Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Racism in the Academy Awards? Or a minority community entitlement pout session?

Look.

I don't give a damn about who gets an Academy Award.  I don't give a damn who presents.  I don't give a damn over who receives.  And I certainly don't give a damn over who hosts.

The main reason is that, in the end, none of that has the slightest importance.

It's like a television version of People Magazine or National Enquirer.

Even before the sonnet entitled  "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" received an Oscar for "best original song" in 2006, I was one of those who tended to ignore the whole thing as being no different than any of the other contrived, cheaper-to-produce-than-a-regular-show TV productions out there, such as the People's Choice, or the Grammy's, or the ESPYs or the Country Awards or whatever... and ad infinitum.

A movie, to my mind, isn't made better because of the successful expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in ad campaigns designed to impact Oscar nominations.

Colleges do the same thing for Heisman voting.  And many of these statuettes go to college kids who turn out to have been the products of these campaigns but who, once in the NFL, wind up standing on the sidelines with clipboards while undrafted free-agents are named to the Pro-Bowl.

And, yes, I know full well that the Heisman is for who, allegedly, is the best COLLEGE player.  But really... is Johnny Football the best they had that year?

So now, none of the major Academy awards... or hell, none of the Oscars, period, are schlepped to "people of color."

And I really don't care.

But that a few are whining.... and bitching.... and moaning over it is yet another symbol of the minority sense of entitlement.  And as a country, that is our fault.

It takes a village to raise an idiot, our erstwhile former Secretary of State/democrat nominee.  And this country has raised the biggest group of idiots yet.

No one is owed anything in this country, save for our veteran population.  But even that was in return for services rendered.

I'm owed nothing because of my skin-color, and neither is anyone else owed anything because of theirs.

We've had decades of institutional racism in the form of Affirmative Action at all levels, the dirty little secret that has resulted in the plantation mentality where personal responsibility is not even mentioned, let alone inculcated into the core being that should be within all people.

So, a select few are pissed because the skin tone is a little too light to suit them, and they are "threatening to boycott."

Pressure is "building" on Chris Rock (the guy who gets to stand up there and make racist jokes and comments during this self-flagellation session) to bail out of his lawfully signed contract, to walk away from a rather substantial pay check for a few days work, presuming he bothers rehearsing, and such luminaries who, frankly, ARE boycotting (Jada Pinkett Smith?  Other than being "Wife of Will Smith," I can't recall ever hearing of her) WON'T be there, in part because "not enough people of color were nominated" and in part because her HUSBAND didn't get a nomination for his portrayal of the doctor in "Concussion" won't be missed.

Every year around this time, the musical coaching chair game is played in the NFL.

And every year around this time, the NFL owner's version of Affirmative Action, the requirement that the farce of interviewing a minority head coaching candidate MUST be followed, even if you have zero intention of hiring said minority, is played out.

And I, for one, don't care if ANY minority is EVER hired to run a football team.

Is that racist?

I don't believe so.  I believe, in fact, that it's the product of the knowledge that I, as an owner, want the best people available both working... and playing... for me out there on the field.  And the best people are the best people based on what they can DO... and not the tinges of color (or lack their of) that make up their genetic appearance.

But while many whine and bitch and moan about a dearth of diversity in the head coaching ranks... when was the last time any of those same people EVER complained about a dearth of diversity in the PLAYING ranks?

For example: in the NFL:

With 1155 players, the black population of the NFL runs away with a 68% majority. In a distant second are the 470 white players who make up 28% of the league. The following three racial categories, Other, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic, make up a combined 4.36% of the league.Sep 23, 2014


In the NBA:

Here, we see that black players represent an astounding 68.9% of the player population, followed by white players, who constitute 21.7% of the league. The three remaining racial categories in the league – Hispanic, Asian and Mixed – combine to equal only 9.4%. Jeremy Lin is currently the only one holding it down for the Asian race in the NBA.


Do I begrudge minority players being the dominate force on the football and basketball courts?


Nope.  I could care less.  Skin-color aside, they are the best at what they do.  They've worked their asses off.  They've earned it and everything that comes with it.

But rather hypocritically, those in the race-baiting business don't complain about it, either.

And all of that goes to the basic hypocrisy of the racial business: the race-baiters of our country today, their ranks joined by this same Jada Pinkett Smith, also don't give a damn about THAT racial disparity.

There's no call for outreach to the Hispanic or Asian or even the White communities to increase player diversity to end the black dominance of these professional sports.

Why not?  Doesn't the equality they so strongly and seemingly care about demand it?

Of course not.  Situational ethics being what it is, racial disparity is only a bad thing for those on the receiving end, whether that receiving end is real... or perceived.  In this instance, that no other minority is represented in relation to their percentage in our society; the minimalist gold standard of diversity, personal accountability and achievement notwithstanding; is absolutely worthless to their side of this equation.

In short, racial disparity that benefits THEIR race is perfectly fine.

So, hypothetically, if the issue is "equality," why isn't it an issue everywhere, and not just where the race baiters want it?

So, Jada Pinkett Smith, you want to boycott the Oscars?  Knock yourself out.  You want to implement some sort of racial purity test to be involved in that situation?

Go for it.  Just don't expect to put butts in seats (Do you think Star Wars gives a damn after the first few billion dollars in ticket sales?) and after the dust settles, that's the ONLY thing out of all of this that DOES matter.

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