Can I be the king of the idiots?
Look, I completely agree that what she did wasn’t the smartest thing ever, but if you’re going to call someone mean spirited, don’t use Caleb Howe to help make your point. Pit that asshole instead as he’s far more deserving of it.
This is the only problem I have with your post - you imply that all “progressives” think that way. Please just restrict your criticism to the person who actually said it.
And I agree with them and you too, especially the bolded bit. There’s nothing inherently funny about that picture, which is a rather nice family photo.
Strange bedfellows indeed.
Sure, but why does that matter? Oppression is oppression.
Why’s that matter though? Is something perfectly acceptable just because it’s not as bad as something else?
[quote=“Little_Nemo, post:40, topic:677607”]
But there’s a difference. If Rush Limbaugh made fun of a black child, he’d be doing it as part of the general anti-black attitude of the modern conservative movement. If Melissa Harris-Perry made fun of a black child, she was only speaking for herselfQUOTE]
Yes, you see if a conservative person says something negative then obviously they are speaking for all conservatives in the country because that is obviously what all conservatives think.
If a liberal person says something negative then they are only speaking for themselves.
You call out Belowjob2.0 for painting all progressives with a broad brush but you don’t call out Frostillicus for doing the same with republicans.
Just another couple of data points of the hypocracy of this board.
Why is it that no one seems to be able to spell “hypocrisy” anymore? It’s a freaking epidemic around here.
I don’t think it’s perfectly acceptable. I’m just saying firing her is a little bit of an overkill. Also, condemning her over this one incident with out even taking into consideration of the exemplary life she’s led thus far is stupid.
Gee, I wonder if the people calling her out judge themselves by the same impossible high standards they judge MHP?
Okay, thanks for clarifying. But that’s still got nothing to do with comparing white and black peoples’ experiences, does it? Why is racism worse if a white person does it?
Um, or maybe I just didn’t see Frostillicus’ post. But thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.:dubious:
Look, if you think there’s nothing funny about one black kid in the middle of a giant lily-white family, you’re just wrong. Is it mean to think so? Sure. Things can be both mean and funny.
The trick is that the joke has to be a whole lot of funny and a little bit of mean. The most important thing is that you can’t go for the easy joke. The thing that you’re being mean about can’t be the joke in and of itself.
Good comedians and comedy writers could find tons of comedic potential in this picture. A bunch of pundits spontaneously riffing were going to go for the easy joke, and there was no way it wasn’t going to end up being more mean than funny.
So that’s why MHP shouldn’t have used that picture in that setting. She doesn’t understand how comedy works. This might be one of the reasons I don’t care all that much for her show–it’s great when it’s just her talking with the pundits, but when she tries to be funny or “cool” it’s often fairly cringeworthy.
Still, she has plenty of good will built up, and her apology was immediate and appeared heartfelt, so I think calls for her to be fired are a bit silly. I would, if I were her, find the funniest person on her staff (or hire one if there isn’t anybody) and run all attempts at humor by that person before they happen.
If it’s comedy, it’s fair game. Racist political commentary is not. The problem is that the two are often hard to discern from each other these days.
Eh, it’s just my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, things like slavery and Jim Crow laws were things that actually happened. (By the hands of white men)
Also, I could call a black person a n-word, and that could cause very real offense. A black person could call me a cracker, honky or whatever, the only reaction you’re going to get from me is a chuckle. And I’m sure that’s true for most white people.
I ask again - why does that matter here?
So? SHOULD they do more than chuckle? I think so. You’re just offering a circular argument here.
Because we don’t exist in a vacuum, you have to back the camera lens up and look at the big picture.
That’s still not an answer. You’re just restating your claim, again.
What is the “big picture,” and why does it matter in this case?
Its a stupid mistake but she wasn’t personally offensive as much as her panel. It was her mistake to select the picture to be mocked, however, but given her work in fighting inequality, this is a small blip on her otherwise diverse career. Let’s not pretend this was the latest in a long line of racially questionable tactics. Plus, her apology was actually a good apology. I think she should be disciplined, but just a small suspension and nothing more, and I doubt she’ll ever make this mistake again. Now I’m gonna get out of this topic before I agree any more with certain people
If true, that would be a <snort>.
But it’s false. So it’s a toss-up between :facepalm: and LMAO.
I’ve laid it out in very plain simple terms. If you can’t understand that, I don’t know what else to tell you. I’ve told you repeatedly why it matters, yet you keep asking the question.