gitana1
Verified Attorney
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To be fair, it was political from the start. The most recent racist joke was about a political figure. Roseanne’s racism is not shared by my conservative friends, but part of ABC’s motivation to go with the Roseanne reboot was because of its appeal to conservative American’s because not all republicans are racists, and I don’t think Roseanne’s character on the show was a racist. While I did not watch the show, I believe there were political themes. Trump commented on the show, how many sitcoms have been brought up by a president at a campaign rally? Racism is multi-faceted issue, but in these times it is certainly a political issue, and that’s as it should be. We shouldn’t make excuses for racists, racist sentiments, and behavior be they overt or covert. Racism should be confronted and discussed until it’s erratication from our society. When it comes to making our voices heard, power as consumers and our power as voters are at separate, at times intertwined. In this case, I think they are untwined for many people who support Roseanne and those who do not. Of course they are separate for many others as well, it’s a big country.
If someone supports Roseanne they are not automatically a racist. They may be fans of show or really like Roseanne’s comedy that is not racist. I can say that I’m still an uncomfortable fan of some Jack Kerouac’s backs despite the fact that it’s likely he was a sexist. Were he alive and canned for misogynistic speech or behavior I would applaud it. I think some believe there is an inequity in the levels of consequences and national backlash for the the various frowned upon speech/behaviors made by celebrities and other public figures.
Intelligent post. I think her character is undoubtedly racist though - the Arab neighbors have to be terrorists because they're Muslims and Arabs, for example.
But you give a lot of food for thought. I can rant that she's a monster because she is a racist. But the fact is there are artists whose works I've enjoyed who are or may be disgusting in other ways. Will I still watch Annie Hall even though Woody Allen's kid insists he molested her? What about Bukowksi? Do I enjoy his poetry or novels despite the deplorable way he treated women? Or Wagner? Do I stop listening to his beautiful compositions because there are inferences that he adopted racist ideology?
I do think we have to be intellectually honest about these issues.
Here is the thing though: There's immediacy here. Not only with the timing of her work, but also with the timing of her words. In this day and age with awareness and attention to racial strife, her horrible words are beyond destructive. They affect millions of people. They affect children who may be perceived as less than human by those who listen to her words.
In any event, it's totally a shame. I watched a couple episodes - with reservations because I find her ideas repugnant (although I didn't know about her racist stuff until now). And I think having a show with characters who have different beliefs than my own is valuable and interesting.
It was fun. And people from both sides of the aisle enjoyed it.
It's a shame.