Racism and Sexism In Hollywood: A New UPLIFTT Video by César Vargas

Jun 4, 2015
11:58 AM

Today, Latino Rebels friend and UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater) founder César Vargas released his first video in a series he will begin to produce for UPLIFTT.

UPLIFTT: The Hollywood Reporter's Roundtable (Racism and Sexism)

Hola, pueblo, soy César Vargas, founder of UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater). Today, I'd like to speak to you about The Hollywood Reporter's comedy actress Emmy roundtable. While I was reading the conversation between the actresses Lena Dunham, Tracee Ellis Ross, Amy Schumer, Gina Rodriguez, Kate MKinnon, and Elli Kemper, something jumped at me and grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go. I could not believe what I was reading because it was coming from the new wave, if I may, of celebrities of color. Who, at this point in history, in time, should know better. Have a look:Lena Dunham: There was a lot of dialogue about race when Girls started. I'd been thinking so much about representing weirdo, chubby girls and strange half-Jews that I had forgotten that there was an entire world of women being underserved.Gina Rodriguez: I don't believe it's an issue of hard-core racism [in Hollywood].Amy Schumer: It's ignorance.Gina Rodriguez: Lack of being surrounded by a culture.Tracee Ellis Ross: We're quick to vilify people instead of acknowledging we all have these huge blind spots.First of all, Gina, I admire you and I respect you. I think you are wonderful human being and you represent Latinos well. You're a great actress. No one can take that away from you. Tracee, you give me nothing but good vibes. You seem like a well-rounded human being, but you are both utterly, and completely wrong. I'll tell you why. When you as a writer, as a content creator, as an executive are fascinated more with an unrealistic past, with mystical beings, imaginary beings (dragons, mermaids, vampires, elves), and don't show people of color, from your reality, this realm, this universe, then that's hardcore racism because you are going out of your way to not see and show those people there. You'd be hard pressed not to find an African American, Chicanos, Latinos, Asians in California or New York City, for instance. You would have to live in an extremely reclusive community to not run into people of color. I am pretty sure those Hollywood writers have Latino and Black friends. I am pretty sure they party with Latinas–especially Latinas and Asian women. They don't live in a racially monolithic world, but they dislike people of color so much that they erase them from their stories even if it is detrimental to their bottom line. Which was used, at a point, as an excuse to not cast people of color. We mustn't be nice about it. Why is the onus of composure on us when we are not the ones systemically oppressing others? When you corner a being and it lashes out at you, that being is within its right to do it. We are within our right to be righteously indignant and condemn these practices of leaving us out. No actor, especially of color, should object to that. This is what writer/producer, feminist, activist and board member of the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition Maria Nieto had to say about that:Maria Nieto: This annoys the FUCK out of me. People forget that others had to machete the door open a crack so that they could get in – and sideways at that ‘cause it's not open THAT much. Then they make it in and the people on the other side of the door seem so NICE that they forget that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, even the really nice had a hand in turning the lock shut. Wtf. Look, maybe they get in and they see how really not nice the door lockers are and they get terrified of being the ones that fuck it up by speaking out and, by doing so, get the door shut for good. But we still have machetes… speak up – and if they punish you for doing so by trying to shut the door … we'll just swing the machete harder. But you know what would make things infinitely easier? If there were machete wielders swinging away on BOTH sides.That's what Maria Nieto had to say about that. Look, I know it isn't easy to be the person of color in a room. You don't want to seem like the hostile, hotheaded Latino, but let's also not fall into the horribly humble trap. Which is in itself, a Latino stereotype. Esai Morales said it better.Esai Morales (clip): Please, Señor Gringo. Please helping to us. We don’t want no problems. Please. Give me a celebrity of color that is morally consistent and unmoved and unchanged by outside forces unless it is for the better. If anyone, be it overtly or covertly, hurts the community, I will not be nice to them. I will vilify them. I will scorch them and then parade their shame for everyone to see lest others think they can get away with racism. Now, it is true that studies are saying diversity is making a killing at the box office and the small screen, but now they're dumb, deaf, and blind about it. Something they used to use against us. They can’t do it anymore. Not only do they lose money and ratings, but also this erasure affects great swaths of human beings who look and sound just like you and me. People, the "majority," don't see us as real human beings because Hollywood and the media is telling them that we don't exist, that we don't matter. In turn, that affects every aspect of society when it comes to housing, employment, with education, with healthcare, with the law, and so on. That is systemic racism and it's real and it affects real people. So something you think it's benign actually prevents people from leading a happy life and from being treated with dignity and respect by others, and ultimately enslaves them to ghettoes, low wage jobs, the prison industrial complex, police brutality, and death. There is no such thing as soft-core racism. All racism is hardcore. We must not pussyfoot with it. We must not handle it with care. As soon as it rears its ugly head, we must confront it and completely annihilate it by all means necessary before it turns into a hydra and spreads like the malignant cancer that it is–even if it is from good people with good intentions. I hate dropping clichés, but there is some truth about the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If we have to vilify "good people" to achieve this annihilation, then so be it. If you've been paying attention to the news, the Sony hack emails, to be specific, these Sony executives are not what any decent human being would call good people. They are blunt with their racism and sexism and they intentionally make decisions based on that racism and sexism. Not just Sony executives. Sony was just unfortunate enough to get hacked. Before I digress, please let's take a look at this clip of Victor Lee Lewis. He tackles the racism of so called "good people." Victor Lee Lewis (clip of “The Fear of Color” documentary by filmmaker Lee Mun Wah): By White supremacy, I don't mean neo-Nazis, and I don't mean the Klan, because– I’m terrified of those people on a personal basis. Institutionally? Not terribly much. Because most of the lethal and toxic deadly racism that African-American people experience and that other people of color experience in this country does not come from them. It comes from moral, fair-minded people who believe that they are lovers of justice, churchgoers, people who experience themselves as decent and actually very nice folk. And it is there that I find my fear.That was amazing. Play it again and listen to it again.I'd like to read a little more from that roundtable. ‘Cause there’s more. Lena Dunham: I also hate how the comedy community is so defensive. People are unwilling to learn. There was a big issue a few years ago with Daniel Tosh and rape jokes. But there couldn't be a civil conversation about it within the comedy community. I'm a sexual-assault survivor, so I would love to sit down and have a totally nonjudgmental conversation with a male comedian who makes rape jokes. But there isn't room for that.Tracee Ellis Ross: It's a scary thing. I think that's part of what's happening around race, too. It's not just race. It's socioeconomic.Gina Rodriguez: It's also about what Hollywood finds financially beneficial. So when we show them shows like Jane the Virgin and Fresh Off the Boat …Lena Dunham: And Shonda Rhimes owns the entire television mainstay. (Laughter.)Gina Rodriguez: Show them it's all a good investment. And it's not about race. When you vilify it, people shut down.At the risk of repeating myself, you are both completely wrong. I do find it interesting, but not surprised, that Lena Dunham actually has a better understanding about race because, as she says, she learned a great deal from the people who were vilifying her because of the lack of diversity portrayed in her HBO show Girls. Once you watch her speak, you will see that she is clearly remorseful for initially not including people of color and grateful to those who pointed it out to her. I mean, if that didn’t happen, she wouldn’t have changed or learned anything. Now back to Tracee and Gina, like I said earlier, Hollywood is no longer going by what's financially beneficial to them because they keep whitewashing and erasing people of color from movies and TV shows even when they already know that diverse content is selling more than any other. Again, there is no pocket of people, no cliques in the United States that doesn't have a Latino, African American, or Asian among them. Maybe if you lived in the mountains or something, but how many of those movies and shows are made in the mountains? It is a good investment to have a racially diverse cast, but you can't take out race out of the equation. If we vilify people and they shut down, then let's take a page from the book of feminist writers of color: Good. Racist bigots are too vocal and they need to shut up and listen. Shut up, listen, acknowledge, and rectify. Forget your feelings, for once, because lives matter more than your selfish emotions. Don't tone police people of color, either. I know a lot of you don't like to read, which is unfortunate, really, but I do suggest you look into the work of Toni Morisson, James Baldwin, Tim Wise, among others. If they are too deep, for lack of a better word, then read the work of Black Girl Dangerous, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and my work–which you can find at Huffington Post Latino Voices, Fox News Latino, and my own blog, upliftt.com. I also recommend you watch The Young Turks, Rachel Maddow, and Alicia Menendez. If you have a hard time listening to non-comedians speak, then just tune in to Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert (well, not anymore), Chris Rock, Louie C.K., and Paul Mooney. You got to get ready for Paul Mooney, though. He’s hardcore. That’s hardcore right there. They vilify the status quo. They slam dunk racists. Why are comedians the only ones allowed to do this? Maybe there is some truth to what Oscar Wilde said: "If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." That said, none of the people who managed to get us here–who fought for our rights–were passive about it. Betty Friedan (clip): Welcome to the new wave of feminism. Cesar Chavez (clip): I told you. I told you. Malcolm X (clip): I personally feel that my personal problem is never solved as long as the problem is not solved for all of our people in this country.They weren’t comedians. They were unapologetic. There were unapologetic women that lead the women's suffrage. There were very vocal activists who did not bend backwards to make others comfortable. There is no comfort in progress. Without them vilifying the status quo, none of these women would be sitting at that roundtable–especially the brown and Black girls. Now let's see how they feel about sexism. Amy Schumer: It's very important to me. I heard this heated debate once between two male comic friends of mine about whether [actress] Michelle Williams was hot. One was like, "I don't think I'd have sex with her." I'm looking at them, both in their 40s …Lena Dunham: Bald.Amy Schumer: Gargoyles. (Laughter.) Actually, gargoyles are interesting to look at. And I'm like, "You guys would both die to fuck her." Then I watched [SNL's] Cecily Strong host the White House Correspondents' Dinner. She did a great job. Then right away, the cable news anchors are deliberating whether she was funny. Um, are you guys comedy experts? People love burning somebody at the stake. So I just burn myself first!Lena Dunham: When I get comments like, "How did she wind up on the cover of a magazine? She's hideous," I'm like, "I may not have a perfect body, but I do have a really nice face." I'd love to see a hideous woman on the cover of a magazine. It doesn't happen.Gina Rodriguez: I was up for a role and auditioned in character. They're like: "We love her. But can she come back in with a tight black dress?"Kate McKinnon: Just another whore story!Lena Dunham: I want to say we all have really nice faces.Amy Schumer: I would love to eat you out. (Laughter.) Is that OK? When this is over. Right after?Lena Dunham: I feel the same way about you.Tracee Ellis Ross: Gina, finish your story!Gina Rodriguez: I said, "That doesn't make any sense for the character." They were like, "We need to know if you're pretty enough to be on the cover of a magazine."Tracee Ellis Ross: I tested once for a network show to play a lawyer. A Harvard-educated motherfuckin' lawyer, OK? I wore a skirt suit and heels. Seemed appropriate. Then there were many discussions about my hair. They'd printed up all these pictures of me from 15 f—in' years ago and had me in and out of the bathroom trying on clothes. They finally pick a skirt — the shortest I brought. Then got a T-shirt from one of the people in the office. The woman says, "Hmmm, your boobs." I was like, "I didn't bring a bra for this T-shirt." She screams down the hall, "Who wears a 34B?" I put on someone else's bra, a size too small, and somehow auditioned. I remember wondering, "What did I just allow myself to do?" The other actress [who auditioned] was dressed like she was going to a club and got the role. It was one of those moments where you're so confused and humiliated. But that's part of the biz."But that's part of the biz?" That is a defeatist way of dealing with it. First of all, let's get back to the initial comments. It's Ok to vilify men, right? Call them bald, gargoyles, in their 40s? That's beyond vilifying. Now that's just being nasty and rightfully so because they're being sexist douchebags. Why can't we do the same with racists? This is exactly why feminists of color lambast the white feminist movement–because it is just like the two sided-coin of hypocrisy. On this side, it represents feminism and you are fearless about it, you take no prisoners, but on the other side, you're not cool with racism but you want others to handle it with care because it's not really "hardcore racism" and "people will shut down." I'll tell you why you’re like that and you say that. Because you, too, benefit from this racism. That includes tokens. Just remember what the great human rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. had to say about that. Check out this clip.Martin Luther King, Jr. (clip): For those who say to me, ‘stick to civil rights,’ I have another answer. That is that I’ve fought too long and too hard now against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concerns. I’m not going to do that. Others can do what they want to do. That’s their business. Other Civil Rights leaders for various reasons refuse or can’t take a stand or have to go along with the administration, that’s their business! But I must say tonight that I know that justice is indivisible; injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.Wow. It’s unfortunate that Oscar Wilde was right. If you would like to see more of these videos, 'like' my page. I would also love to read what you have to say about this. Comment below and don’t forget to share with your family and friends. Thank you.

Posted by César Vargas on Thursday, June 4, 2015

 

Hola, pueblo, soy César Vargas, founder of UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater). Today, I’d like to speak to you about The Hollywood Reporter’s comedy actress Emmy roundtable. While I was reading the conversation between the actresses Lena Dunham, Tracee Ellis Ross, Amy Schumer, Gina Rodriguez, Kate MKinnon, and Elli Kemper, something jumped at me and grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go. I could not believe what I was reading because it was coming from the new wave, if I may, of celebrities of color. Who, at this point in history, in time, should know better.

Have a look:

Lena Dunham: There was a lot of dialogue about race when Girls started. I’d been thinking so much about representing weirdo, chubby girls and strange half-Jews that I had forgotten that there was an entire world of women being underserved.
Gina Rodriguez: I don’t believe it’s an issue of hard-core racism [in Hollywood].
Amy Schumer: It’s ignorance.
Gina Rodriguez: Lack of being surrounded by a culture.
Tracee Ellis Ross: We’re quick to vilify people instead of acknowledging we all have these huge blind spots.

First of all, Gina, I admire you and I respect you. I think you are wonderful human being and you represent Latinos well. You’re a great actress. No one can take that away from you. Tracee, you give me nothing but good vibes. You seem like a well-rounded human being, but you are both utterly, and completely wrong. I’ll tell you why. When you as a writer, as a content creator, as an executive are fascinated more with an unrealistic past, with mystical beings, imaginary beings (dragons, mermaids, vampires, elves), and don’t show people of color, from your reality, this realm, this universe, then that’s hardcore racism because you are going out of your way to not see and show those people there. You’d be hard pressed not to find an African American, Chicanos, Latinos, Asians in California or New York City, for instance. You would have to live in an extremely reclusive community to not run into people of color. I am pretty sure those Hollywood writers have Latino and Black friends. I am pretty sure they party with Latinas–especially Latinas and Asian women. They don’t live in a racially monolithic world, but they dislike people of color so much that they erase them from their stories even if it is detrimental to their bottom line. Which was used, at a point, as an excuse to not cast people of color. We mustn’t be nice about it. Why is the onus of composure on us when we are not the ones systemically oppressing others? When you corner a being and it lashes out at you, that being is within its right to do it. We are within our right to be righteously indignant and condemn these practices of leaving us out. No actor, especially of color, should object to that.

This is what writer/producer, feminist, activist and board member of the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition Maria Nieto had to say about that:

Maria Nieto: This annoys the FUCK out of me. People forget that others had to machete the door open a crack so that they could get in – and sideways at that ‘cause it’s not open THAT much. Then they make it in and the people on the other side of the door seem so NICE that they forget that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, even the really nice had a hand in turning the lock shut. Wtf. Look, maybe they get in and they see how really not nice the door lockers are and they get terrified of being the ones that fuck it up by speaking out and, by doing so, get the door shut for good. But we still have machetes… speak up – and if they punish you for doing so by trying to shut the door … we’ll just swing the machete harder. But you know what would make things infinitely easier? If there were machete wielders swinging away on BOTH sides.

That’s what Maria Nieto had to say about that. Look, I know it isn’t easy to be the person of color in a room. You don’t want to seem like the hostile, hotheaded Latino, but let’s also not fall into the horribly humble trap. Which is in itself, a Latino stereotype. Esai Morales said it better.

Esai Morales (clip): Please, Señor Gringo. Please helping to us. We don’t want no problems. Please.

Give me a celebrity of color that is morally consistent and unmoved and unchanged by outside forces unless it is for the better. If anyone, be it overtly or covertly, hurts the community, I will not be nice to them. I will vilify them. I will scorch them and then parade their shame for everyone to see lest others think they can get away with racism.

Now, it is true that studies are saying diversity is making a killing at the box office and the small screen, but now they’re dumb, deaf, and blind about it. Something they used to use against us. They can’t do it anymore. Not only do they lose money and ratings, but also this erasure affects great swaths of human beings who look and sound just like you and me. People, the “majority,” don’t see us as real human beings because Hollywood and the media is telling them that we don’t exist, that we don’t matter. In turn, that affects every aspect of society when it comes to housing, employment, with education, with healthcare, with the law, and so on. That is systemic racism and it’s real and it affects real people. So something you think it’s benign actually prevents people from leading a happy life and from being treated with dignity and respect by others, and ultimately enslaves them to ghettoes, low wage jobs, the prison industrial complex, police brutality, and death. There is no such thing as soft-core racism. All racism is hardcore. We must not pussyfoot with it. We must not handle it with care. As soon as it rears its ugly head, we must confront it and completely annihilate it by all means necessary before it turns into a hydra and spreads like the malignant cancer that it is–even if it is from good people with good intentions. I hate dropping clichés, but there is some truth about the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If we have to vilify “good people” to achieve this annihilation, then so be it.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, the Sony hack emails, to be specific, these Sony executives are not what any decent human being would call good people. They are blunt with their racism and sexism and they intentionally make decisions based on that racism and sexism. Not just Sony executives. Sony was just unfortunate enough to get hacked. Before I digress, please let’s take a look at this clip of Victor Lee Lewis. He tackles the racism of so called “good people.”

Victor Lee Lewis (clip of “The Fear of Color” documentary by filmmaker Lee Mun Wah): By White supremacy, I don’t mean neo-Nazis, and I don’t mean the Klan, because– I’m terrified of those people on a personal basis. Institutionally? Not terribly much. Because most of the lethal and toxic deadly racism that African-American people experience and that other people of color experience in this country does not come from them. It comes from moral, fair-minded people who believe that they are lovers of justice, churchgoers, people who experience themselves as decent and actually very nice folk. And it is there that I find my fear.

That was amazing. Play it again and listen to it again.

I’d like to read a little more from that roundtable. ‘Cause there’s more.

Lena Dunham: I also hate how the comedy community is so defensive. People are unwilling to learn. There was a big issue a few years ago with Daniel Tosh and rape jokes. But there couldn’t be a civil conversation about it within the comedy community. I’m a sexual-assault survivor, so I would love to sit down and have a totally nonjudgmental conversation with a male comedian who makes rape jokes. But there isn’t room for that.
Tracee Ellis Ross: It’s a scary thing. I think that’s part of what’s happening around race, too. It’s not just race. It’s socioeconomic.
Gina Rodriguez: It’s also about what Hollywood finds financially beneficial. So when we show them shows like Jane the Virgin and Fresh Off the Boat …
Lena Dunham: And Shonda Rhimes owns the entire television mainstay. (Laughter.)
Gina Rodriguez: Show them it’s all a good investment. And it’s not about race. When you vilify it, people shut down.

At the risk of repeating myself, you are both completely wrong. I do find it interesting, but not surprised, that Lena Dunham actually has a better understanding about race because, as she says, she learned a great deal from the people who were vilifying her because of the lack of diversity portrayed in her HBO show Girls. Once you watch her speak, you will see that she is clearly remorseful for initially not including people of color and grateful to those who pointed it out to her. I mean, if that didn’t happen, she wouldn’t have changed or learned anything. Now back to Tracee and Gina, like I said earlier, Hollywood is no longer going by what’s financially beneficial to them because they keep whitewashing and erasing people of color from movies and TV shows even when they already know that diverse content is selling more than any other. Again, there is no pocket of people, no cliques in the United States that doesn’t have a Latino, African American, or Asian among them. Maybe if you lived in the mountains or something, but how many of those movies and shows are made in the mountains? It is a good investment to have a racially diverse cast, but you can’t take out race out of the equation. If we vilify people and they shut down, then let’s take a page from the book of feminist writers of color: Good. Racist bigots are too vocal and they need to shut up and listen. Shut up, listen, acknowledge, and rectify. Forget your feelings, for once, because lives matter more than your selfish emotions. Don’t tone police people of color, either. I know a lot of you don’t like to read, which is unfortunate, really, but I do suggest you look into the work of Toni Morisson, James Baldwin, Tim Wise, among others. If they are too deep, for lack of a better word, then read the work of Black Girl Dangerous, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and my work–which you can find at Huffington Post Latino Voices, Fox News Latino, and my own blog, upliftt.com. I also recommend you watch The Young Turks, Rachel Maddow, and Alicia Menendez.

If you have a hard time listening to non-comedians speak, then just tune in to Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert (well, not anymore), Chris Rock, Louie C.K., and Paul Mooney. You got to get ready for Paul Mooney, though. He’s hardcore. That’s hardcore right there. They vilify the status quo. They slam dunk racists. Why are comedians the only ones allowed to do this? Maybe there is some truth to what Oscar Wilde said: “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.”
That said, none of the people who managed to get us here–who fought for our rights–were passive about it.

Betty Friedan (clip): Welcome to the new wave of feminism.
Cesar Chavez (clip): I told you. I told you.
Malcolm X (clip): I personally feel that my personal problem is never solved as long as the problem is not solved for all of our people in this country.

They weren’t comedians. They were unapologetic. There were unapologetic women that lead the women’s suffrage. There were very vocal activists who did not bend backwards to make others comfortable. There is no comfort in progress. Without them vilifying the status quo, none of these women would be sitting at that roundtable–especially the brown and Black girls.

Now let’s see how they feel about sexism.

Amy Schumer: It’s very important to me. I heard this heated debate once between two male comic friends of mine about whether [actress] Michelle Williams was hot. One was like, “I don’t think I’d have sex with her.” I’m looking at them, both in their 40s …
Lena Dunham: Bald.
Amy Schumer: Gargoyles. (Laughter.) Actually, gargoyles are interesting to look at. And I’m like, “You guys would both die to fuck her.” Then I watched [SNL’s] Cecily Strong host the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. She did a great job. Then right away, the cable news anchors are deliberating whether she was funny. Um, are you guys comedy experts? People love burning somebody at the stake. So I just burn myself first!
Lena Dunham: When I get comments like, “How did she wind up on the cover of a magazine? She’s hideous,” I’m like, “I may not have a perfect body, but I do have a really nice face.” I’d love to see a hideous woman on the cover of a magazine. It doesn’t happen.
Gina Rodriguez: I was up for a role and auditioned in character. They’re like: “We love her. But can she come back in with a tight black dress?”
Kate McKinnon: Just another whore story!
Lena Dunham: I want to say we all have really nice faces.
Amy Schumer: I would love to eat you out. (Laughter.) Is that OK? When this is over. Right after?
Lena Dunham: I feel the same way about you.
Tracee Ellis Ross: Gina, finish your story!
Gina Rodriguez: I said, “That doesn’t make any sense for the character.” They were like, “We need to know if you’re pretty enough to be on the cover of a magazine.”
Tracee Ellis Ross: I tested once for a network show to play a lawyer. A Harvard-educated motherfuckin’ lawyer, OK? I wore a skirt suit and heels. Seemed appropriate. Then there were many discussions about my hair. They’d printed up all these pictures of me from 15 f—in’ years ago and had me in and out of the bathroom trying on clothes. They finally pick a skirt — the shortest I brought. Then got a T-shirt from one of the people in the office. The woman says, “Hmmm, your boobs.” I was like, “I didn’t bring a bra for this T-shirt.” She screams down the hall, “Who wears a 34B?” I put on someone else’s bra, a size too small, and somehow auditioned. I remember wondering, “What did I just allow myself to do?” The other actress [who auditioned] was dressed like she was going to a club and got the role. It was one of those moments where you’re so confused and humiliated. But that’s part of the biz.

“But that’s part of the biz?” That is a defeatist way of dealing with it. First of all, let’s get back to the initial comments. It’s Ok to vilify men, right? Call them bald, gargoyles, in their 40s? That’s beyond vilifying. Now that’s just being nasty and rightfully so because they’re being sexist douchebags. Why can’t we do the same with racists? This is exactly why feminists of color lambast the white feminist movement–because it is just like the two sided-coin of hypocrisy. On this side, it represents feminism and you are fearless about it, you take no prisoners, but on the other side, you’re not cool with racism but you want others to handle it with care because it’s not really “hardcore racism” and “people will shut down.” I’ll tell you why you’re like that and you say that. Because you, too, benefit from this racism. That includes tokens. Just remember what the great human rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. had to say about that. Check out this clip.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (clip): For those who say to me, ‘stick to civil rights,’ I have another answer. That is that I’ve fought too long and too hard now against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concerns. I’m not going to do that. Others can do what they want to do. That’s their business. Other Civil Rights leaders for various reasons refuse or can’t take a stand or have to go along with the administration, that’s their business! But I must say tonight that I know that justice is indivisible; injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Wow. It’s unfortunate that Oscar Wilde was right.

If you would like to see more of these videos, ‘like’ my page. I would also love to read what you have to say about this. Comment below and don’t forget to share with your family and friends. Thank you.