# Would a TV channel called "White Entertainment Television" be offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 2, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457 "2002-04-02T20:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/21 "2002-04-03T07:32:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrunkenGamer \* > \*\*I guess what bothers me overall is that it seems like minority groups want total equality, yet also want special “things” (pageants, clubs, channels, whatever) set aside for them. I know that there have historically been many such things that excluded minorities, but I think it would be better to eliminate all such “things” based on race than to reserve minority ones to make up for historical problems. It seems unfair that minorities get to participate in mainstream events AND get to have their own. \*\* Ah, yes, the immortal question, which is worse: having those special things, or **needing** those special things? The reason that these special things exist is because there still is discrimination, there still is hate. If the blacks (or any others, btw) were to give up their “special things” and assimilate with the mainstream, not only will they have to conform to different and uncomfortable images forieng to their culture, they will also meet up with resistance, with people who do their damndest to keep them out. At some point, we will become a society that holds no bias whatsoever to people of other cultures, races, sexual orientations, religions, etc. Unfortunately, not only are we very far from that today, it is doubtful that our grandchildren will live to see it. So let them have their BET, and work with them and others to create understanding and acceptance, and then hopefully our descendents will find themselves in a better world. Cervantes * * * Wally lived by himself, had few friends, and most people avoided him at all costs. One day, while lying on the sofa, the phone rang, and Wally was suprised to find himself talking to God. “Hello, is this 555-4696?” “No, this is 555-8696” “Oh, sorry” And God hung up. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/22 "2002-04-03T15:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zwaldd \* > \*\*My problem with ‘Black’ anything, is that you limit your potential entertainment. \*\* What’s the problem? Comedy Central limits their potential entertainment as does the Sci-Fi channel. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Imagine whites feeling that they don’t get proper representation in the NBA, so they start watching a ‘white’ basketball league. Wouldn’t happen - people want to see the best, not the best of a particular color or gender. \*\* I think people also want to see something they can relate to. I don’t have a cite but I recall seeing the most popular shows among whites and the most popular show among blacks some time in the 90’s. Of the top 10 on both sides they only shared one program. So there are differences in program selections. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Is there something on BET that the “white” community is missing out on? Some unbelievably funny or talented artist that has been ignored by the networks because of racism? \*\* I don’t think racism is the proper word. I think most people go with what they’re used to. I bet most of the writers are white so they write about white characters. I don’t think it has any malevolent purpose though. Marc ---
**Author:** ![David\_Weman\_cdw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@David\_Weman\_cdw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Weman_cdw)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/23 "2002-04-03T16:35:52Z")
1. No, not offensivre. Blacks (like, 9% of US pop) are a niche market, whites (like 80%) aren’t. 2. The BET demographic isn’t really black people, it’s people interested in black entertainment, mainly music, also sitcoms. A significant part of hip hop and RnB listeners aren’t black, probably a majority. Same goes (to a lesser extent) with even gospel. (Shows like Martin are for some bizzare reason popular with trendy people in Sweden.) 3)Discrimination has nothing to do with it. African-Americans are an ethnic group, not a class. Total “racial” equality will not make BET less attractive. “I guess what bothers me overall is that it seems like minority groups want total equality, yet also want special “things” (pageants, clubs, channels, whatever) set aside for them. I know that there have historically been many such things that excluded minorities, but I think it would be better to eliminate all such “things” based on race than to reserve minority ones to make up for historical problems. It seems unfair that minorities get to participate in mainstream events AND get to have their own.” How do you figure BET, pageants constitute special privileges in any way whatsoever? Is he a troll perhaps? Seems a little _too_ unreasonable - for someone not (as it appears) hateful that is. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Weman\_cdw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@David\_Weman\_cdw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Weman_cdw)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/24 "2002-04-03T16:39:23Z")
1. No, not offensivre. Blacks (like, 9% of US pop) are a niche market, whites (like 80%) aren’t. 2. The BET demographic isn’t really black people, it’s people interested in black entertainment, mainly music, also sitcoms. A significant part of hip hop and RnB listeners aren’t black, probably a majority. Same goes (to a lesser extent) with even gospel. (Shows like Martin are for some bizzare reason popular with trendy people in Sweden.) 3)Discrimination has nothing to do with it. African-Americans are an ethnic group, not a class. Total “racial” equality will not make BET less attractive. “I guess what bothers me overall is that it seems like minority groups want total equality, yet also want special “things” (pageants, clubs, channels, whatever) set aside for them. I know that there have historically been many such things that excluded minorities, but I think it would be better to eliminate all such “things” based on race than to reserve minority ones to make up for historical problems. It seems unfair that minorities get to participate in mainstream events AND get to have their own.” How do you figure BET, pageants constitute special privileges in any way whatsoever? Is he a troll perhaps? Seems a little _too_ unreasonable - for someone not (as it appears) hateful that is. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Weman\_cdw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@David\_Weman\_cdw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Weman_cdw)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/25 "2002-04-03T16:41:36Z")
@£#¤%@£&"#¤%"#¤%@£$"#¤%&! ---
**Author:** ![deadbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c68b51/32.png) [@deadbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadbird)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/26 "2002-04-03T20:59:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*I wouldn’t be offended at a “White Entertainment Televuision,” though I’m tempted to argue that most television today is already WET. 😉 > > Just IMO, but Black Entertainment Television seems to me no more offensive than the Spanish-, Chinese-, Korean-, and Whatever-else-language local UHF channels that populate much of the American airspace. It’s television programming that features a lot of members of a particular group, but there’s nothing restricting non-members from watching and enjoying… \*\* Considering that blacks make up about 15% of the US population, it’s retarded to see blacks on almost every channel. More than 15% of channels. Including BET, they’re on damn near every channel I watch. They scream and cry when they don’t get a part in a TV show or movie. They threaten “LAW SUIT” whenever they don’t get there way. Playing the racial cards is all they do. Watch a white try & pull that. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/27 "2002-04-03T21:53:16Z")
Hey **deadbird** nice rant. We usually put those in the BBQ Pit. How about a reasoned answer/comment instead of hysterics? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/28 "2002-04-03T22:02:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by deadbird \* > Considering that blacks make up about 15% of the US population, it’s retarded to see blacks on almost every channel. More than 15% of channels. Because since blacks make up only 15% of the population they should only be on 15% of the channels. There are 98 chanels on my T.V. According to your logic there should be another 13 black chanels Including BET, they’re on damn near every channel I watch. Because, according to your logic, you should not see black people at all. Or only 15% of the time. Or perhaps they should only be 15% black when you view them. They scream and cry when they don’t get a part in a TV show or movie. ]This is true. Everytime I don’t get a part in a T.V. show this is exactly what I do. So does every other black person. We need to stop acting as if we should be on T.V. and in movies like regular white folks They threaten “LAW SUIT” whenever they don’t get there way.Also perfectly true. Why, the other day I was driving in my black car and a white car cut me off. I threatened to sue. Playing the racial cards is all they do.I play whatever hand is dealt me. If you act like a racist, I will pull out the damned card for all to see. Watch a white try & pull that. :eek:Get away with what? Having a WET channel? There’s nothing to “get away with”. It’s not a crime. Why don’t you start one up yourself, **deadbird**. I’m sure you can find many T.V. show reruns you can air and never show a single black person. P.S. Last I check the black population of 12% and shrinking. Maybe, with any kind of luck, the black people will dissappear altogether and you’ll never have to deal with uppity black people again. ---
**Author:** ![celestina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@celestina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/celestina)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/29 "2002-04-03T22:53:22Z")
I’ve onluy half read this thread. Hmmm. I dn’t care one way or the other about the WET or BET channels we have out there now. I really enjoy Univision, on the rare occaiisions when I get ot wathc it. I just wish we’d get a lot more variety. I think we need at leatst two Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, um, lessee, whatever other countires I’ve missed so we can learn a little something about the trashy shows other cultrues are watchin’. [giggle] Of coures, it’d be an added bonus if there was actually some decent shows mixedup in schedules. I’m confoused. Why is this such a damn big issue anyways? IIRC, ain’t we moving in the direction–if we ain’t there already–of having access to hundreds of channels anyway? If we have so many channels, then there _should_ be a variety of programming out there. If you don’t want to watch X channel, then don’t. Hmpfh. Ain’t no debate here, as near as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Newton\_meter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/57b2e6/32.png) [@Newton\_meter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newton_meter)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/30 "2002-04-04T01:24:34Z")
I wanted to ask a question that this thread has raised. It was mentioned that segregated TV is a sitcom phenomenon. That makes me question why there are several prominent black roles in dramas, while comedies remain segregated (there are “white” sitcoms and “black” sitcoms, and the two don’t mix very successfully). I have some theories, but I’m not sure what to think of them. 1. Comedies need to make us comfortable as a requirement to be successful. Whites are not yet comfortable with a lot of blacks hanging around and blacks are not yet comfortable with a lot of whites hanging around (in their comedies). 2. Dramas are workplace centered. Comedies are home or family centered (even workplace comedies are just surrogate families). We find it “realistic” that workplaces are integrated, but it still seems artificial to have integrated families or social lives. 3. Blacks and whites can agree on the dramatic, but not the comedic. There is still a big divide in what whites and blacks find funny. Or, perhaps we need to be able to relate to situations in order to laugh at them (or tune in next week to laugh at them), and we don’t yet relate to the same situations. 4. Blacks in dramas are not very black. I don’t watch TV enough to know if this is true, but it occurs to me that there are a few quite excellent black actors in dramas, but the _characters_ are very race neutral. Does Dr. Benton on E.R. have to be black? Is he a black character, or is it a black actor (and I’m not picking on the character or actor in particular, he just sprang to mind). 5. Blacks in dramas play stereotypes. The black characters I can think of are all very similar, predictable roles. There seem to be two or three black stock characters that recur (not that there aren’t white stock characters, too). Why not stock black comedic characters? Perhaps they’re more clearly offensive? I don’t think that we all _should_ enjoy watching the same things. The only problem that I worry about being “fixed” is that I have this nagging suspicion that there are some very good black actors that I am not seeing, and instead I have to see the aforementioned David Schwimmer. kg m²/s² PS: Wouldn’t I feel bad if David Schwimmer read this message board? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/31 "2002-04-04T03:23:56Z")
\*\* > [@](#): > > 1. Comedies need to make us comfortable as a requirement to be successful. Whites are not yet comfortable with a lot of blacks hanging around and blacks are not yet comfortable with a lot of whites hanging around (in their comedies).\*\* I don’t know how much this comes into play, but from my experience, “black” comedies are more likely to have regular white characters than “white” comedies, though usually serving in the goofy, clueless token white capacity. \*\* > [@](#): > > Dramas are workplace centered. Comedies are home or family centered (even workplace comedies are just surrogate families). We find it “realistic” that workplaces are integrated, but it still seems artificial to have integrated families or social lives.\*\* Interesting hypothesis. I think you might be on to something. \*\* > [@](#): > > Blacks and whites can agree on the dramatic, but not the comedic. There is still a big divide in what whites and blacks find funny. Or, perhaps we need to be able to relate to situations in order to laugh at them (or tune in next week to laugh at them), and we don’t yet relate to the same situations.\*\* I think this might be the case. I know a white guy who cracks up along with the laugh track on _Friends_ but thinks all the programming on UPN sucks. Personally, I can’t stand _Friends_ and I never _got_ the hype over _Seinfeld_ but I do like shows like _Martin_ and _Living Single_. However, there is cross-over humor. _The Simpson’s_ is watched by both black and white audiences. Chris Rock isn’t just another “black comic”, he’s everybody’s favorite comic. Shows like _My Wife and Kids_ and I and _The Bernie Mac Show_ seem to be holding up in the ratings game. So who knows what the secret is? \*\* > [@](#): > > Blacks in dramas are not very black. I don’t watch TV enough to know if this is true, but it occurs to me that there are a few quite excellent black actors in dramas, but the _characters_ are very race neutral. Does Dr. Benton on E.R. have to be black? Is he a black character, or is it a black actor (and I’m not picking on the character or actor in particular, he just sprang to mind).\*\* I’m not so sure about this. Dr. Benton did have some story-lines that did focus on race, even if tangentially. I think his blackness had as much to do with his character as Corday’s gender does. \*\* > [@](#): > > Blacks in dramas play stereotypes. The black characters I can think of are all very similar, predictable roles. There seem to be two or three black stock characters that recur (not that there aren’t white stock characters, too). Why not stock black comedic characters? Perhaps they’re more clearly offensive?\*\* Actually, it seems to me that black people in dramas tend to shrug off stereotypes, especially when they are given a lot of play in storylines. OTH, black characters in comedies have been historically stereotyped. The memory of _Amos n Andy_ is still fresh on many people’s minds. I think there’s such thing as a “token effect” in comedies. If you are a token black person or white person, then chances are you’re going to be fulfilling some type of stereotype. I love the show _Scrubs_, even though the black guy on the show fulfills the stereotype of the loud, showboating, jive-talking side-kick. On the show _A Different World_, Marissa Tormei’s character was clearly fulfilling the stereotype of the clueless, goofy white person. While people might find stereotypes funny, they might also be discomfited by them. So I think producers avoid this problem by making everyone the same and having no “tokens”. \*\* > [@](#): > > The only problem that I worry about being “fixed” is that I have this nagging suspicion that there are some very good black actors that I am not seeing, and instead I have to see the aforementioned David Schwimmer.\*\* Do you have a TV Guide? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/32 "2002-04-04T03:26:02Z")
[Adderall wearing off … must hijack thread …] 1. On local and network television news broadcasts, you see white male news anchors, white female news anchors, black male news anchors, black female news anchors, and Asian female news anchors. Aside from … oh, some Korean language TV station in Aurora, Colorado, has anyone ever see an Asian male news anchor, reporter, sports reporter, or meterologist on the air? 2. ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, and many of the cable networks have Spanish language audio on the SAP channel. Why doesn’t Univision, Galavision, Telemundo, TV Azteca, or the others have English SAP? 3. An observation … BET Jazz just calls itself “BET Jazz” – Not “Black Entertainment Television Jazz.” The musicians include black and white, and unlike normal BET, the quality is excellent. 4. Do African-Americans find it insulting that most television programming that is supposedly aimed at them are relatively lowbrow? Consider the dominance of predominantly bad comedies and standup “Black-people-walk-like-this-white-people-walk-like-that” comedy acts." Are Hispanics insulted because most Spanish language broadcasting consists of soap operas and variety shows like “Sabado de Los Pechos?” [End rambling] ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/33 "2002-04-04T03:37:42Z")
WET, BET, and the Sci Fi channel are all the same thing: a network which attempts to cater to an economically significant portion of a populaiton which isn’t the majority of the population. What BET represents, I have no idea. I can’t imagine anything that is common to all black people other than the fact that they are black. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/34 "2002-04-04T03:52:00Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by elmwood \* \*\*[Adderall wearing off … must hijack thread …] \*\* > [@](#): > > On local and network television news broadcasts, you see white male news anchors, white female news anchors, black male news anchors, black female news anchors, and Asian female news anchors. Aside from … oh, some Korean language TV station in Aurora, Colorado, has anyone ever see an Asian male news anchor, reporter, sports reporter, or meterologist on the air?\*\* Here in NY, there’s some Asian male live-on-the-scene reporters. Rarely you see them on the set, though. \*\* > [@](#): > > Do African-Americans find it insulting that most television programming that is supposedly aimed at them are relatively lowbrow? Consider the dominance of predominantly bad comedies and standup “Black-people-walk-like-this-white-people-walk-like-that” comedy acts." \*\* “Lowbrow” is a subjective term, certaintly, but many shows targeted to black people are definitely not Emmy-award winning productions. I’m not insulted by this, just annoyed. Obviously SOMEONE likes the programming if they are still on the air. Hopefully, there will be a time when everyone will get annoyed and the market will change. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/35 "2002-04-04T14:01:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Newton meter said:\*\* > 5. Blacks in dramas play stereotypes. The black characters I can think of are all very similar, predictable roles. There seem to be two or three black stock characters that recur (not that there aren’t white stock characters, too). Why not stock black comedic characters? Perhaps they’re more clearly offensive? \*\* I think that S. Epatha Merkerson, Jesse L. Martin, Richard Brooks, Ice-T, Don Cheadle, Vivica A. Fox, and James Avery (to name a few) might disagree about their roles being/having been ‘stereotypes’. To say that black actors do not have any quality roles on TV is a false generalization. There are likely even more black actors on broadcast networks who are not in stereotyped roles, but as my TV viewing in general is limited severely (mostly I watch the Law & Order shows), it’ll be hard for me to rattle off more names. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/36 "2002-04-04T20:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by deadbird \* > Considering that blacks make up about 15% of the US population, it’s retarded to see blacks on almost every channel. A thought experiment I just had… 1. According to the U.S. census (on [URL=http://www.prb.org/images/PB54-3fig1.gif]this chart), approximately 72% of the American population is white". 2. That means approximately 28% of the American population is non-white. 3. Where’s the non-white 28% portion of _Friends?_ And as **Biggirl** noted, given how many television channels we have today, how come there’s only _one_ “minority” channel (nationwide)? We’re short another 20+ “ethnic stations,” by my count… ---
**Author:** ![emulsified](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emulsified/32/2915_2.png) [@emulsified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emulsified)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/37 "2002-04-04T21:47:34Z")
Regarding the issue of segregated sitcoms, as I recall _The Cosby Show_ was a very popular show, as were, perhaps to a lesser extent, _The Jeffersons_, _Good Times_ and some others. If these shows were widely popular, how did they escape the segregation issue? Were they popular with black audiences? Are we getting _more_ segregated in regards to our racial sitcom bias? Interesting issue… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/38 "2002-04-05T01:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > What BET represents, I have no idea. I can’t imagine anything that is common to all black people other than the fact that they are black. Thank you! I knew that would come up at some point. BET is a little offensive to me, but only because I find the majority of the primetime shows it broadcasts horribly unfunny. I think there has been tremendous progress concerning the diversification of actors on television- Spanish, Asian, African, etc. People will always find something wrong with stereotyped roles (e.g. an Asian girl on Bernie Mac whose family was full of geniuses and whose parents were overobsessed with academic achievement) as well as those that some deem as “too white” (e.g. the Al Roker-ish black father on Malcolm in the Middle). I think anything, to a point, is better than nothing. I mean, I understand why there would be less minorities on some television shows, population percentage wise, but, to paraphrae Conan O’Brien, in the series finale of Friends it will finally be revealed that there are black people in New York. ---
**Author:** ![100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/a698b9/32.png) [@100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/100)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2002, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/39 "2002-04-05T07:49:02Z")
Yes it would. I bet (no pun intended) a White Pride day would be offensive, even the term “White Pride” will pretty much labele you a “Racist Pig” ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457/40 "2002-04-05T08:09:51Z")
> [@](#): > > I bet (no pun intended) a White Pride day would be offensive, even the term “White Pride” will pretty much labele you a “Racist Pig” Seems unfortunate. One should feel free to celebrate their culture and pride no matter what their color and no matter what percentage of the population they hold. Thank goodness for St. Patricks Day. I think I’ve heard some very reasonable arguments in defense of BET. It seems fine to me for them to target their product _to_a specific race. I do think. however, think it is offensive for such a channel to express the sentiment that they speak _for_ that race. It sounds like BET is not nearly as diverse as the group of people it targets. DaLovin’ Dj [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-tv-channel-called-white-entertainment-television-be-offensive/101457.md?page=3)