Well yeah in an ideal world we would just... stop discriminating, and that's that. But we don't live in an ideal world, and we haven't stopped the discrimination (and just saying that we should isn't enough), so the next best thing is to try to give people who have been disadvantaged by the system at least a LITTLE more help and opportunity than they had before. And I think it's a bit early to worry about reverse-discrimination when we still haven't eradicated the original and much more destructive kind perpetrated against the minorities of this country.
Germany does already pay, not only in a material way but also in a cultural way. But the lessons learned from the national socialistic dictatorship are globally - antisemitism is a global phenomenon, not only based/rooted in Germany. And many cultures are "hiding" behind the atrocities Germany did during the so called Third Reich, pointing fingers at Germany "... at least we did not do something like THIS!", wiping their own cultures clean from their atrocities - because it is the truth? No, just because it is in their national interest. And to bring Germany's past full circle to the world of Late Night: Peter Lassally, producer of Carson, Letterman and now Craig Ferguson, was born in Hamburg, Germany into a jewish family. After beeing in a concentration camp in Theresienstadt his family left Germany to go to the US, New York City. So actually without the National Socialists, Lassally probably would not made (and still make as producer of Ferguson) Late Night TV in the US ... but maybe shows in Germany.
Yikes. That's like saying, "good thing all those Africans were kidnapped and brought to America, otherwise we would never have heard Ray Charles sing".
I'm seeing a lot of strawman responses to what I said, so let me clarify. I am not suggesting 'Payback' for past wrongs. I am suggesting there is some responsibility to correct current, ongoing wrongs that are a result of those wrongs. So no, because the previous generation had 50% does not mean the current generation gets 200%. It means because the current generation has 50%, we should take measures to bring them up to 100%. I will repeat something our current president likes to say about similar topics, "Equal opportunity does not mean equal outcomes". Everybody should have the same chance to achieve success, and once you have that chance the responsibility shifts to you. But if you are honestly telling me that a person born in a poor family has an equal chance to achieve success with the same talent and same amount of work as somebody born in a rich family, you're deluding yourself. It is not about payback or culpability, it's about ongoing inequities.
Find me a live slave from before the Civil War and I'll give them a trillion dollars. Wait... this is about the Late Show? What the fuck happened to this topic and why is it still open?
Everyone in this country has the opportunity to achieve his potential, as long as he is willing to put in the hard work. Just because someone comes from a "privileged" background it doesn't automatically guarantee "success." I could cite example after example of people who have come from a disadvantaged background who have gone on to greatness. It's almost a given that these examples would be dismissed, because their religious or political beliefs don't match the template of what their ethnic or economic background is supposed to be in this politically correct world. But millions have worked hard to make a better life for themselves and their families than their parents and grandparents had. That, to me, is "success." Calling out CBS as racist because they've hired who they think is the best person for the job is, in my opinion, narrow minded and in itself racist. You can't move past the "sins of the fathers" unless you forgive those sins and work to avoid repeating them. No amount of affirmative action or monetary reparation can pay off that debt. Only rising above those past inequities can make amends and move us forward. The answer is not to continue the division that comes from pointing out our differences, but teaching that no matter what one group of our ancestors did to another group of our ancestors, we are all one race. Human.
Yes there are exceptions to the rule, and there's never a guarantee of success... but the odds are a whole helluva lot better for those who do come from a more privileged background (or hell, even just a basic middle class background). It would seem silly to think otherwise. And besides, why should someone from a poorer background be forced to work that much harder to escape poverty than someone from a better background? That hardly seems right.
They did that back in the 1970''s 1980's and a bit of the early '90's; it was called CBS Late Night. One of the lead-in shows on Fridays was some show where Steven Bishop and Sinbad roamed L.A. in a big bus looking for late night happenings; it didn't last long. Another was an American version of the Top of the Pops show that also didn't last but briefly. Both there shows and Pat Sajak's short loved talk show were lead-ins to the CBS Late Night package, which consisted of reruns of old (recently ended) TV show, big-screen movies, and TV movies-after the movies ended, the affiliate(s) would take over, or the affiliate(s) would show the late night CBS News block (Up to the Minute/Nightwatch), which was (and is) like CNN. Bringing that back won't work, believe me. As for who I think should be hosting after Dave and Craig leaves, why not this guy?
Because he is a legendarily terrible host. GENERAL NOTE: This is not a thread about race privilege. This not a thread about historical oppression of peoples. This is a thread about the new host of The Late Show, and I'm honestly considering just re-titling it "Late-Night Talk Show Megathread." Let's leave the discussions about history to Miscellaneous.
Yeah, he is not entertaining at all to me and frankly, gets on my nerves. He has no discernable talent, IMO, and his intervies, from what I recall from the old show, consist of nothing but one softball question after another. But besides all that, there is no way he'd get ratings against Kimmel and Fallon.
I was a big fan of Arsenio back in the day, but for whatever reason his new show just feels incredibly stale and tired. Perhaps because he's trying so hard to do things exactly the way he did 20 years ago (even down to having the same set). I was frankly hoping he would have chosen to host his own podcast or something instead. Because having heard him on other people's shows I know he can be entertaining as hell in that format. And I think he really would have stood out.
As the person that brought it up, no, I didn't say they were racist. Not in the slightest. I seemed to have touched a nerve for some people, who can't seem to have a conversation about diversity without freaking out. Of course not, because in the entrainment business, the default is white. And they don't take chances in the entertainment business. But, still, in this day and age, it should be a little strange that there is only 1 late night host who is of color. And 1 with breasts. (except for Dave, I guess.)
I miss Jay Leno, in fact I haven't watch a single episode of The New Tonight Show since Jay left. I always enjoyed Monday Nights with Headlines. Also, I'm glad David Letterman is going to retire, he needed to do this a few years back. He just isn't that funny to me. Good Luck, and Happy Retirement ~ David.