Blatant, Unabashed Racism

[celtic_crippler]

Ever hear of CMT? or the GOLF channel? :lol:

GOLF channel? Tiger may take exception to that.

Yes, that was the definition I was working from. I don't see where the TV One folks are promoting racial superiority. They are catering to a market.

Exactly. Almost all cable networks are niche now.

This is true, but he's not saying there coverage is racist, he's saying the whole idea a Black-Themed TV station is racist, and implying that he would be tarred and feathered if he made a White-Themed TV station.

A refreshing breath of fresh air, especially evident with the recent Jesse Jackson debacle, is that most A18-34 don't care to buy into the whole "victimization" bit anymore. They recognize cultural differences, and that certain issues are more important to them than others, but don't play into the "I deserve this because I'm <insert race or gender here> theme any more.

It's the 21st Century, it's way past time people got over the whole racist/gender thing. Individuals are good at what they're good at, and should be recognized for their abilities and accomplishments regardless.
Sheesh.

 

[Empty Hands]

Again, define American.

The familiar and comfortable cultural norms and practices of the dominant majority. How convenient then that when this majority implores others to join the "melting pot" it is a concatenation that requires absolutely no change on their own part.

For that matter, this message of "change and adapt" is rather suspiciously targeted. It is told with great regularity to incoming Muslims and Latinos. However, it is never told to long resident Amish communities who are much farther from the common culture than any incoming Mexican or Ecuadorian could ever hope to be. It also isn't told to Orthodox Jews living in LA or New York, who take being part of a separate culture as a holy duty. Now why is that?

The simple truth is that the US is much closer today to having a single, common culture than we have ever had in the past. Instant, mass communication has made sure that a farmer in Des Moines, a baker in NYC, and a bartender in NOLA all share the same basic cultural touchstones. Ethnic ghettoization is actually far less prevalent today than in the past, when every European ethnicity and nationality had their own neighborhoods where their food was served and their mother tongue was spoken. You have to look hard nowadays to see the influence of the heavy German immigrant history in the upper Midwest, or even the French influence in New Orleans in a non-touristy kind of way.

Yet, despite this objective reality, nativistic fears and rhetoric have been ratcheted higher and higher. Who benefits from this state of affairs?

 

[Phoenix44]

I never saw "The Man Show" on the Oxygen channel, and I never see "The View" on Spike. Advertising "Girls Gone Wild" on WE would probably be a waste of money, too. So a black oriented network is doing a feature on Obama, but not on McCain. Yawn.

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

The familiar and comfortable cultural norms and practices of the dominant majority. How convenient then that when this majority implores others to join the "melting pot" it is a concatenation that requires absolutely no change on their own part.

For that matter, this message of "change and adapt" is rather suspiciously targeted. It is told with great regularity to incoming Muslims and Latinos. However, it is never told to long resident Amish communities who are much farther from the common culture than any incoming Mexican or Ecuadorian could ever hope to be. It also isn't told to Orthodox Jews living in LA or New York, who take being part of a separate culture as a holy duty. Now why is that?

Could it be that the Jews who live in L.A. and NY and the Amish, while maintaining their sub-culture, still subscribe to those things that make America successful overall, while shunning those cultural attributes that do not?

I personally think that those things that make up the culture of America is not the style of dress, hairstyles, and types of music. I believe, to name a few, it is the ideas of hard work, personal responsibility, individual freedom, working together with people of diverse backgrounds, reasoning and logical thought, etc. In other words, aspects of character.

Now, don't misunderstand. That is not to say that other cultures do not have these things. Of course they do. As a proud American, I would say that we happen to have a unique confluence of these factors that have allowed us to become the most powerful nation on the planet. (Alot of natural resources didn't hurt either.)

The simple truth is that the US is much closer today to having a single, common culture than we have ever had in the past. Instant, mass communication has made sure that a farmer in Des Moines, a baker in NYC, and a bartender in NOLA all share the same basic cultural touchstones. Ethnic ghettoization is actually far less prevalent today than in the past, when every European ethnicity and nationality had their own neighborhoods where their food was served and their mother tongue was spoken. You have to look hard nowadays to see the influence of the heavy German immigrant history in the upper Midwest, or even the French influence in New Orleans in a non-touristy kind of way.

Yet, despite this objective reality, nativistic fears and rhetoric have been ratcheted higher and higher. Who benefits from this state of affairs?

The difference may be that the nature of the "different culture". For instance, I do not believe that most Americans have a problem with Mexicans. What they do have a problem with is them defying our laws in entering/remaining in the country, refusing to speak the common language (English), use of resources intended for citizens, etc. I will also say that this issue also depends on where you live, and where you get your conception of what Mexicans are like.

Where I live, it is very common to see many intoxicated Mexicans in public places, sleeping and passing out on sidewalks and walkways. Seeing them urinate on people's cars, buildings and businesses. Telling natural born citizens that they should learn to speak Spanish. After a while, it can take a toll, and cause a reaction, by those that have an actual legal right to be here.

And for a long time, those in the middle and northern part of the country did not have to deal with this. Now they do. And, rightly so, they are tired of it.

I think it is unfair that people of a certain mindset automatically assume racism when those who have very cogent points of view regarding the illegal immigration issue make their position known. And it is not all rhetoric either.