From S. Africa:
Cant really disagree with you, but please … We white South
Africans know our wrongs of the past. But please dont lump us in with the imperial “coalition of the
willing”. We had nothing to do with that one!
Cheers
Altus
Momberg
Die Burger
**********
Affirmative action for the Oscars? You are seriously disturbed. —
Anonymous
**********
An interesting column, for which I thank you.
It was not lost on me that last week’s winning Project Manager on THE APPRENTICE, Heidi, was
white. She was directing a team of two other whites and two blacks. Their team won, and normally, the
whole team would enjoy a reward. But last week’s reward was a helicopter tour of Manhatten, and there
were only three seats available.
Guess who got to ride?
Yours
sincerely,
MG Matejic
**********
Academy Awards
“To Kill a
Mockingbird” is one of my favorite movies, but like most movies about the civil rights era-think of
“Mississippi Burning” – whites are cast the “real” heroes. Sydney Poitier “In the Heat of the
Night,” is an exception, but Rod Steiger rather than Sydney Poitier won the
Oscar.
William B. Case
**********
Greg-
A fine
exploding of Oscar night on CounterPunch.org. Your geography lesson about the stars and presenters is
priceless.
I watched the show and was quickly disgusted with the state-sanctioned humor
of Billy Crystal and Bob Hope, and also with Michael Moore embarrassing his supporters once more.
Adding in the horror of Errol Morris receiving an award, it was a typical Oscar night. The only thing
that’s left to do is read Peter Travers’ yearly postmortem on the Academy’s choices in Rolling
Stone.
For what it’s worth I’m a longtime Michael Moore fan who is horrified at his
recent behavior – lashing out at Mumia, endorsing Wesley Clark.
Cheers,
Dave
Patten
Taunton, MA
**********
good one on counterpunch on the oscars,
white bread and mayonaisse. Of course, black folk in this country, even those who call themselves
African, still consider themselves American first and foremost, no matter how bad they may be treated.
And their leadership wether it be political or cultural has long lost their base in the black
institutions that integration was
meant to destroy.
Once upon a time black folk
controlled what how their children were educated, the stores they shopped in, the very institutions
that were critical to their lives. Today, what do black folk control outside of their churches?
Wouldnt you agree integration was the most effective tool to destroy black
institutions? As for the oscars, what has really changed?
Thomas C. Mountain
**********
Note: In the article “Oscar White?”, I tried to convey a complex
response to the Oscar telecast that appreciated the individual talent displayed, including Billy
Crystal, but critiqued the group dynamic. And that is how I undestand the logic of affirmative
action.
Affirmative action pays special attention to the collective patterns of
behavior, how the group acts as a group.
To the brief note that claims I am “seriously
disturbed” I offer a brief counter suggestion. Why can’t the Oscars be more like the Grammys? Like
the Grammys, perhaps the Oscars could include market categories that would help diversify the talent?
There was one email that I have permission to post, but which I have decided not to.
As the editor of an anti-racist site, I am tempted to display comments that I consider racist, in order
to show the contours of the problem. But rather than post the raw language, I will summarize and
discuss the point of view.
The email in question alleges that black actors deserve no
respect because they only portray characters that are either too shocking or too submissive. The
writer wants to see role model characters that work hard and DO NOT try to be
African.
The email, like some others I have received, also conveys an impression that I
am not white.
Well, it is interesting that the writer does not complain about white
actors who win awards for playing characters who are shocking and quite non-American. “Monster”
presents a dramatically shocking character, for example. Not a role model.
“Monster”
also says something about the meaning of shocking, because in today’s cultural environment, white
violence always counts as less shocking than black sexuality. Janet Jackson and her brother pay a
heavy price for being “too shocking” in their sexuality. Meanwhile, you can make your own list of
networked images of violence that will count as family entertainment.
As for the
argument that hard-working role models are needed, eleven Oscars went to a film that did not demand
simple conformity to a middle-class lifestyle. Characters could be Hobbits, Elves, or Trolls. They
did not have to “try” to be hard-working Americans in order to qualify for record-breaking awards.
So the email expresses a double standard that demands from Black actors a certain
conforminty that is not expected from white actors.
The writer goes on to say that
Japanese Americans provide a better model. Again, the argument is representative of certain racist
trends. The writer perceives Japanese American as more “assimilationist” and therefore more
acceptable. But the argument has at least two flaws.
First, my complaint was about a
lack of divesity at the academy awards. If Japanese Americans were indeed more acceptable to white
audiences, for the reasons alleged, then why are there no prominent stars to prove it?
Second, the writer is really calling for diversity that is not diverse. By presenting a thoroughly
assimilationist demand, the writer exemplifies the problem with Oscar White–how it does not
sufficiently challenge assimilationist attitudes.
Integration of opportunity should not
carry the pre-requisite of cultural assimiliation. In fact, the whole “Diversity” rationale for
affirmative action presumes that we can learn a lot from each other.
And please do not
assume that I am not white. If you want to backlash on my opinions, please don’t drag other folks
into your circle of attack.
Finally, I can sympathize with folks who are disappointed at
Michael Moore’s fling with real-politik (and his ethno-centrism) but on Oscar night he was trampled by
an Elephant! Do we have to paint a picture?
MoPress 
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