A Daily Show dodge, racism is racism, not "opportunism"

The Daily Show - Longformers - Scared Old People
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When discussing birtherism, when can we call racism, racism? When is it ok?

Well, let's just ask The Daily Show. According to them, birtherism has more to do with scaring old people than painting a Black President as the perpetual "other" and denying him the place of his birth.

On Thursday, The Daily Show tackled the birther issue for the second night in a row. And when the topic of racism came into play, host Jon Stewart turned towards his trusty "Senior Black Correspondent," Larry Wilmore, to make sense of it all.

Wilmore's thesis: It's not racism, it's opportunism.

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Someone tell Dr. West that Rev. Al was right

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There's been a lot of back and forth over the latest spat between Dr. Cornel West and Rev. Al Sharpton over the weekend.

Long story short, Dr. West challenged Rev. Al to be more critical of the Obama Administration, and even said he worried Sharpton might be manipulated by the White House (well, isn't that a tad passive aggressive).

But, this isn't about President Obama. This isn't about the plight of Black America, or speaking truth to power. No, on a basic level, this is about territory. In other words, who ranks where in the pecking order of "black leadership."

For his part, Rev. Sharpton stated what should've been obvious to everyone in the room, namely the fact that all of these problems (and you can make a long list) that impact the black community existed long before President Obama got into office. But what wasn't said is even more important. Not only have these problems existed before President Obama got into office, but they'll continue to exist long after he's gone. President Obama is not the issue. However, even more than territory, the real issue is the failure of black leadership to capture the enthusiasm of the 2008 Presidential Election to cultivate a sustained movement.

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Memo to the Media: Hate Matters

Have we reached the point where the media can no longer ignore the elephant in the room? For reasons that I'll discuss later, this question is somewhat rhetorical, but the following clip at least begins to talk about the problem in more direct terms (Note: sans the obligatory Is the White House responsible? introduction). . .



Don Lemon asks for an answer. I'll address the media as a whole.

Memo to the Media: Hate matters.

And your failure to call it hate is a big part of the problem.

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Who does he think he is . . . The President?: Obama's impact on "masculinity" and "power" in American culture

Following up on my past article, "Oh, the Possibilities . . . Obama and Black Men," I maintain that one of the greatest impacts Obama's election will have is, at a minimum, the beginning of a redefinition of "masculinity" in America. We are talking about the juxtaposition of "power" with black skin. . . we are talking about the juxtaposition of authority with black skin.

And some people just can't handle that fact. The following op-ed gets to the point:

There are many Americans for whom the image of a well-educated, articulate, African-American man running the country simply does not fit into the worldview with which they grew up and are comfortable and familiar. When the emotions aroused by that disconcerting fact are combined with legitimate political differences, their behavior has transgressed the boundaries of civil discussion and rational debate and become something much uglier. Comparing the president to a monkey, irrationally questioning his citizenship, calling for him to be ''shipped back to Africa,'' carrying signs that call for the elimination of ''Obama, Michelle, and their ugly daughters,'' keeping kids home from school so they won't have to hear the president's speech to schoolchildren -- these are not rational responses to the important policy differences that require vigorous and thoughtful debate. These are the voices of people who are having a difficult time realizing that their assumptions about the natural order of things aren't working anymore, a realization that makes them profoundly uncomfortable. It is easier for them to respond by shouting angry insults than by researching facts and developing reasoned counter arguments. (Peyton R. Helm, president of Muhlenberg College - The Morning Call)

Make no mistake. We as a country are not accustomed to associating such power, RESPECT, and, yes, admiration with black men when it comes to "masculinity." No. Black men have been and continue to be depicted as the absolute opposite of "masculinity" . . . the antithesis to the qualities that we associate with the "hero" the "white knight" . . . the COMMANDER IN CHIEF. Indeed, black men have been the perpetual "other" to the traditional, white, imagery most often associated with responsible "masculine" leadership.

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Black in America 2 . . . Some thoughts

As CNN's "Black in America 2" nears, here are a few thoughts I'm having.

Blacks and the Media:
What we’re really talking about is the blessing (or curse) blacks feel to be a spokesperson for the entire race. At the heart of many a controversy isn’t necessarily the issue being discussed, but rather HOW that issue is presented to the rest of America. Admittedly, this concern speaks more of white perceptions (or, better put, blacks’ anticipation of white perception) than the merits of the argument itself.

This often happens when discussing black relationships. Discussions get bogged down in statistics. . . X% of black men are unemployed . . . Y% of black women have never been married. If we’re not careful, both conversations can feed stereotypes of black men and women (i.e. the lonely bitter black woman can’t find a man because there’s no such thing as a good black man - I’m sure you’ve heard it before). The media must be careful to check its facts and present them in the proper context. It’s not enough to regurgitate statistics and draw blind conclusions. There are lies, damn lies and statistics. And people have gone out of their way to disprove commonly held assumptions about black men and women when it comes to relationships. Their voices aren’t always heard.

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Black Comedy and Why Madea Matters

Say the name "Tyler Perry" and you're likely to get a very passionate response. But depending on the columnist you may be surprised to find that not everyone is a fan. In fact, Mr. Perry's come under a lot of heat from accusations that he makes money through negative stereotypes of the black community. There is also the not-so-small concern over allegations that Mr. Perry might be anti-union (but that's not the focus of this post).

At times there seems to be little room for middle ground when discussing Perry. IF you're taking the time to actually write about the man, chances are you're probably going to take one of two approaches: Either 1.) Perry is the quintessential entrepreneur; or 2.) Perry's nothing more than a sell-out.

The entrepreneurial side is self-evident. Perry is the perfect rags-to-riches affirmation of the American Dream. Most reports tell of how Perry went from homelessness to being a multi-millionaire . . . head of his own entertainment empire in, not only African-American, but mainstream pop-culture. And how did he get there? One word: MADEA . . .

And that's where some get to the sell-out critique.

For some, Madea is a witty, comedic character familiar to most African-Americans in the tradition of Big Mama. To others, Madea is a social stereotype of black women: an angry, overweight and hostile woman with a diva attitude (well damn, now that you put it that way. . . ). Others say Madea is no more than a modern day Mammy.

And the criticism is not just limited to Madea. Rather some critics suggest that Perry's movies are overly simplistic and highly predictable; utilizing a plethora of black stereotypes from the trifling, no good abusive husband (see, Blair Underwood's character in Madea's Family Reunion) to the high-saddity, gold-digging wife (see, Sanaa Lathan's character in The Family that Preys). And if that weren't enough to drive his critics wild, there's always the occasional pimp and/or ho (which can both be found in Perry's latest, Madea Goes to Jail).

So, with all of that said, I should probably use this post to declare my disgust as well, right???

WRONG.

Sorry, but I just can't get too worked up over a Tyler Perry movie. As a matter of fact (GASP) I actually LIKE his movies. Yeah, I said it.

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