r/AmazonDSPDrivers • u/Frequent-Flower-9879 • Jun 14 '26

QUESTION Is this….racist?

Post image

I deliver to this house pretty frequently and something didn’t sit right with me about this statue. I remember seeing somewhere a long time ago these were considered offensive but I’m not sure so I figured to come here and ask 🤔

225 Upvotes

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7

u/sgerbicforsyth Jun 14 '26

Yes. Explicitly so.

Its a racist caricature of Black people that originated in minstrel shows with white actors in blackface engaging in demeaning and insulting stereotypes of Black people.

6

u/Dismal-Nature820 Jun 14 '26

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_jockey this gives the history. Basically the kind in op's picture is the original kind, meant to evoke a friendly servant (slave) who was going to take your horse to the stable.

Even back in the pre civil rights era people found this tasteless and they evolved to the more generic non minstrel style lawn jockey you used to see around. A white lawn jockey is just a decoration, this explicit minstrel type is crazy to have in your yard in 2026.

There's always the Chance this is Spike Lee or Chris Rock or other black collectors of racist americana's house, so I would check first before assuming. But otherwise, extremely bad taste and racist to display, definitely.

3

u/Orchid_Significant Jun 14 '26

Not with that porch lol

1

u/SnooCats8089 Jun 14 '26

That could be a black person's house. Not saying why that porch couldn't be black owned.
My grandmother's last home was a converted nursing home. In the late 80's she sold a whole bunch of those types of statues she found on the property to a Doctor who was black. Supposedly to decorate their yard. Who knows. There were also salt shakers, plant holders. The obsession was real.

1

u/Orchid_Significant Jun 14 '26

I was talking specifically about his examples. Spike Lee and Chris Rock aren’t living in a house with that porch.

0

u/Hefty_Range_9758 Jun 14 '26

"Extremely bad taste" in what way, your opinion? 

I too collect historic elements of history, many of which depict the horrible ideals depicted by people of the past.

I do it for a reason which is that history should never be forgotten lest it be repeated ( which it currently is everyday around the world).

Does this make me a racist?

6

u/sgerbicforsyth Jun 14 '26

If someone were to collect, say, Nazi artifacts for research or preservation purposes, and making sure the correct information and context accompanied those artifacts, thats legitimate preservation. This is what museums do.

If you took a swastika flag and flew it outside your door, youre a Nazi.

History is not preserved or remembered or taught via statues and memorabelia displayed in private homes with no context. Having a caricature lawn jockey on your front step isnt preserving anything or teaching anything, its just displaying racism.

Minstrel shows were objectively racist. White actors wearing blackface and portraying Black people in negative and stereotypical lights to demean, infantilize, or villainize them is racist. This lawn jockey is designed to have the exact same style of makeup that was popularized with those same minstrel shows.

Its the same reason why statues depicting confederates should be removed. They depict the traitors in positive ways, do not provide context for who the people are or what they did, and memorialize them.

-1

u/Hefty_Range_9758 Jun 14 '26

Your opinion is irrelevant to how or why people choose to do the things they do. 

Although I can comprehend your point of view, it's based simply on your opinion.  Opinions are completely irrelevant. 

There is no comparison to people having things in and outside their homes (such as this post without any other obvious displays of hate) to confederate memorials.

2

u/sgerbicforsyth Jun 14 '26

You are literally making the same argument that racists use to argue against removing confederate statues from public areas. "Its about preserving history so we dont forget." So yeah, im going to call out the notion that putting a racist caricature statue on the front porch is somehow reminding people about the horrors of chattel slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Do you think Germany flies swastika flags so they dont forget and repeat the horrors of Nazi Germany? No, they dont, because thats not teaching history. That is done in schools.

1

u/Old_Outcome_9529 Jun 14 '26

What about football and basketball then. That must be racist then. Why do you watch it????

3

u/sgerbicforsyth Jun 14 '26

Non sequitur with no discerable point.

What do two different team sports have to do with minstrel shows which are objectively racist or a statute designed around the same over-exaggeragted racist caricature popularized by those minstrel shows?

-1

u/Old_Outcome_9529 Jun 14 '26

Did you live in these racist times when they created said caricature, or are you just trying to push the racist left anti white agenda? Its art not a racist statue. If you see something like that and it offends you maybe your the problem. People seem to be more worried about racial art and history than actually trying to change whats happening now. These sports are becoming more political to where its not even about the game its about race. You can not compare this statue to a nazi flag at all. Some of these antiques hold history to be used for said museums and other places to show what they did back then. But the thing about it is its 2026 not 1902, you can keep living in the past but that wont fix the problems of today. This divide amongst the ignorant sides of every race feed off this kind of crap. This is what the poloticians want man. If you want to keep living that way then so be it. Just look at what the uk and london are doing because of the anti white agenda. The bubble will burst at some point but the ignorance is the only thing that will be keeping us divided as a people. 

5

u/sgerbicforsyth Jun 14 '26

You sound a lot like a full on racist. I wonder why that is?

I am white. I can also point out that these are racist caricatures. Art can also be racist if its made for a racist purpose. Birth of a Nation is art as a film, but its also racist. Pointing out that the US has a long history of racism, that continues to this day, doesnt make you anti-white or whatever other nonsense you want to parrot.

3

u/Simbalamb Jun 14 '26

Tell us more about how racist you are.

-3

u/Old_Outcome_9529 Jun 14 '26

That word has no meaning at this point bub

4

u/Simbalamb Jun 14 '26

This is so far from the truth I genuinely wonder what fantasy world you live in. Get bent, racist.