Would a White Entertainment Network be branded as racist on face value alone?
If so, why?
White Entertainment Network?
Isn’t that VH1?
Or maybe ABC, NBC, or CBS?
Of course it would be branded racist. That’s the unseen double standard that middle class white males live with every day. Granted, it’s not the most oppressive thing in the world, but it does limit the ways in which you can express yourself. There are things a black person can say that I could be expelled from school or possibly arrested for saying. A network called the White Entertainment Network will never exist because white males are doomed to exist in America as the Guilty Party. Everything is our fault. Incidentally, when I was in high school, I often joked about this exact concept. It was after I discovered the music programming on BET was far better than that of MTV or VH1, and chose to watch that to see good rap music instead of Will Smith over and over. Myself and a friend always thought it would be cool to start a scholarship program limited only to white students. We would call it the Ivory Scholar (as opposed to the Ebony Scholar already in existence). The idea came after my friend was offered a substantial scholarship to FAMU because he told the College Board he was black. Of course, when he told the truth, the offer was promptly withdrawn.
Who’d care? TV sucks anyway.
She’s right. You can turn on any chanel (except BET) at virtually anytime and find shows featuring white people.
And argyle87, white males are not oppressed if thats what you’re saying.
spooje: I can’t speak for argyle87, but I don’t think that was what he/she meant. At least that’s not how I took it. I think it was a way of saying that even though white people aren’t allowed to say certain things that are perfectly fine for black (or hispanic, etc.) people to say, it’s not like we feel oppressed because of that.
I think everyone has to be too careful about what they say these days, it seems that white people are considered the bigger a**holes for saying non-PC things. I’m not talking about blatant racism, but just idiotic stereotypes like, “White people can’t dance.” and “Black people can dance.” Which statement is more likely to get the person who uttered it in hot water?
I do agree, however, that a White Entertainment Television network is unnecessary, due to the overwhelming existance of programs on the major networks geared (mostly) toward white people. But calling a network “Black” Entertainment Television is also racist.
For the record, since I guarantee that most people voicing their opinions haven’t watched more than 5 minutes of BET, that BET features a spectacular Jazz Showcase which features are large number of white musicians. It’s one of the consistantly best Jazz programs on TV right now.
I am mostly unconcerned about what they call the network, or what sorts of moral paradoxes that small minded people think it introduces. They do have a pretty decent Jazz program (though I don’t like most of the rest of the programing, that’s just personal taste)…
Now that you mention it, Dewaholic, the all-white version or “Soul Train” would be rather comical …
My cable company carries an Italian channel, and 2 spanish canals. We have the Asian Network, a Christian channel and about 7 sports channels.
So what is wrong with “specialization” channels? Hey, if someone wants to start the “white” channel, more power to them.
If someone did start this channel, what would be it’s focus? White rap stars that are frozen out of BET? White basketball players that have not made it to the NBA? Documenteries on caucasions displaced by white flight?
When you say White Entertainment Network are you talking about WASPs or are all white people invited? The Italians already have their own channel.
you know you can’t air programming on Sundays, except for informercial for cheap made-for TV crap that has to appeal to ghetto black consumers.
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[sub]If you haven’t figured it out yet, the above was a joke[/sub]
They withdrew the scholarship offer after they found out he was a liar? How dare they. Perhaps you and your buddy should set up a scholarship for dishonest people as well.
Thank you, Dewaholic, for getting my point and clarifying for me. I don’t want a race war on my hands.
As for what Lamia has to say, I think you are missing my point. He did not lose the scholarship because he lied, he lost the scholarship because he wasn’t the right race. His dishonesty should not have been a factor. What happend to my friend is exactly what happens to many peolple in the workplace, and the reason many people now feel affirmative action is unnecessary and unfair. The offer was rescinded because of the color of his skin. The bit about starting my own scholarship was a joke we made up that was funny because it branded the Ebony Scholarship and other oragnizations like it as the racist entities that they are. A white-only scholarship could never exist, and yet scholarship programs exclusive to other races both exist and are considered benificial. Do you see my point. I’m thinking big picture, here, I know it is wrong to lie.
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Were I the one in charge of handing out scholarships it certainly would have been a factor.
Back when I was applying to colleges one of my high school teachers told me that she had attended college on a scholarship for people of Czech descent. I have heard that there are also scholarships available for people from various other European ethnic backgrounds. I don’t imagine that many non-white people end up with those scholarships, do you?
There are also any number of scholarships that are effectively, if not expressely, all white. I hold the top academic merit scholarship at my school, and at a reception for the couple who funded the scholarship I had the chance to see every other person who has ever held it. They were all white. The 30-odd students in my class who hold the school’s top three merit scholarships are also all white, as I learned at another reception. This cannot be for a lack of non-white applicants, as there are many non-white students at my school. It would thus appear that either non-white people are less deserving than white people or that there is something keeping non-whites from winning these scholarships. I am inclined to believe the latter, and thus have no problem with scholarships being set up specifically to help non-whites.
What is the factor then, that keeps minorities from receiving those merit scholarsips which are available to people of all races? Are you saying that blacks, hispanics, etc. are not smart enough to compete with white students for mainstream merit scholarships and because of that should have special scholarships set aside for them? Don’t get me wrong, if I was black and received a special scholarship because of it I would take the money and run, but I would also feel a little insulted.
OK, I’ll be the asshole and say on the mostpart, yes.
HomeSlice enjoys smokeless tobacco, and says that sometimes, his girlfriends do, too.
(This should give you some insight into why he so willingly assumes the role of “asshole”)
That whole girlfriend thing was a freakin joke.
I think you are missing my point, Jethro.
Well, to get back to the OP, I think Robert Johnson’s(BET’s CEO) point was to have an organization run by Black Americans, and not just the same old same old treating people as a stereotypical marketshare.
The same old same old IS The White Entertainment Network, which has controlled everything from the start. It would be rather redundant to create a channel devoted to the dominant culture, but seeing as it’s a free country, any group who wants to feature a specific demographic is entitled to do so. I don’t see anything racist about that, as long as other groups are given an equal chance to compete. What was the argument?
Oh, come on. Turn on your TV, watch three hours of prime time television. Turn the channel every twenty minutes to make sure you’re getting a good sample. Write down the status of every minority actor/actress. Are they a criminal? A bafoonish clown?
If you still think that whites are underrepresented enough in television, you are either blind or in denial. I’m really sorry that you, a white man, feel persecuted. Try a couple thousand years of that persecution and I MIGHT feel sorry for you.
And argyle, your subtle racism is just as distasteful as HomeSlice’s overt racism. There are scholarships for every conceivable ethinic background. I could get scholarships because my father is an Army vet. Does that unfairly reflect on people whose parents are NOT Army vets? Nope. It’s just a tool at my disposal. Just because your friend tried to take a scholarship away from an African American kid, and got caught does not mean that suddenly, after 400+ years of oppression, the white population is a victim. Please.