Monday, October 11, 2010

I Thought They Were Both Just White Dudes

 The battle between Jon Stewart (Jewish) and Rick Sanchez (Hispanic) highlights the differences between ethnic groups in America.
Mr. Sanchez was fired for correctly pointing out that most of the people employed by news organizations resembled John Stewart more than they do Mr. Sanchez.
But Mr. Sanchez forgot the most important thing to know when one calls another "minority" a 'racist' or a 'bigot'.
The Totem Pole looks like this;
Jews
Blacks
Hispanics/Latinos
Asians.
One can call out any group listed below their own without any repercussions.
Call out a group that is higher on the scale of offensiveness/defensiveness and you'll likely lose your job.
But this list can be amended.
Just add; Female, gay, obese, poor and/or uneducated to any level to rise on the list - i.e. A Black lesbian  can call out a straight Jewish male.
(Maybe I should make this helpful reminder pocket-sized just in case politicians, pundits, or athletes forget.)

4 comments:

D.Freeman said...

Yeah I think you need to make it one of those multiplication scales that used to be on the back of a PeeChee folder.

Citizen Ojo said...

I'm glad you made this list because I needed this in a conversation I had yesterday.

Reggie said...

You were right the first time, they are just two white guys.

Sad isn't it, that we have to have a totem pole in the first place?!?

Mr. Noface said...

Now if only this totem pole was an app I could put on my phone. Then I would know whether I should speak or not during those emergency situations.

Yeah, these are just two white guys, but one thing I've noticed with folks like Mel Gibson (most likely deserved), Helen Thomas (in my opinion, undeserved), and now Rick Sanchez (maybe deserved, maybe undeserved)is that you don't talk about Jews in any kind of negative light unless you want a sh!t storm on you head.

It's a situation where any criticism puts the critic in danger of being labeled antisemitic (whether deserved or not) and to have such a label in the news and entertainment industry is a career ender.