I just heard thatt the NAACP is suing gun manufacturers and is considering suing the major networks. Their reason: A spokesman said that the ILLEGAL gun trade harms a disproportionate amount of blacks.
And as for the TV networks…they feel that there are not enough lead black characters.
IS it just me or have these guys lost their minds? This sounds extortion, plain and simple.
Extortion? I dunno 'bout that… but as far as the TV thang goes, there are actually a disproportionate number of blacks on TV, when compared to the actual population of blacks in this country.
But LEAD actors… well, no.
Stoidela
Boycott shampoo! Demand REAL poo!
The “slippery slope” argument is usually suspect, but here…
After the tobacco companies were successfully sued by the states, a lot of people seem to see suits as a way of making government policy without all that silly democracy nonsense.
Plus, if an industry is perceived as unpopular and can be sued for beaucoup beans, it behooves you to be the first one to do it - before they can cut some kind of immunity deal or you have to share the take with other people who may have been actually hurt. The states are already into the gun manufacturers suit, so the NAACP is jumping onboard while they’ve got the chance to get a piece. (Sweetheart, do these pants make me look cynical?)
Here’s a question: the states can easily show damage since the states have had to pay for law enforcement, medical care, etc. But what damages has the NAACP suffered? Is this a class action suit on behalf of black Americans, and if so, how do they intend to distribute any award to the actual victims? It seems like for the NAACP itself to be entitled to damages, they have to show that the NAACP itself was harmed. I’m no lawyer, though, am I wrong about this?
The NAACP is not asking for monetary damages. They just want injunctions to change the way gun mfg distribute guns. They are claiming that gun violence disproportionately affects blacks. Never mind who is actually pulling the trigger. Never mind that the NAACP also argues that blacks are disproportionately represented in penal institutions (could it be because they are the ones puling the trigger?)
This whole thing is what worries me about affirmative action and hate crime law. Never mind the real causes. Just pick the one that serves your cause and use the threat of a law suit to enforce it.
Yes it is extortion. I face it every week in my job. It goes like this: “Do exactly as I say or I will file a civil rights/discrimination law suit and cost you a ton of money. Isn’t it just easier to do what I say right now?”
Is this helping the civil rights movement?
Well, actually, if it’s some sort of distribution problem, I might accept that they have a case. An injunction I can respect, it’s the money grabbing I find questionable.
I find the whole thing questionable, money or no. Let’s say they decide that the internet has hate groups that effect the minority community. Would it be OK for them to threaten lawsuits against all ISPs to force them to change? Maybe cheaper cars result in more deaths for blacks. SHould they sue the auto manufacturers.
This is just the most recent in a line of racially motivated lawsuits wherin the NAACP is using its minority status to force companies to bow to their will.
It is really shamefull. I do not think that this is what MLK had in mind.
I agree with Mr. Z. – let’s blame everybody but ourselves. Let’s do something easy instead of dealing with the real problems. I’m a smoker, and the tobacco lawsuits drive me crazy. I know it’s bad for me and nobody is forcing me to smoke. If I get cancer, it’s my own fault. We have a gun control law here in D.C. – once known as the murder capital of the U.S. I think another city (N.Y.?) may be #1 now, but I’m reading about gang and drug related murders every day in the Washington Post – so much for gun control.
HEY! CHICAGO was the murder capital in the U.S. last year! Give us some credit!
Not anymore Stoidela. Blacks make up 10% of all the characters on television, but 12% of the population.
I’m not going to stand up for the NAACP for the gun one. Whatever good intention that may exist in this move is lost on me and most observers.
However the entertainment (buddy-buddy) industry, i make NO apologies. It is difficult for black actors for a helluva lot of reasons. One being that unless a part is explicitly stamped black, it’s assumed white.
(but that’s off topic).