London, July 9(ANI): Planking, the latest fad, where people take photographs of themselves lying face down in public places and post them on the Internet, has been branded as racist by bloggers and Twitter users.
They claim that the craze's origins are in the slave trade, as it involves people lying expressionless with a straight body, hands by their sides and toes pointing to the ground.Planking was a way to transport slaves on ships during the slave trade, it's not funny. Educate yourselves," the Daily Mail quoted American rapper Xzibit, as tweeting.
"Don't get it twisted. I care less where your dumb asses lay face down and take pictures of the ****, I'm just telling you where it came from," he added.
The game was created by Brits Gary Clarkson and Christian Langdon, who called it the "lying down game."
Shortly after, Australian Sam Weckert and his friends rebranded it as "planking" and it caught fire on the Internet.
Blogger Courtney Luv said that although "planking" wasn't the official terminology used by slave masters, it is still seen as an insult to some African Americans.
"I did a little research and it revealed that slaves were chained and attached to plank beds. They were forced to lay face down with their arms by their side and their wrist chained to their waist," Luv wrote.
"Some were even stacked on top of each other with no room to move. Keep in mind there were not any restrooms and they were exposed to bodily fluids, etc. Not many of the slaves survived, many dying from dehydration and disease."
"You can't always jump on the bandwagon just because you saw someone else. Everything has a hidden meaning. Cultural sensitivity is real. Yes, it may be fun for now, but it is an insult to some," she added.
Celebrities like British chef Gordon Ramsay, American actress Rosario Dawson and American R andB singers Usher and Chris Brown are among a host of celebrities who have posted planking snaps. (ANI)
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