom-posals" become a thing?
2. Do your kids do "prom-posals" or is this fairly rare?

It happens in California and it's insane. My two youngest graduated high school five and six years ago and they had to go through it.

I feel bad for this kid. I hope he doesn't get backlashed too hard. It was a joke that missed it's mark. This would be an A level joke for @Vombatus .

 

[Moderator1]

Modern Family did an episode last year (I think) on PromPosals. It is indeed a thing now.

 

[Slacker]

This country is ****ed.

 

[Dick Whitman]

It happens in California and it's insane. My two youngest graduated high school five and six years ago and they had to go through it.

I never went to Prom. I didn't have a girlfriend and I didn't really hang out with girls at all in that I would be able to go with someone "as a friend."

Took hotties to all my fratbro formals, though.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Kids today. <shakes head sadly>

 

[Dick Whitman]

Modern Family did an episode last year (I think) on PromPosals. It is indeed a thing now.

Life is just a series of performance art set pieces now.

 

[Songbird]

A few years ago he would've been carrying her bag to the prom.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Kids today. <shakes head sadly>

See, this is always the retort. And sometimes adults do tsk-tsk perfectly healthy youth behavior that they don't "get." But sometimes, the grown-ups are right and kids actually do engage in stupid **** that needs to stop.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Life is just a series of performance art set pieces now.

Only if they translate well to social media.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I wouldn't be too upset if he does feel a huge backlash for this.

He's 18 years old - old enough to know the way that was worded was horrible. The entire thing is based on a horribly racist premise. I'm assuming he didn't keep this a secret, and sought out some guidance from friends/family members before executing it. No one thought to tell him it's a terrible idea?

I do hope, for his sake, that future potential employers, or even colleges he applies to, don't do a Google search for his name and see this.

 

[poindexter]

See, this is always the retort. And sometimes adults do tsk-tsk perfectly healthy youth behavior that they don't "get." But sometimes, the grown-ups are right and kids actually do engage in stupid **** that needs to stop.

If you are bagging on the kid for the sign, fine. If you are bagging on the kid for the promposal thing, the mommies are SO INTO IT. They get to put it on *their* social media. And helicopter moms today Ive seen practically do the whole promposal, from design and on.

 

[poindexter]

I wouldn't be too upset if he does feel a huge backlash for this.

He's 18 years old - old enough to know the way that was worded was horrible. The entire thing is based on a horribly racist premise. I'm assuming he didn't keep this a secret, and sought out some guidance from friends/family members before executing it. No one thought to tell him it's a terrible idea?

I do hope, for his sake, that future potential employers, or even colleges he applies to, don't do a Google search for his name and see this.

I disagree but I'm not fighting a Texas Death Match over it.

 

[Dick Whitman]

If you are bagging on the kid for the sign, fine. If you are bagging on the kid for the promposal thing, the mommies are SO INTO IT. They get to put it on *their* social media. And helicopter moms today Ive seen practically do the whole promposal, from design and on.

I've seen mommies of kindergartners and first-graders boast about their child's little girlfriend or boyfriend or crush and people just go ga-ga for it. We never even talk about that stuff in our house. It's well-understood it will wait for later in life. When my daugher talks about being "pretty," I steer the conversation elsewhere.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Are promposals a new thing? Not sure, but I do remember a story of Brad Pitt asking a girl to the prom by walking it out in the snow outside the school. She said no. Undaunted, I did something similar by peeing a proposal in the snow in the mid 1990s. I got the same answer.

 

[MisterCreosote]

I wouldn't be too upset if he does feel a huge backlash for this.

He's 18 years old - old enough to know the way that was worded was horrible. The entire thing is based on a horribly racist premise. I'm assuming he didn't keep this a secret, and sought out some guidance from friends/family members before executing it. No one thought to tell him it's a terrible idea?

I do hope, for his sake, that future potential employers, or even colleges he applies to, don't do a Google search for his name and see this.

Exactly. I’m pretty sure every kid in America knows better than to make a “joke” like this by that time they reach puberty, at the latest.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I disagree but I'm not fighting a Texas Death Match over it.

I'm with you. (Even though I started the thread.)

I used to make tasteless jokes, too, often about race. The joke was not the actual joke, if that makes sense. The joke was that I was being outrageous. We've been over this kind of thing a lot here. I'm in the very tiny minority.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I disagree but I'm not fighting a Texas Death Match over it.

Same. Best-case scenario at this point is he gets a little bit of a "shock sentence" that makes him aware that not being an asshole is a good way to go about life.

 

[TigerVols]

Adults are conned daily by Donald Trump; the kids are alright.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Exactly. I’m pretty sure every kid in America knows better than to make a “joke” like this by that time they reach puberty, at the latest.