The narrator notes how “before the internet, before the hip-hop, the spoken-word poetry, the Kara Walker silhouettes” white people did not care what black people did (230). The black experience “used to come with lots of bullshit, but at least there was fucking privacy” (230). The narrator states how fashion and slang “didn’t cross over until years after the fact” (230). I think Beatty includes this rant to speak on the cultural appropriation of black culture. It is not something that is obvious to many people and still is a difficult concept to grasp for many people who don’t come from communities of color. I think this form of isolation that the narrator is nostalgic about is also a form of segregation. In order to protect black culture, it had to be unknown to white society and private. It is troubling to me where the line between admiration for black culture and exploitation of it exists. I thought the reference to Kara Walker was also confusing because I saw her as an artist trying to express black and white conceptions of race, gender, sexuality, violence and sexuality. Is breaking into previously white dominated areas like art museums and collections another way you lose your privacy as a black person? Is this the cost of being successful in a white society?  Many things from fashion, dance and music are rooted in black communities but are making it to the mainstream more and more each day. The lack of privacy Beatty notes makes the black experience available to more people that don’t really care to know about it but instead, want to play a role or explore a new fashion trend. I’m interested on what you guys think about this.  

The narrator notes how “offendedness” is not a real emotion and does not know how one should react when this word is pronounced in a “clear and sober voice” (130). Beatty mocking people that say they are offended shows how many social interactions surrounding race are caught up euphemisms and not easily translatable to discussion. Instead of noting pain or overt racism, offended just notes something wrong has been said. Marpessa calls the narrator a “race pervert” for his  comments and notes that on his own time he cross dresses as a white man. This alludes to how “traitors” of their own communities are always seen as wanting to be white. If the narrator is willing to organize a segregated bus and not see how the term “offended” is logical, he must be a traitor to his own race. In this way, the narrator embodies the “sellout” or “coon” image  he already has with the black intellectuals. I think Beatty highlights this moment to show how even within communities of color, one’s identity and authenticity is constantly being challenged and called into question.