Sorry, cross post.

All I was suggesting from the start is that when you describe The Man, his whiteness is not a significant factor in his motivation. You were talking about the terrible practices of those who control nodes of power.

I think more damage is done in the name of racism by middle and lower classes — ie not the ones who are pulling the strings.

I only took an intro class, and that was ten years ago, halp!

I’m not trying to be a troll, but I am trying to point out a similarity that I see between Sanchez’s comment and the above one about evil whites.

Where I’m coming from on this particular issue is influenced by my first impression of Sanchez’s comment. Does html work? An article at Slate said Sanchez “made some rather heavily sarcastic remarks about the power of the American Jewish minority and the sharing of its liberal assumptions by many at the networks.” Had I done more research immediately I probably would have interpreted Sanchez more negatively, focusing on the tired “Jews run the media” bit. But as it was, I sat and thought about it for a while, and the following idea is what came up. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll slap my forehead or something, but here goes:

Some of the problems we (including me, don’t worry) have with society come not just from the unequal distribution of wealth and power, but especially from the inability of certain groups to improve their status. We look at many of the people in power and see a bunch of middle-aged white dickheads. We look at the under-served (the poor, uneducated, incarcerated) and see black men. As an individual white male, I am more likely to attain wealth and power than my black brother. Race plays a big role in this game, obviously. Whites are in the majority, so that plays a role, too, right?

My Jewish brother might be yet more likely to attain wealth and power, though, and my Asian brother might surpass me, too. Income and education levels for these minorities are higher than they are for the white majority. Maybe this is the (least offensive) part of what Sanchez was saying. These minorities don’t need extra protection; they seem to be doing all right.

Now, I’m talking about these different racial groups that are strikingly different from each other in terms of wealth and power. It’s easy for Sanchez to say, “Look at the Jews: The average Jew is doing better than the average white person,” and for us to say, “Look at the whites: The average white asshole is doing better than the average ethnic minority.” But just as the differences between individual humans fade to insignificance when we compare humans to horses, so too do these racial differences in wealth and power fade when we start to look at what I think is the REAL force that perpetuates the inequality: the entrenchment of those who already have wealth and power.

Almost all of us are in the 80% majority who earn about 15% of the US income. It’s easier for me to make 3-4k more than my black brother, but it is equally impossible for either of us to climb to the top of middle class. A black son in a wealthy family has infinitely more privilege than the average white guy. What separates them more than race is the ridiculous-and-growing income gap between social classes. The top 20% earn 85%.

So I do think race is important, and we should try much harder than we currently do to improve the fairness of the system. A much bigger factor, though, and one that’s too easy to overlook in reactions to idiots like Sanchez, is the increasingly small minority that controls an increasingly large majority of US wealth and power. Race, though important, is basically a distraction, which is why I recommended that the poster up there take it out of her argument.

As a white person, I would like you to revise your comment. Instead of “rich white people,” maybe you could say “rich people.”

I’m not offended by what you say, but I think your theory could be a little more successfully righteous if it didn’t rely on racial stereotyping. I’m really just trying to help a brother out.

I didn’t know that spade was a racial term. I was just trying to be silly. “I’m cutting down to bedrock: Everything is a spade!” My bad.

It may be true that Antoine Dodson became a meme partly because everyone who sees the Internet has a bit of racism in them. There’s no way to prove otherwise.

But if you’re giving a bare-bones definition of this meme and all you mention is “an impoverished black man living in the projects talking about the attempted rape of his sister,” then you’re claiming that the only relevant issues are race, socio-economic status, and crime.

This definition focuses solely on the context, ignoring what Antoine Dodson said and how he said it. In other words, Gabe’s definition takes away Antoine Dodson’s choice of words and his personality — his individuality — and reduces him to something you can easily fit into an argument. We can’t react to what Antoine Dodson said or did; we can only react to who he IS: a poor black man. What about his other characteristics? Is that all I should see? Yep.

It’s true that the Internet doesn’t care about the real people behind its laffs. The Internet is a bad place. But when you try to hold up a mirror to the Internet and show it how it’s being racist, be careful that you don’t show up in the reflection, too. (that’s a bit hash, you’re right. when you stand up and give an opinion, you’re making an easy target of yourself for all the shy assholes. sorry.)

When I say slippery slope, especially with an exclamation point, it means that there IS a huge difference between making fun of Gwyneth Paltrow and calling attention to Antoine Dodson’s socio-economic status. But that difference could be eroded if we extend Gabe’s attempt to snatch gravity from the jaws of humor. I know it’s a fallacy, and apparently I wasn’t successful enough with just an exclamation point to indicate that I was using the term slightly facetiously. Next time I’ll put in this guy ;P

And high school debate fallacies aside, my point remains: Gabe did a bad thing, and it’s easy to understand why I think it’s bad if I do the bad thing to something else. As an example. See what I did there? (I’m making fun of your misunderstanding, which is okay because you have “philosopher” in your name, which means you are entitled and educated enough to be held accountable for your mistakes, apparently.)

I came here ready to talk sersly.

Fortunately, all these people are talking about costumes, which saves me from having to say, “Gabe, really? You’re taking this angle on the costume? I’m all for calling spades spades and exploitation spades, but this development doesn’t really seem like an appropriate place to draw the line. First, you could pare away the funny bits of anything on the Internet for some cheap sobriety and self-righteousness. You make fun of Gwyneth Paltrow? Media blog attacks working mother. Slippery slope! Second, removing the context from this particular situation is a bit reductive (he said some ridiculous things!) and also a bit insulting (you’re saying Antoine Dodson said those ridiculous things because he’s a poor black man, not because he is a grownup who has responsibility for his own actions? thank you for setting him and us straight!). I do agree that most of our yuks are mean-spirited in some way, and that we should move toward a healthier way to enjoy ourselves, but again, I think that Bed Intruder is a poor example for making that case.”

I can’t decide on a costume! Something with panties, I’m thinking….

I don’t get all these TV show jokes, but I do know one thing: my only dilemma (Mall Cop vs. Jennifer Connelly) is solved pretty handily by the inclusion of Winona Ryder on the cast. Vaughn is an unknown quantity or whatever, so he doesn’t factor in.

THE ROOMMATE is my generation’s HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. In!

After that video I was shown this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68fJP35FxyQ&feature=player_embedded
Which may be worse.

Shit, am I too late to suggest another movie? Tell me I’m not too late. I’ve got to testify:

THE JONESES is awful. Even by David Duchovny standards. I’m serious. Way bad.

My wife! My daughter! My wife! My wife! My family!

Did you see the alternate ending? Yesvote.

You’re nominating Role Models?

Hey, Alfred, her eyes are “up there”!