Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
Comedian and TV show host Bill Maher made some interesting remarks the other day on his show about GOP fear and racial tension. During a segment in which he posted a picture of members of the New Black Panther Party, Maher noted that Republicans generally "soil their adult diapers" when confronted by people of color. He did, however, note one exception:
"Every black person scares you (GOP) unless they look like Urkel, talk like Colin Powell and wear Bill Cosby sweaters."
I wish I could say that the remark was funny, but the truth is that it's funnier in print than it was during the delivery. All the while, I have to give Maher credit for speaking the truth. When it comes to the integration of African Americans into mainstream America, there is a notion of "acceptability" that many of us, especially black males, are forced to constantly deal with.
When I began my career as an academic, I found it interesting that most of my senior black male colleagues in academia seemed determined to emasculate themselves in order to fit in. The happy, smiling black man was always more accepted and more readily promoted than the black man with serious concerns about racial disparities, even if they were legitimate.
The Al Roker types always had an open invitation to sit at the table where important decisions were made, which was why I was usually left at the door with a bowl of dog food.
I always wondered why black men had to smile and be obnoxiously friendly for people to know that we weren't dangerous or harmful. The dean of my business school at Syracuse, Melvin Stith, always had a jovial demeanor that whites could relate to, sort of like a black Santa Clause.
I tried to imagine myself doing a Santa Clause imitation, but it was hard to be happy in a business school that had existed for more than 100 years while hiring less than 10 black professors and giving tenure to none of them. I put the Santa suit back in the closet and dealt with the wrath of being identified as the "scary black man down the hall" (which is in stark contrast to who I really am).
Maher's statement speaks to a broader issue that we must also face in America.
Those who have little exposure to African Americans other than what they see in the media are more likely to typecast us before giving us a chance to reveal our humanity. The idea that there are "acceptable" ways for black men to behave, conjoined with the disproportionate power granted by white supremacy, can make black men feel like pets rather than men (notice how many black male athletes are forced to grovel and apologize to the public and dismiss themselves as "immature, selfish and irresponsible" in order to obtain public forgiveness).
Only oppressed people and animals are expected to confront this notion of what it means to be well-behaved and acceptable, with many of these notions being connected to some degree of cultural imperialism by those who have the power to reward and punish us for being who we are.
On a final note, I'm not so sure about Bill Maher. After his remarks about President Barack Obama's race during the summer of 2010, I can't help but wonder if he, too, has a perception of how black people are "supposed to act." In a set of well-publicized comments during the BP oil spill, Maher said the following:
"I thought when we elected a black president, we were going to get a black president. You know, this [oil spill] is where I want a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt where you can see the gun in his pants. That's -- we've got a motherfu**ing problem here?' Shoot somebody in the foot."
So, rather than criticizing Republicans for perceiving black men to be frightening and angry criminals, it appears that Maher is simply criticizing them for being afraid of the angry black male criminal. Maher's comments last summer speak to his perception of black men as extraordinarily violent and aggressive, which is consistent with what he believes Republicans think about us as well.
The bottom line is that black men are human.
We love our children as much as everyone else. We are not naturally prone to commit crimes. We laugh, cry, work and play as much as everyone else. While there are cultural variations that can and should be readily celebrated, we should not be dealt with as outcasts.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Facebook, please click here.
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Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/03/23/bill-maher-gop-scared-of-blacks-except-cosby-and-urkel/
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