I AM THE LIVER DANCER

I was just talking to my friend about how the lunch line worked at my old school and she just shook her head and said, “Damn, your high school ghetto.”

The lunchroom had a wide opening kept closed by one of those metal gates that you pull down from the ceiling to the floor. All the kids would be pressed up against the gate in a massive heap with no order whatsoever. I usually found a friend in the middle of the crowd and asked them to pull me in towards them. I’m really thin so it was easy to slip past people. I would worm through the crowd until I made it to the gate. When it opened, we all pushed through and dashed for the trays. We always rushed in because if you were last there was no guarantee that there’d be any food left. A couple of times I waited at the end of the “line” and I didn't’ get to eat. I was starving all day.

When you got in, the lunch ladies worked fast, sloppily splashing food slop onto our cardboard trays. Once, I had some kind of beige pasta. They said it was macaroni and cheese, but I didn’t believe them. Once, I got to my seat, I ate everything else on the plate instead of the pasta. I went to the trash and flipped the tray over, holding it over the trash. All of the pasta stuck to the tray and did not fall into the trash. I threw the whole tray and left the lunchroom without a pass. (You weren’t allowed to exit until the bell rang). I no longer cared enough to stay.

Kanye West Sunday Service | Yandhi Album Preview?

He’s still not invited to the cookout, but this is pretty cool. I love the energy! However, as I read in a comment, there is a difference between praise and performance. I hope he has his head and heart in the right place.

(via https://open.spotify.com/track/5nRlExy2TyoI7puAWn8JuM?si=fqig7w5ZRsGzJ9_4pwYdIA)

Bishop Briggs "River" Choreography by Galen Hooks

I love this dance! I’ve seen like every youtube version in existence of it. I think it helps that I like the song a lot too though and these kids are super talented. They have more swag than me and they’re adorable! 

This brings me to the pessimistic side of the table, however. You all know how much I like to dissect and analyze things, especially comments, and use them to find a way to better understand the way people think. I initially saw this on facebook on a page called HotVocals. There were a couple of comments where people didn’t like that the kids were dancing so sexually, which is understandable. I wasn’t surprised because I actually agree with them. I just wasn’t so affected that I wanted to write a comment about it. What was surprising, however, was the way people responded to them:

“If you find this dance sexual. Then there’s something wrong with you.”

or

“They’re dancing because they like it not dancing to be sexy.”

or

“You see something sexual, you're a pervert that shouldn't be watching kids dance. It's not that complicated. “

I was severely confused because the dance is sexual and so is the song. Galen Hooks' choreography is created for grown women (though you don’t have to be a grown woman to dance it of course) and is usually performed in heels (you know, for a sensual edge). The song says "holy hands, they make me a sinner" as the dancer glides their hand down their rolling body "like a river" and later run that same hand over their hip repeatedly. Just because children are dancing it doesn't suddenly make the dance itself not sexual. The dancer and the dance must be separated here. If someone is aroused by the children dancing, then I'd be concerned, but just because someone thinks that the dance itself is sexual doesn't suddenly make them a pedo. These children are great dancers, but I understand why people are upset. 

Just because they aren't trying to be sexual doesn't mean that the actions they are performing are not. And it certainly does not protect the children from people who do look at them that way. Just because it's wrong, doesn't mean that we should allow this sort of situation to persist and expect no one to have these inappropriate feelings. It's the same thing with dressing sexually. If you dress that way, you are more likely to receive that sort of attention. Whether you meant for it to happen or not doesn't matter. Whether such “attention” is wrong or not still doesn't matter. The fact is, a sexy dress or a sexy dance is far more likely to provoke the kind of attention that these children are not ready to receive. 

NOTE: Please do not misconstrue my meaning. This does not in any way, shape, or form, justify or condone the actions of any individual who decides to in any way sexually harass and/or abuse a person!! In other words, I don’t think that just because a person is doing or wearing these things justifies sexual harassment or assault.

Aside from that, I am also concerned with the idea that the kids don't fully understand what they're dancing to. They can't understand until they've experienced these feelings. To some extent, this is unavoidable when teaching dance because this kind of knowledge just comes with time. It’s a mature concept that they can’t grasp just yet so, I think it's best to wait until they are older. However, that is fully up to the parents who seem to be doing a great job already. These kids clearly care about dancing and enjoy it. They appear to be in a safe environment and are obviously quite healthy. If the parents believe they will be fine doing this sort of thing, then so be it. It doesn’t mean I have to agree with them.