# Boondocks-- MLK would be ashamed of us! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217 "2006-01-16T14:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/21 "2006-01-18T17:49:35Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Even apparently innocuous strips get complaints. The guy who writes “Hi and Lois” was interviewed on Fresh Air the other day, and he was talking about all the letters he got when the baby was taking a bath and the mom turned away for a moment to get a towel. [The baby could have drowned.] I heard that, too, in case anyone thought **Rodgers** was making it up, which I would have thought had I not heard it. Some lady actually wrote a letter to the editor about leaving the baby unattended in the tub. He had to call and apologize he said. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/22 "2006-01-18T18:26:40Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Beetle Bailey has been accused of being sexist and racist. Sexist because of the way the general used to chase Miss Buxley around, and racist because…well, I’m not sure. Though I do remember there was a joke once about a black guy’s afro… The really objectionable thing about Beetle Bailey is that he’s been in basic training since 1951 and he’s never once gone to war. But, if he did, no doubt Walker would get even more letters. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/23 "2006-01-18T21:14:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 What exactly do they complain about? Well, the artist/writer is a racist. But of course, since he’s black, that seems to be OK. :rolleyes: If a white artist did the exact strip- wouldn’t you say he’s a racist? Why is racist humor funny if you’re black, and racist if you’re white? :dubious: The “cool thing” seems to be the artist allows us non-blacks to laugh at racist humour without being thought racist. But I don’t buy that. Next- the strip is rarely funny. Many do like it because the writer reflects their political views. Some out their think Mallard the duck (or whatever, yes, I know the name) is funny too. They are wrong also. The strip is mean spirited & downright mean. The strip seems to support criminal activity. Of course, when called on it, the artist/writer just says “it’s satire, and you’re too stupid to understand it”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/24 "2006-01-18T21:43:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, the artist/writer is a racist. Hmmmmm? > **[Boondocks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondocks#Description:)** > > The boondocks is an American expression from the Tagalog (Filipino) word bundók ("mountain"). It originally referred to a remote rural area, but now, is often applied to an out-of-the-way area considered backward and unsophisticated by city-folk. It can also refer to a mountain. > The expression was introduced to English by U.S. military personnel fighting in the Philippine–American War (1899-1902). It derives from the Tagalog word "bundók",\[note 1\] which means "mountain". According to military... > [@](#): > > The strip depicts Huey Freeman and his younger brother Riley, two black children who have been moved out of Chicago by their grandfather to live with him in the predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest (most likely in Maryland, as seen from the area code stated in the March 16, 2000 strip). Huey is a devotee of black radical ideas of the past few decades (as explained in the May 4, 1999 strip, Huey is in fact named after Black Panther Huey P. Newton) and is harshly critical of many aspects of modern Black culture. Riley, on the other hand, is enamored of gangsta rap culture and the “thug”/bling-bling lifestyle. Their grandfather is a firm disciplinarian who is offended by their values and ideas. > > Huey’s best friend is Michael Caesar, a dreadlocked aspiring MC who agrees with many of Huey’s criticisms but serves as a positive counterpoint to Huey’s typically pessimistic attitude by taking a humorous approach to issues. He is also a budding comedian, although most of his humor consists of trying to play the dozens on Huey, which always falls flat. The Freemans’ neighbors are NAACP member Thomas Dubois (a reference both to WEB DuBois and Uncle Tom) and his White wife Sara, who are both lawyers. Their young daughter Jazmine is very insecure about her racial identity and is often the subject of Huey’s antipathy for being, in his opinion, out of touch with her African ancestry. “Racist”? Just because it **deals** with race?! I mean, I wish race didn’t matter any more, but it does. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/25 "2006-01-18T21:57:54Z")
I suspect that there’s more of Heuy in McGruder than I’d like, which is why I’d prefer to meet him in the flesh. I suspect he’s got more than a touch of misanthropy in him, which gets carried over into a lot of his characters. Plus, he’d probably hate me, since I’m white and vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/26 "2006-01-18T22:38:28Z")
**DrDeth.** _Sigh._ (massages bridge of nose, types wearily) Being pro-African-American doesn’t make you a racist, anymore than being proud to be white makes you a racist, or ethnic pride in being Pakistani, Jewish, Hawaiian or Kurdish makes you racist. **Degrading, dehumanizing, disregarding and destroying the peoples and cultures different than yours makes you racist.** Verbally attacking the policies and inaction of insular conservative rich powerful policymakers – among whom Armstrong Williams, Condoleeza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Alan Keyes number and are targeted – is not racist. Please, please stop confusing “racial” and “racist.” Yes, the strip is mean-spirited and mean. Adult themed humor often is. Satire often is. The strip does not support criminal activity – whether it be thuggish young blacks who deface street signs or thuggish white collar Ivy Leaguers who steal, like, national elections. (I’m talking about Jeb via proxy accomplice Katherine Harris, not Dubya.) Civil disobedience of unjust laws and policies excepted, of course. Yeah, I like the strip because of its politics. I am left unsatisfied by the cartoon at times because its message isn’t sharp and mean-spirited enough. I cannot comment on your last point without skirting afoul with this forum’s policies regarding civil address of other posters. But, whooo boy. MAN. Man o man o man o manomanoman. Talk about TEMPT-ing!! **smiling bandit.** Assuming you won’t have common ground with another person is a fine way to ensure you won’t. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/27 "2006-01-18T22:49:20Z")
[QUOTE=AskiaBeing pro-African-American doesn’t make you a racist, anymore than being proud to be white makes you a racist, or ethnic pride in being Pakistani, Jewish, Hawaiian or Kurdish makes you racist. **Degrading, dehumanizing, disregarding and destroying the peoples and cultures different than yours makes you racist.**.[/QUOTE] This is where we disagree- the phrase “different than yours”. The writer “degrades, dehumanizes, disregards and destroys” his \*own \* culture. His racism is both anti-black _and_ anti-white. See, I think that if a black man says “us niggers are lazy ho-chasing dudes”- then, yes, even if he is black and he is talking about his very own race- he is being racist. He is degrading a race-thus, even if it is his own, it’s racist. (The Uncle? figure is the worst example of this, but also the Riley character) Then again, the writer here also attacks white dudes- and he’s not white. Sigh, yes, I know it’s tempting. But you know- sometimes the Emperor _has_ no clothes. Sometimes a satire isn’t really being satirical. But of course- dudes won’t admit they don’t “get it” as then they’d be thought :rolleyes: “stupid” by those who claim they DO “get it”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/28 "2006-01-18T23:14:50Z")
Just a thought: McGruder’s critique of blacks is not about _race_ so much as it is about _culture._ He is criticizing the culture of black America, not the race of the people living within that culture. We in the United States get confused about this, because given our history and the lingering effects of segregation, our different cultural subgroups are nearly always defined by racial membership–a _de facto_ segregation that remains long after _de jure_ segregation was legally struck down. But remember the episode a few weeks back where the two hip-hop white guys shot up the convience store (thereby bagging a few “terror suspects”). McGruder is busting the chops of all fools, whatever their race, because they’re fools as members of their culture. It’s not about how much melanin you’ve got. If McGruder lays it on folks within the America’s black culture more than other groups, it’s because that’s the culture he’s closest to. It’s the culture that touches him, the one that matters to him most. But the important thing to remember is, race and culture are _not_ the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/29 "2006-01-18T23:28:37Z")
The only bright spot was Martin saying “I really ought to have some form of approval over this”, or whatever. That was funny. Other than “Squid Billys”, Adult Swim is a waste electricity anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/30 "2006-01-18T23:35:42Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > **DrDeth.** _Sigh._ (massages bridge of nose, types wearily) Being pro-African-American doesn’t make you a racist, anymore than being proud to be white makes you a racist, or ethnic pride in being Pakistani, Jewish, Hawaiian or Kurdish makes you racist. Perhaps, but it DOES make you an idiot. Having pride in an accident of birth is just plain stupid. You might as well be proud that you have an “innie” belly button. And 99% of the time people who “take pride in their ethnic background” do so by belittling others, and thus are indeed racists. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/31 "2006-01-19T00:14:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > This is where we disagree- the phrase “different than yours”. The writer “degrades, dehumanizes, disregards and destroys” his \*own \* culture. His racism is both anti-black _and_ anti-white. See, I think that if a black man says “us niggers are lazy ho-chasing dudes”- then, yes, even if he is black and he is talking about his very own race- he is being racist. He is degrading a race-thus, even if it is his own, it’s racist. (The Uncle? figure is the worst example of this, but also the Riley character). Well, I never heard anyone call Richard Pryor a racist, even though most of his material was like that and worse. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/32 "2006-01-19T00:55:17Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > But remember the episode a few weeks back where the two hip-hop white guys shot up the convience store (thereby bagging a few “terror suspects”). McGruder is busting the chops of all fools, whatever their race, because they’re fools as members of their culture. It’s not about how much melanin you’ve got. That was actually an allegory about Bush and Rumsfeld rather than a dig at anyone’s culture in general. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/33 "2006-01-19T01:09:35Z")
**DrDeth.** Oh, for --! McGruder pokes fun at _persistant_ lazy, triflin’, disrespectful niggerish _behavior_ in a subset of African-Americans. Loves the sinner, hates the sin. That doesn’t make him racist. That make him vexed with all things ghettofabulous. Hating white racists doesn’t make him racist, either. That makes him a bigot. **RikWriter.** Don’t go there, son. **Not A Tame Lion.** Preach on, my feline brother. **BrainGlutton.** Word. **pizzabrat.** I can see where it could be both allegory and satire of personalities within the allegory. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/34 "2006-01-19T02:24:16Z")
Moderator growls: **RikWriter** : You will refrain from personal insults in this forum. You can say what you want about the artist, but NOT about fellow posters. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/35 "2006-01-19T02:51:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, I never heard anyone call Richard Pryor a racist, even though most of his material was like that and worse. Well, since I have never commented on Pryor’s material, this isn’t much of a problem. But in a way, you’re right. I really don’t know if Pryor personally is a racist- just that his _material_ is racist. So thus, the writer of Boondocks may well not be a racist at all (and if he is here, I apologize to him)- but his material- IMHO- depends heavily on racist humor. So does Jeff Foxworthy’s for that matter. **Not A Tame Lion** - well, yes, more or less. More about culture than race itself. But making fun of ghetto culture is a form of racism, and so is making fun of “white trash culture”. In my opinion- and please dudes- no hijacks about whther or not “white trash” is racist or not. 😛 Now **Askia** dances around _not_ calling me “stupid”. But Askia should _know_ better. I know for a fact that Askia isn’t stupid. 1. He can use the internet- at least average brains. 2. He posts here on the SDMB- and the posters here are above average in intellect (some mroe than others, of course). 3. He can write a coherent post, with reasonable spelling, grammar, and so forth. Thus, he is at least above average. Now, I can say I have a PhD, and an IQ of around 150- but that’s not nessesary as dudes here can see the same from my posts. Although I have more typos than average, due to the fact I am more used to posting on boards which allow us to edit afterwards. oh well. ☹ But one of us is wrong. So- here we have the Emperor. The Emperor’s tailor (Macgruder) has told us that the garb is fantastic, lovely to behold, and those who can’t see it are stupid or racist. Now, I \*believe \*that Askia can see the lovely robes of state. I see an old ugly naked man- with a tailor sniggering at us for our credulity. Thus, either Askia is blind to the fact that the Emperor has no clothes because Askia wants to be thought of as smart, hip and “in”. OR, I am blinded to the ermines, jewels and silks due to my super-high cynicism. Could be either way. But neither of us is stupid, and the tailor is wrong to claim as much. That much I _know._ Don’t get me wrong- Boondocks isn’t the only strip to claim one thing but- IMHO- be another. Mallard claims to be Pro-education, bust since the writer is always dissing teachers, schools and the educational system, I have concluded that he is really anti-education. Education’s nasty stuff afterall- not only does it teach lies about “eevoluuution”, but it sometimes makes the kids actually _think-_ and that’s dangerous. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/36 "2006-01-19T02:54:01Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Moderator growls: > **RikWriter** : You will refrain from personal insults in this forum. You can say what you want about the artist, but NOT about fellow posters. I wasn’t saying anything about the poster. The “you” I referenced wasn’t Askia, it was the same “you” HE referenced in his post when saying “doesn’t make YOU a racist.” Sorry for the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/37 "2006-01-19T02:57:42Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > **RikWriter.** Don’t go there, son. Don’t go where? I wasn’t calling YOU an idiot, as I said. And yes, I do think anyone who believes that their race or ethnicity makes them special is a fool. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/38 "2006-01-19T03:07:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, since I have never commented on Pryor’s material, this isn’t much of a problem. But in a way, you’re right. I really don’t know if Pryor personally is a racist- just that his _material_ is racist. So Richard Pryor doesn’t hate black people; but Richard Pryor’s material hates black people? :dubious: You’re divorcing the words from the context. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/39 "2006-01-19T03:15:08Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > So Richard Pryor doesn’t hate black people; but Richard Pryor’s material hates black people? :dubious: > You’re divorcing the words from the context. One can use racist material without actually being a racist. It’s difficult now, sure. The motive could be greed, instead- combined with a cavalier attitude about racism. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217/40 "2006-01-19T03:28:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > One can use racist material without actually being a racist. It’s difficult now, sure. The motive could be greed, instead- combined with a cavalier attitude about racism. I understand how it works. The problem, to me, is that you’ve divorced the words from context as if to say they’re objectively racist. You can call Richard Pryor a racist if you want, but doesn’t that make his audience racist for recognizing his characters and laughing at themselves? Is MacGruder’s work racist for criticizing black culture, or is he obligated to love it or shove it because he’s black? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boondocks-mlk-would-be-ashamed-of-us/340217.md?page=3)