As an African American blackface doesn't offend me personally because I was raised in a different time period. However, I do know the history behind it and where it stems from. I noticed that someone stated that in Germany this probably isn't offensive and I agree with that, but given the fact that almost ANYTHING can be accessed through the internet, he had to have known we (Americans) would see it. For many that don't know why a lot of older people find blackface offensive, it was used in a show for entertaining whites. These shows were called “minstrel shows” , and they basically portrayed blacks in the ways the overseers of the plantations thought them to be. They honestly believed that the slaves liked being held captive and liked serving their white oppressers hand and foot lol. They portrayed blacks as lazy (even though they did all the work lol), uneducated (even though it was against the law to educate a slave let alone a black person), joyous, and as a trickster. They over-exaggerated the physical features of the african and basically poked fun of he/she. I'm assuming he lacks knowledge on this subject, but I think if he had known it's origin he would've thought twice before following through with this idea. I mean I understand that he was joking, but people need to understand that blackface is inappropriate and it will NEVER be ok.
