Cool vs Stylish

[Zerase]

I thought that you had to be somewhat known to be considered cool, but this picture tells me it doesn't have to be the case. Three for me unknown Jamaican passengers on the Empire Windrush in the 1950:s. No idea who they were or what they did, but the sure as hell look pretty darn cool to be.

 

[NotJeffBagwell]

sorry, I didn’t realize the need for me to climb out of anything. My position still stands; if you want to discuss race, culture and cool then start a thread for like minded individuals. Someone, somehow, introduced race into it.

And silly arguments such as yours are just that; silly. I could say the same and state that if it for a handful of individuals who could have easily ignored my comment and moved on, this thread has devolved into something quite ugly.

Until I read FlyingMonkey's post just now, I felt like I was losing my mind.

This is a thread about being stylish and/or cool.

If you are so shrill and oblivious that you start shrieking in protest when race is brought up, you probably aren't qualified for this discussion.

 

[bobby jonathan]

Thinking about it, is neither.

bobby jonathan

 

[Stylewords]

If you are so shrill and oblivious that you start shrieking in protest when race is brought up, you probably aren't qualified for this discussion.

Why can't people just disagree with him without these hyperbolic and confrontational (and in other cases, personal) comments?

 

[mak1277]

I think a lot of people could probably recall that rhyme and re-think what they’ve written.

There goes my point, sailing over your head...

I assume (I admit that I don't *know*) that the harassment mentioned by @dieworkwear took place in person, and at least carried the threat of real harm (i.e., "sticks and stones can break my bones").

Contrast that with your whining about someone saying supposedly mean things to you online (i.e., "words can never hurt me").

 

[yorkshire pud]

Are there any African Americans taking part in this discussion??

If there are I can only apologize, I'm not happy with DW representing what makes a black person cool because he has been learning about jazz and basketball shoes on the internet

Same goes for any Ska loving Skinheads sorry for the stereotyping

 

[radicaldog]

Which African Americans? Are they a monolith? All with the same tastes, desires and style?

X can originate from Y without Y being a monolith.

And in this case there is ample, factual evidence that the very word 'cool' originates from jazz/Black culture. Nobody's claiming that's all there is to it. But to wilfully ignore this relevant fact seems bizarre.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Why does someone else need to start a new thread because you don't like the direction this one took? I'm not meaning to join in a mob attack against you here but I'm genuinely wondering why you get to dictate the rules of what can be discussed on this thread? If you don't like the conversation that is happening in this thread, surely it's you that should start a new one and outline the parameters for discussion before discussion commences?

I’m not dictating any rules whatsoever. I’m merely expressing an opinion as everyone else has and continues to do.

Once you introduce race, then everything becomes about that. Deny that, and you dent reality. This discussion started out about cool and stylish and discussions around what defines it. I didn’t realize that race and culture defined either. Individuals within those groups certainly do.

So let’s talk about the individuals and how they influenced style and cool. Introducing race and culture basically affords a platform for people to sneak in their views on race relations and the inherent problems of modern society. People are people and many have an unquenchable desire to be heard and be relevant.

that was the basis for my objection. Perhaps I’m wrong but notice as soon as I said it, the term white fragility was introduced. I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

X can originate from Y without Y being a monolith.

And in this case there is ample, factual evidence that the very word 'cool' originates from jazz/Black culture. Nobody's claiming that's all there is to it. But to wilfully ignore this relevant fact seems bizarre.

Yes but this wasn’t a thread on linguistics. It was a thread in cool and stylish.

 

[radicaldog]

Put anyone else in that suit and maybe meh? But Miles is cool. If that has something to do with the color of his skin then it’s lost on me.

You must be joking. You don't think the edginess--and hence arguably coolness--of Miles Davis has anything to do with the fact that he managed to affirm his artistic genius despite the grotesquely daunting prejudice and material obstacles Black people faced at the time?

I'm sorry, but If people have to attempt to justify "coolness", in what way is it cool??

People aren't trying to justify it, they're trying to explain it, to make sense of it. Verstehen, as Weber would have said.

the main thing that links them across cultures is the idea of sangfroid (basically composure).

Yes. This chimes with a point made earlier: cool requires some kind of constraint. You are in dire straits but you don't loose your, er, cool blood. This seems compatible with remaining aware of one's vulnerability: courage without fear is just recklessness and all that.

 

[radicaldog]

Yes but this wasn’t a thread on linguistics. It was a thread in cool and stylish.

While etymology and semantics aren't the same, I typically find that the former sheds light on the latter.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

There goes my point, sailing over your head...

I assume (I admit that I don't *know*) that the harassment mentioned by @dieworkwear took place in person, and at least carried the threat of real harm (i.e., "sticks and stones can break my bones").

Contrast that with your whining about someone saying supposedly mean things to you online (i.e., "words can never hurt me").

I don’t believe I’m whining. Whining is using terms like white fragility when their carefully cultivated and unchallenged view of the world is actually questioned.

Have at it, call me anything you want. I’m completely comfortable in my skin.

 

[mak1277]

I don’t believe I’m whining. Whining is using terms like white fragility when their carefully cultivated and unchallenged view of the world is actually questioned.

Have at it, call me anything you want. I’m completely comfortable in my skin.

Call you anything we want except "fragile" apparently, and then you get hurt.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

Yes. This chimes with a point made earlier: cool requires some kind of constraint. You are in dire straits but you don't loose your, er, cool blood. This seems compatible with remaining aware of one's vulnerability: courage without fear is just recklessness and all that.

See, that 'courage needs fear' thing always bothered me. To my mind it's more like courage requires cunning. There are many examples of past men who've been courageous and not displayed anything approaching fear at the same time - these men were not necessarily reckless, but they were certainly not foolhardy either.

 

[radicaldog]

See, that 'courage needs fear' thing always bothered me. To my mind it's more like courage requires cunning. There are many examples of past men who've been courageous and not displayed anything approaching fear at the same time - these men were not necessarily reckless, but they were certainly not foolhardy either.

I think displayed is the operative word here. My point isn't that one needs to display fear, but that one needs to feel it.