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damn mixed, i think you just beat me to the punch. i've been waiting this one out a bit, unable to express my thoughts coherently in any useful way that would elevate or move the conversation forward. i want to agree with the spirit of many of shakran's points, but i simply can't buy the notion of "wiping the slate clean" in any meaningful way. i think roach stated the basic presuppositions of why this isn't possible. i agree with shakran and uber that i'd like to see aa policy moved towards socio-economic status, but i also can see easily why it has been traditionally race/ethnicity-based. i don't think think, from the perspective of a white southerner with ancestry from irish immigrants of about 1900, that this is entirely about personal "guilt," but rather a recognition of historical perspective. ergo, mixed's comments in her last post reflecting what i think i meant to say.
on the role of comedy, i'd definitely have to say that someone like chris rock, or richard pryor, or for that matter eddie izzard, is a little different than someone walking down the street calling someone else a nigger or a cracker. i believe comedy, when its well-done, brings light and exposure to perspectives that we don't often like to admit to as a society. sure, they probably could perpetuate racism/sexism/gender issues to an extent, but i think they are more of a hyperbolic cultural expression of a cultural phenomenon. that's a little different than a political commentator, or a lecturer.
as far as imus, i'm surprised to see he's been fired. i agree with hanxter and others that its hypocritical to pay this guy to serve this function for 20 or 30 years, and then to fire him because of this particular situation. its not as though something of this nature was predictable.
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You don't love me, you just love my piggy style
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