What made you roll your eyes today thread?

[LittleJerry92]

For clarification I actually hated that George lost his life. What irked me was the fact that so many people were more concerned about buildings being destroyed than the fact that he lost his life to begin with. I hated that it had to come to this (the riots), but I do understand why with the ongoing racism that goes on every single day. With that said, what personally disappoints me a little is the fact that I feel like these companies like Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemima only made these changes just for the sake of trying to avoid trouble. The reason I say this is because they were all very clear of the racist histories behind them but never bothered changing them until this happened. There have been complaints about them for years but no one bothered to listen until **** was going down and people were losing their lives. Which, to me, just translates to “oh ****, buildings are being destroyed and people are dying.... guess we better fix this up so this ends ASAP!” I do appreciate that they were owning up to these controversial issues, but the thing is, I really don’t feel like they were doing it out of sincerity. I feel like they did it just because they felt they were pressured. If they actually cared then this would have been fixed a very long time ago instead of when riots were going on.

The same thing also goes with the voice acting industry. I don’t find it to be a coincidence that they now suddenly “care” with the riots going on. Had this not happened I feel like nothing would change at all and we’d still have instances like Mike Henry voicing Cleveland Brown. With that said, I am aware of instances of casting directors just sending out characters of color to white actors, and personally that’s a pretty cheap move on their part. My honest opinion is I have mixed opinions of actors voicing characters different from their own race. If it’s a leading or main character that has a unique story to them, then yes I agree it should go to the respective race. If it’s just a stereotype character that’s otherwise just there for black comedy humor (going back to Simpsons characters and what have you) then that’s really where I could care less who voices them. With that said, I still do think it is fair actors of the same race get their share of auditions as well.

My main frustration with this is just the fact that none of the changes that happened really felt like they were done out of sincerity, but more out of pressure as I previously stated. Believe it or not, I actually found out the white actors who quit their roles were actually fired instead of them quitting. So that only tells me these “apologies” they gave were just masks to cover up the fact that they were fired (cause what actor would reveal that, right?).

TLDR: Short answer, I appreciate that controversial issues like this have been brought up and are being owned up to, but I also feel like none of this was out of sincerity but more just to avoid further trouble and avoid receiving backlash. The fact that everyone behind these issues knew of the controversy but never addressed it until the riots happened only tells me they weren’t being fully sincere about it.

I hope this clarifies things. Also, just because I’m a liberal doesn’t mean I agree with everything they believe in. I have issues with both sides.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I would also like to mention in regards to the Apu documentary, I think Hari could have honestly put a little more effort into showing improper casting or the issues with the stereotype of the character instead of just making it feel like “I had issues with this character so I’m going to make a documentary about it so people can feel sympathetic for me.” That’s why I had some issues with it.

My honest opinion is no one should face racism or be mocked for their race. But I also say if this happens to you, then you can either let it determine who you are, or you can grow from it and not continue the cycle towards anyone else. And going for the latter option is a big step for growth.

 

[CoolGuy1013]

Fair enough. I guess my main problem is that I thought they were being sincere. Whoops. Sorry for the accusations.

 

[LittleJerry92]

No worries! I probably could have explained things better in my first post, but like I said, the fact that it took an entire riot to open things up instead of actually listening to complaints that have been going on for years only tells me all of these changes were done out of pressure instead of sincerity.

Maybe I could also be reading things too much, but the fact that there were instances like complaints about the name “redskins” for the Washington football team, complaints about improper casting for cartoon characters on social media (Family Guy even made fun of this four years ago beforehand) and complaints about Aunt Jemima on the pancakes cover and no one listened until the world was in a huge war with each other kind of says a lot. You know?

Also on that subject, much as I loved his performance, I do think at some point Phil Lamarr should own up to voicing Samurai Jack and the role should be given to an actor of Asian descent should the cartoon make another comeback, because, while not as common, I do think a black guy trying to sound Japanese is just as equally racist and could easily fall under the category of yellow face. And the fact that no one seems to have a problem with this makes me raise an eyebrow. I also say this with the fact that he’s had an issue with improper casting (which, again, a black guy voicing an Asian character can easily just as much fall into that category).

 

[fuzzygobo]

The Simpsons is basically full of stereotype characters...... and look what’s happened years later.

A millenial-aged Indian comedian has a temper tantrum over Apu just because he was mocked about it over the years and makes a document about it from very poor taste. Obviously what happened to him was wrong, but honestly he could have learned to just put on his big boy pants and grow from it instead of making this documentary for the sake of people sympathizing with him (it was also because a white guy voiced him).

Three years later and Hank Azzaria no longer voices Apu (probably just to avoid backlash), and no thanks to the George Floyd incident being blown out of proportion (simply because people were more concerned about the riots than the fact that this man lost his life), all the characters of color have voice actors of the respective race voicing them. Seriously, I actually hate the new voice of Carl. It just sounds like a black man trying to do Hank’s Carl voice very poorly. Just cancel the effing show already because it’s **** like this that shows how much this show has now become nothing more than a dead horse constantly beaten on.

This is why I treasure the original Simpsons bits shown on The Tracy Ullman Show. They were crude, cheaply done, and funny as anything. They blew wide open when Fox green lit the series. Back then , there was no other animated series on Prime Time, so they generated a huge following.

But over time, what was once groundbreaking becomes mainstream. Same can be said for Sesame Street.
Which is why comedy is dead. Nowadays a comic can’t say anything without offending somebody.
One bit that I’m still amazed at, in 1996 Chris Rock did a bit called Black People and N-bombs. In front of an mostly Black audience.
They roared back in approval.
I doubt Chris Rock could do that today without being called Race traitor or Uncle Tom.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I gotta ask you, in all sincerity. The media pushes the narrative America is systematically racist. So how many racists have you actually met?
In my 52 years, traveling all over the Eastern half of this country, if I found ten racist people that would be a lot. The media would have you believe every other person you bump into would be a racist. Any cop would be a racist.

I’ve been in New York City more times than some of you have had hot dinners. 8 million people of every race color and creed. One of the most diverse spots on earth. Do you know how many racists I can actually say I encountered?

One.
So either they’re camouflaging themselves very well, or the media is blowing it out of proportion.
Does racism exist? Yes, but in my travels it seems to be more of something I read about than actually discover.

 

[LittleJerry92]

This is why I treasure the original Simpsons bits shown on The Tracy Ullman Show. They were crude, cheaply done, and funny as anything. They blew wide open when Fox green lit the series. Back then , there was no other animated series on Prime Time, so they generated a huge following.

But over time, what was once groundbreaking becomes mainstream. Same can be said for Sesame Street.
Which is why comedy is dead. Nowadays a comic can’t say anything without offending somebody.
One bit that I’m still amazed at, in 1996 Chris Rock did a bit called Black People and N-bombs. In front of an mostly Black audience.
They roared back in approval.
I doubt Chris Rock could do that today without being called Race traitor or Uncle Tom.

I mean I get no minds ever think alike and obviously you can’t please everyone, and of course there are jokes done out of very poor taste which are never fun at all. But I sometimes believe people need to learn to laugh at themselves once in awhile, especially if the joke is at least still kept appropriate.

Casting a white guy to voice Apu may not have been the best move. But where credit is due, Hank at least still kept his performances appropriate and didn’t just straight up mock Indian cultures and what have you. In fact, I actually think Apu was portrayed quite well as a hard-working immigrant running the kwick-E mart. The main issue is there are people out there who used his character as an excuse to mock other Indian folks, which, honestly, shame on them.

With that said, I do respect Hank’s choice to step away from the character, although I do honestly question if he really was being sincere about it or not. And I personally always loved Apu for his happy-loving, and at times goofy personality, and there were times his character has really made me laugh. I didn’t like his character simply just because of his accent as Hari’s documentary portrayed it to be.

I gotta ask you, in all sincerity. The media pushes the narrative America is systematically racist. So how many racists have you actually met?
In my 52 years, traveling all over the Eastern half of this country, if I found ten racist people that would be a lot. The media would have you believe every other person you bump into would be a racist. Any cop would be a racist.

I’ve been in New York City more times than some of you have had hot dinners. 8 million people of every race color and creed. One of the most diverse spots on earth. Do you know how many racists I can actually say I encountered?

One.
So either they’re camouflaging themselves very well, or the media is blowing it out of proportion.
Does racism exist? Yes, but in my travels it seems to be more of something I read about than actually discover.

I mean unfortunately that is the media for you. They like to blow things out of proportion. With that said, I was once friends with a racist ***hole from high school who straight up had no problem dropping the n word and referring to black people as “filthy vermin’s.” By that point I was starting to question the guy, and what finally did it for me was when he straight up mocked an Asian family at a mall and drove off calling them “a bunch of ******* chinks:” I immediately called him out for it and cut ties with him. Likewise another friend of his (who in all honesty is an extremely bad influence for him) also had no problem dropping the n word and I also cut ties with him. There was one point when I was hanging out with a former stoner friend of mine at his house when I was in college where a woman who lives in his place also had no problem dropping the n word and referred to her doctor with that slur (but in all honesty it’s a very bad neighborhood to begin with).

Another friend of mine who I met online via a Total Drama Island Facebook group (Canadian cartoon) also had no problem jokingly using the n word and I called him out for it and then he tried guilt tripping me saying he knows the history about it much more than I do. By that point our friendship was pretty much over anyway because we did not get along.

So with that said, I have seen/met at least four racist ***holes. While I’m personally welcoming for anyone who wants to live in this country, the honest truth is this country is easily the first place people think about when it comes to racism because of past history and the fact that there are so many videos online surfacing of people being racist to each other.

Do I believe all cops are racist? Absolutely not, but another issue is the fact that when police brutality against blacks or any other race happen, very few cops even speak up about it. That alone is also an issue.

 

[D'Snowth]

A former friend of mine who is an absolute mindless Trump supporter had no qualms showing how racist she was, and talking about who belonged in the country and who didn't (ironic, given that she told me her family immigrated here from Germany only four or five generations ago).

The town she lived in apparently had a rather sizeable Somalian population, which always bothered her, and she even at one point said, "They all look alike."

Whenever there have been incidents of aggressive cops killing innocent and/or unarmed black people, she always praised them for doing their jobs . . . then the one occasion where it was a brown cop who killed an innocent/unarmed white woman, she was like, "This is a very bad cop who needs to be held accountable for his poor actions, oh, and by the way, this is not about race."

She was also not shy about being homophobic and transphobic as well: she one attacked a teen girl on Twitter who had been disowned and kicked out by her family for coming out to them as being bisexual, and asking friends and friends of friends to help donate to prescription costs and such until she could fend for herself, telling her what she really needs to do is, "Stop misbehaving" and begging strangers for money, and return home to her family and beg for their forgiveness. Needless to say, she received all kinds of flack and grief from people for attacking at this poor girl for being shunned just for being who she is, to which her response was basically, "No, I'm right, you all are wrong." As for her transphobia, like so many Trumpsters, she believed the whole bathroom bill was basically allowing me to barge into women's bathrooms to sexually assault them.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I had a friend in high school named Brian also. He was not the least bit shy dropping the N-bomb. It wasn’t hard to see where he got it from. His dad and grandfather said the same thing.
One time he made a comment “All N-bombs are like this”. And he expected me to agree with him. In clear conscience I just couldn’t.
We both graduated high school the same year. After graduation I lost track of him. He was a good friend, but this was one thing we would never agree on.

 

[fuzzygobo]

A former friend of mine who is an absolute mindless Trump supporter had no qualms showing how racist she was, and talking about who belonged in the country and who didn't (ironic, given that she told me her family immigrated here from Germany only four or five generations ago).

The town she lived in apparently had a rather sizeable Somalian population, which always bothered her, and she even at one point said, "They all look alike."

Whenever there have been incidents of aggressive cops killing innocent and/or unarmed black people, she always praised them for doing their jobs . . . then the one occasion where it was a brown cop who killed an innocent/unarmed white woman, she was like, "This is a very bad cop who needs to be held accountable for his poor actions, oh, and by the way, this is not about race."

She was also not shy about being homophobic and transphobic as well: she one attacked a teen girl on Twitter who had been disowned and kicked out by her family for coming out to them as being bisexual, and asking friends and friends of friends to help donate to prescription costs and such until she could fend for herself, telling her what she really needs to do is, "Stop misbehaving" and begging strangers for money, and return home to her family and beg for their forgiveness. Needless to say, she received all kinds of flack and grief from people for attacking at this poor girl for being shunned just for being who she is, to which her response was basically, "No, I'm right, you all are wrong." As for her transphobia, like so many Trumpsters, she believed the whole bathroom bill was basically allowing me to barge into women's bathrooms to sexually assault them.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Black people thought we all look alike? Wouldn’t that be a hoot?