Spoiling our Sensitivity

so I've been thinking of the whole I-muss. The man did say something pretty heinous. At the same time he's said stuff like that before and gotten paid pretty well for it. It seems hypocritical to now vilify and then fire him. But what of comedians? what if white comedians say something about another ethnic group that may seem rude, but is actually true? or maybe it's not true but a lot of people would like to believe it is true? Black comedians regularly point out how much white people love mayo, or mimick whites as prim suburban nerds. Now, what if you don't actually name a certain ethnic group, you just characterize what they do and everyone knows it's that group because everyone knows that's what they do? like saying you can find illegal aliens working construction for example. No one names the group, but you know it is probably Mexicans. Is that rude? Is that uncalled for? Where's the line? Can we not say anything about any group? Can we not generalize because it might be racist? I just want to take a poll. so hands up, what do y'all think?

Comments

Joy said…
I think the big problem (and one you touched upon) is that people like Imus are being paid the big bucks to say outrageous things. These individuals seem to be in competition with eachother to say the more outrageous thing. Until this is addressed, stuff like this will continue to happen.
1:15 PM
Scully said…
I think it is the way you say generalizations. Saying "A lot of illegal immigrants come from Mexico and work at construction jobs." is not racist because it is a) a non-judgemental statement and b) is supported by quantifiable information. What Imus said is neither non-judgemnetal (I think just calling the basketball players 'hos' was offensive enough to cause controversy, let alone the rest) nor supported by quantifiable information.
4:32 PM
Unknown said…
I put the illegal aliens at construction sites thing in there because that's actually a line from a piece I did yesterday. It got pulled because of that line. I thought about it but determined we are overly sensitive from the Imus thing. Still producers decided to censor it. I feel like we are now way over sensitive here because of the way it played out with Imus.
5:58 PM
Steve said…
Oh, don't be such a white bread cracker! hahaha.

I often think that cultural sensitivity goes a little too far and is often hypocritical, but I think I'd rather have that than the other extreme.

I think the recent hubbub is two-fold; 1) b/c it is high profile and grossly overpaid people in a public setting saying such moronic things and 2) in today's non-privacy environment, anything anyone half famous says or does is bound to be seen or heard by someone else, thus it gets reported. Again, I think it's just a matter of people that have the public's ear being aware of themselves and more importantly, what they say.
1:48 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Playing house

Image
I have no idea how I got here. I spent so much time dating and being single and going through boyfriends and now here I am -- in my late 30's, married and with a baby on the way. Sometimes it doesn't feel real, like I'm playing house. Last night my husband and I ordered nursery furniture from Pottery Barn. We made a list of things we still need to get from Amazon and discussed the credit cards with the best points to put it on for travel miles and cash back bonuses. We have 401k's and a savings account and talk about stock investments. You'd think, at almost 40, I would feel like a responsible adult and this would all feel normal right now. It does not. Any moment I wonder when I'm going to wake up. There were times I thought maybe I'll never get married. I wondered if I'd be able to have children -- or get the chance to even try. This baby, so far, seems so healthy and so far I've felt healthy throughout the pregnancy. I'm blessed with go
Read more

Don't Touch My Junk

I am appalled that so many in my generation are ready and willing to roll over and be sexually assaulted (and let their children be sexually assaulted), give up their rights to privacy and ignore their rights as stated in the 4th Amendment all in the name of supposed security at airports. This new TSA measure is outrageous and ineffective. I did not always feel this way. Like so many others, I didn't see the big deal. However, on more careful examination of the 4th Amendment as well as the many, many assaults that have already taken place, and along with an understanding of the measures we really should be taking to ensure our safety, I have changed my mind. This video is of a man who recorded his experience going through TSA. He asked the TSA agent not to "touch his junk". That's when the TSA agent put him on the no fly list and asked him to step out of line. After questioning he then tried to leave the airport but was told he had to go through the entire procedu
Read more