Are all instances of blackface alike?

[dead0man]

When I was a little kid, the least racist white people alive wore black face.  There were a ton of Mr Ts for a couple of Halloweens there, because he was awesome.  Nobody that was racist would like Mr T and nobody with racist parents would have been allowed to wear a Mr T costume.  And nobody alive* at the time would have thought the little kid in black face was a problem at all.

<FTR, I did not ever go as Mr T>


We also really liked Boy George, but this isn't about gayface.






*ok, there is always someone, but certainly not like today if an 8 yo tried to dress up as a character from Wakanda.

[dead0man]

Whether or not its intentions are actively hateful, the purpose of blackface is always to perpetuate racial stereotypes.

what about my example above (white kid in 1983 dressing up like his hero, Mr T)?