Comments on: Is Acknowledging Differential Media Treatment of Black Americans and Other Minorities “Anti-Black”?

By: Jackie Harrison

Jackie Harrison — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 22:56:41 +0000

Part of the reason I think people that are Black and/or gay have louder voices when it comes to racial clashes in America is that what they have been fight for has stretched much longer than that of different races have experienced. Our country has perpetuated the violent dehumanization of Black people, and gays have also had their own forms of violent, systemic bigotry (e.g. conversion therapy). This is not to say that Asian Americans and Indian Americans have not also experienced racism, and I am not in any way trying to belittle their experiences of such instances, however the struggle for equal rights for those two groups is one that has been going on for the past 50 years with little progress made in comparison to the progress that is still to come. Yes, I agree that the problem of racism and prejudice of this nature is all encompassing and what we should all be fighting for, and no, I don’t see what he said as anti-Black, yet I can also see how the author of the article felt Ansari crossed a line.

By: Steven Feldman

Steven Feldman — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 22:18:37 +0000

I think that representation and lack thereof is really interesting here. Whether Ansari wanted to make a big deal out of the lack of attention paid to Indian Americans, the result is the same. I definitely disagree with the article stating that Ansari is “anti-Black”. I do think that Ansari purposefully tried to call out lack of representation of other marginalized identities that aren’t Black or gay. The comments made in the show were probably more of a direct comment on the media’s selection of what to talk about and what not to. I’m not sure whether I think his comment could be taken as a joke but I also have not seen the show and so I can’t necessarily speak to the effectiveness of the comedic aspect.

This conversation also reminds me of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the reactive All Lives Matter “movement”. We (hopefully) all agree that all lives matter but the Black Lives Matter movement is getting at something very specific. They are trying to call attention to the oppression that Black people face. Other people of color may face similar or disparaging oppression that of course deserves attention, but possibly in their own light. Interestingly, I wonder if the author of that article would claim that people who support All Lives Matter would also be anti-Black for trying to support all identities. I think the big point here is that egalitarian views are not anti-Black. There are ways to support all oppressed groups of people without diminishing the movements that are getting the most representation.

By: Krysta Marie

Krysta Marie — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 23:35:51 +0000

What an interesting story! I think that the key here has to do with justification of the individuals experience. For example, to deny the cries of Black people today would be completely wrong and ignorant. There has been attention at the forefront of a lot of news about explicit and implicit racism intersecting with the lives of Black individuals in our country. They are a group that are being particularly ostracized and it is finally being noticed by more than just the Black people who’s voices are being silences. However, to that same comment, who are we to un-justify the experiences of any other oppressed groups? If we are commenting that their experience is lower or has less value than Black peoples’ then we are just perpetuating the system of oppression and ignoring inter-sectionality all together.