I was gonna type up a really long response with some history showing why this is racist, for this and the Song of the South thread, but...really what's the point?
We'll argue back and forth and the majority of people can't, won't, or don't see the racist depictions of this show no matter how it's explained. And if they do, they don't understand why it's harmful.
The discussion of race in America is always so touchy because of the chasm in perception of what is and isn't racism. Blacks see it as a more complex and institutional problem that is "perpetuated within structural settings,
even without deliberate and bigoted intent, due to the normal workings of long entrenched policies, practices, and procedures." and whites simply see it as interpersonal meanness and think that the majority of society has moved on...
This is where it starts. And I think today's perceptions of racism in media stereotypes are a result.
Historically minority representations in media are a result of racism, and
today its legacy perpetuates those stereotypes used to demean, delegitimize, and dehumanize minorities. Those stereotypes still color our perceptions and are ingrained in the foundation of our society.
Looking back through history, the
majority of Whites have been wrong about the problem of racism in every single generation. For example, a Gallup poll conducted in 1962 showed that a
majority of Whites didn't think that Blacks had less opportunities in employment and education in the 1960's!
Today, only a moron would deny that racism was a problem in the 60's. But back then good, and otherwise rational people denied its existence.
So if good people can so strongly deny what is right in front of them then, why is it so hard to believe that denial occurs today?
I understand that people have their own issues to worry about, but why are people either oblivious of issues of race or in denial? The evidence overwhelmingly points to on going effects of institutional racism. Rather than discussion centering on how to fix problems, time is wasted on discussing
if there is a problem, or if certain imagery or phrases are racist. And as some have demonstrated here, they find
that discussion absurd and laughable for completely different reasons than I do...
So no post providing background and history to show how it's racist, which will lead to an argument about whether it is racist or not. It
IS a racist show. It's a clueless white guy's perception of black people in America and it's disgusting. It shouldn't be up for debate. I]Most[/I] Whites ignore the experiences of blacks and deny or explain away racism. I can't say what people are thinking, but what is said leads me to believe that many think that blacks are paranoid and always seeking to be the victims, trying to find racism lurking behind every corner.
I'm not saying that I'm not going to stop debating (on the rare occasions that I post) and trying to change minds on issues of race, but people in this forum get downright hostile when discussing issues of race.
Which is why I've emphasized certain words in this post. Because no matter how I try to make my criticisms as impersonal as possible, people always think I'm calling them racist.
I'm not, I don't know you or what's in your heart. Just please don't take criticism of society as a personal insult and keep an open mind...