Friday, October 17, 2014

If You Could Nominate Any White Person, Living or Dead, Fictional or 'Real', to Participate in PBS's the 'Whiteness Project', Who Would It Be?

Akeem the African Dream is My Choice




My curiosity about the PBS documentary the Whiteness Project is not satisfied. While thawing my langostino, I was compelled by the Whiteness Project's unintentional Andy Kaufman-like performance to look at the comments on Slate's piece about PBS's white victimology documentary/group therapy exercise.

[Slate's piece by Jamelle Bouie exhibits a common and problematic framing where the article's title "Why It Shouldn’t Surprise Us That Whites and Blacks Have So Little Empathy for Each Other", is both incorrect and misleading: black Americans have been a model people in terms of our desire to be included as full citizens in the United States, and while doing so, exhibiting an almost titan-like level of patience towards, and empathy for, white folks. 

Moreover, experimental and social psychologists have shown that an empathy gap exists, that as shown here and here (with an interesting qualifier here), where whites feel low levels of empathy for black people (and other non-whites). The empathy gap is not mutual and equivalent across the color line; to begin with a lie leads to the distortion that racism is a moral failing of all people in America, as opposed to one exclusive to the White community.]

There are some real gems of distorted late 20th/early 21st century white supremacist statistical racism mixed with more honest old school white supremacy, white supremacy from a more simple and "elegant" age in response to Bouie's commentary.

I am particularly partial to this one:
When will "they" stop chasing Whites around like rabid dogs? We're not the Blue Eyed Devils, we just want "them" to leave us alone. We don't want your women, leave ours alone. We don't want your neighborhoods, leave ours alone. We don't want your jobs, leave ours alone. Don't like our banks, groceries, sporting events, our Culture because you FEEL left out...develop your own, and leave ours alone. Get it? 
Who comes up with the notion that we should INCLUDE you in our society?
The following one is fun too:
The other day (on Slate) I read an article that basically said that all white guys are racist, whether they knew it yet or not. Now In the job I do, I work with many blacks; and my boss is black as well. I don't know that any of us even think about the feeling of racism.
But articles like that bother me. I like to think that all of us really want to do the "right" thing. But, from a simple standpoint of human dynamics, if one is going to be condemned as racist regardless of what one does is there any reason to "give a d*mn" ? Would we all not be better served by turning down the volume?
I love the "black boss" deflection--I consider it more "compelling" than my "best black friend".

In this comment, American exceptionalism is once again sacrificed by apologists for white supremacy and white privilege in the United States. How come the White Right Tea Party GOP fuck yeah! America is always awesome and great crowd can't make up their collective minds about the United States' greatness in the context of centuries of racism and other types of social evils?
I know there is racism but I don't see what you see. More racist then say...Japan? China? India? How would we even know. At least America has given it a shot. Look at the Muslim societies around the US...even after all the 9-11 turmoil. And, at least where I live, where it's pretty 50/50 white2minority, I don't see racism against minorities...yes, the jerks are there somewhere but it's certainly not open...and even that is a small comfort.
I believe we have done pretty well as a society.
Especially since the mid 60's when we began moving in the right direction. Just hoping it continues getting better and better.
In all, these comments are priceless comedy gold.

A random question for the weekend: if you could nominate any white person, living or dead, fictional or "real", to participate in the Whiteness Project, who would it be? And what would they say?

My vote is Akeem the African Dream of 1980s and early 1990s WWF fame.

29 comments:

Wavenstein said...

Real: Robert E. Lee. Fictional: Calvin Candie. I want to listen to them and laugh about how they are "the real victims"

Panther said...

Luke Russert-"No...there is no such thing as white privilege."

chauncey devega said...

Good one.

chauncey devega said...

Calvin Candie would give a mighty fine speech. Archie Bunker too.

Adepsis said...

Real: Mitt Romney
Fictional: Mitt Romney

chauncey devega said...

How can we tell the two Romney's apart? :)

joe manning said...

George Wallace, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz and Rick Perry deserve dishonorable mention. Most whites espouse racial victimology and the Whiteness Project reinforces color blind racism and white supremacy. PBS is lurching further to the right in order to fund raise among HRC's "hard working Americans, white Americans." It's bad PR for a supposedly liberal corporation which is turning off lots of subscribers.

Miles_Ellison said...

Most of the white people in the mainstream media are already participating in a whiteness project. Generations of white Americans have been participating in it since the first of many many Native American was killed.

Gable1111 said...

For fictional character, I would nominate that icon of white culture, Santa Clause.


I'd nominate the White Jesus of caucasiondom, Ronald Reagan.

KissedByTheSun said...

White Jesus

Werner Herzog's Bear said...

I have a morbid curiosity to hear what Thomas Jefferson would say, even though he pretty much said it in print already.

chauncey devega said...

He would do some real truth telling. Good call.

chauncey devega said...

Never apologize for doing some good writing and exposing of the truth. PBS used to be money. Now they are just hungry for sponsorship. Too bad.

chauncey devega said...

Damn historians :) What other figures would be good guests?

chauncey devega said...

The white man from the Netherlands with his black slave? The Greek/Turkish version? The Coca-Cola fat white man? Got to be specific.

chauncey devega said...

Trump loves the blacks. Goodness :) Who else would you nominate?

Myshkin the Idiot said...

Wouldn't it be funny to get a General Lee or Thomas Jefferson or any other historical racist on screen and have the white right be all, "Well, I wouldn't say they're racist. They're just proud of their nation and heritage."

chauncey devega said...

They wouldn't apologize. As you know to them such beliefs are normal. Their honesty would be refreshing inmao.

Werner Herzog's Bear said...

I would nominate white musicians who appropriate black music, like Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Macklemore, etc.

Myshkin the Idiot said...

I would worry if more people were a little more honest about their racism. If it was more generally accepted, where would we be?

Nina Flowers said...

PBS still shows good programming but they have certainly held back a lot on truth-telling. This is why Now with David Brancaccio got cancelled. It was honest news that upset the right wing. I was able to barely stomach watching a program they aired recently on 1964 (I believe it was "The American Experience"). It was basically about how the conservative (scared white people's) movement really took off. They featured the usual suspects like Phyllis Schlafley, Barry Goldwater, etc. who really drove their points home about "how dare you say that the American good life has to be accessible for all Americans?" drivel. I'm still waiting on a liberal movement that's at least just as organized...

Nina Flowers said...

Participate? Hmmm... The Koch brothers. Their clan entered politics because they had a freak-out about the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. After all, they fund the "Tea Party" movement that has convinced enough white folks that have all of the best benefits of liberalism (good wages, pensions, etc.) that they are victims of liberalism.

Nina Flowers said...

Now that you mention Hollywood, I will admit that I absolutely love movies. Of course most of them are garbage and I am already upset about Ridley Scott's upcoming film about Moses... All of the Egyptians cast are white actors of course. If black actors cannot portray Vicky Vale, Princess Leia or Superman, then why no outrage when they portray the black Egyptian monarchs? I think I'll scream if I see another white kid cast as Tutankhamun!

joe manning said...

PBS still has great programs but its disturbing that it has recently aired some decidedly racist and rightist material to cater to "hard working Americans, white Americans" as HRC put it.

Courtney H. said...

Excellent comments! Here is a radio show that discusses propaganda and racism in America:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCAFzaHqZEw

Kyle Bull said...

Oh, of course, it was the whites who were ungodly savages praying on god fearing decent natives, how could I have possibly mixed those two up.

Kyle Bull said...

Michelangelo painted everyone that was divine white
Do Africans in Africa depict their god as black,
do natives in America depict their god as native,
Indians depict their god as indian.

Kyle Bull said...

cool, go cry about it

Kyle Bull said...

didn't blacks appropriate European music to create rag time, jazz, swing, blues ect...