Racism and racial representation on soaps

[Fevuh]

I was just such a fan of hers and over the years her griping has started to bother me.  I don't remember KSJ or Shemar Moore or many black actors/actresses complaining about how they were treated on Y&R.  Something just comes across as a trouble maker.  Crystal Khalil (SP wrong I'm sure).  Mishael Morgan.  Whoever played Olivia.  And linking your former working relationship to Black Lives Matter is just weird to me when she had such success.  She was invited back for the KSJ memorial, and she's worked since Y&R.  Why is she so against Y&R? 

 

Someone will say this is white privilege, and I am white, but a gay male.  But I feel like VR could be the EP, Head Writer, Director, and own the show and she still wouldn't be happy.  

[Khan]

 

And you would be right.

 

[Fevuh]

And this is why white people are not speaking out.  If we speak out, we don't have the right because we're not black.  If we don't speak out we're being griped at because we didn't speak out.  I have been to 3 Black Lives Matter rallies this week.  Check yourself.  If you're white, everything is white privilege now.  I grew up very poor.  You would be wrong.  

[Khan]

Why is it every time we bring up VR, this happens?  "Why is she so against Y&R?  Why can't she just be grateful?  Other Black people who've worked on the show haven't complained!  She's just a troublemaker!"  Even now, when current events are proving her more and more right, just the mere mention of the woman's name brandishes the white privilege.

 

 

So?  White privilege doesn't care who you screw.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Khan

[Darn]

 

I was talking to a gay white male friend of mine yesterday and he agreed that a lot of the time you think because you're gay that you understand but trust me, you do not. Especially the experiences of a black woman in society (specifically the workplace). I'm a gay black male and I will never understand it.

 

Unlike the other actors you listed VR has spent her life being an advocate for social justice, from foster care to civil rights, the rest are working actors who went along to get along. I assure you they've had their issues, in fact we can SEE their issues onscreen daily. The one time Kristoff complained he was punished for 3 months. And this happened within the last decade. While we have white actors who complain about their material on a regular basis but I suppose he should just be happy to be employed (which I'm sure he was and I am sure he understood the responsibility in the role he had).

[Fevuh]

I actually do understand because I dated a very handsome African American man for a year.  I never got pulled over in my own car while driving so many times.  Once the officer said my tail light was out.  I asked him which one.  He said the left.  I said, is it OK if I get out of the car so that you can show me - the car is only 1 year old and I just had it inspected.  And I said to my boyfriend and asked the officer - is it ok if he reaches across the console and hits the brake?  And the officer said yes.  Went around back, and both lights lit up.  I said, well that's odd...looks like everything is OK.  He said, yeah, I just wanted to make sure everything was OK.  My boyfriend at the time had dreads.  I'm sure he saw me with a black man and thought something must be wrong.  

 

I used to say while growing up in the 70's...I knew I was gay.  And I said to myself well at least I'm not black and a black lesbian.  So I don't know how VR was treated really, but ask the black actors to speak out.  VR just asks people to stop watching.  She should be asking the other black actors and actresses to speak out as well.  She doesn't.  She asks the audience to stop watching, but if her experience and African American experiences on the show are so bad - ask them to speak out as well.  

[Darn]

 

You understand because you dated a black man for a year and got pulled over once? I'm not sure what your story is illustrating. What do you understand exactly? I'm trying not to be dismissive because you said you feel dismissed in conversations like this but this comment is bewildering to me.

 

She says for people  (the black audience, which CBS was surprised to learn counted for a considerable portion of Y&R's viewership) to stop watching because advertising dollars matter more than a handful of actors speaking out.

[Forever8]

I see the Racism and Racial Representation page has a new meaning. 

[Fevuh]

I said I got pulled over many times.  I gave one example.  I understand the situation of black people in this country because I have seen it.  I have experienced it first hand by dating a black man.  I grew up next to 2 black families and saw how they were treated.  I've only dated 3 men seriously in my life.  Don't judge unless you know.  I just don't agree with VR's take on her Y&R obsession and I don't even know why she would want to go back.  She's worked since.  Other actors haven't said anything.  She should be imploring them to say how bad their work situation is.  

[Darn]

 

Ah okay, I misread. You described one incident but were actually pulled over multiple times with him in the car. I feel bad for your ex.

[Khan]

 

Wrong.  White people ARE speaking out.  On ALL sides.  And for every white person who protests alongside us, there's another who screams "ALL LIVES MATTER!," or wonders why we're so angry, or why we're causing so much trouble.

 

 

Again, wrong.  You have the right to speak out, but you don't have the right to tell us how WE choose to speak out.  Because, nine times out of ten, that's really what you're doing when you THINK you're just "speaking out."

 

 

Because, those who remain silent in the face of racism -- in the name of "free speech" or "going along to get along" -- are as guilty as the racists themselves.

 

 

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.  Three rallies in one week are one thing -- but what're gonna do next week?  Next month?  Next year?  What are you gonna do the next time someone tells you your white privilege is showing?  Are you gonna take that as a sign to modify your way of thinking and behaving?  Or are you gonna remind that person you once dated a Black man who wore dreads and you once went to three BLM rallies in one week?

 

 

This one's for you, and for the others in the back:  WHITE PRIVILEGE HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH FINANCIAL STATUS.  You could live on the streets of NYC in a cardboard box, with an old pickle jar for a toilet, and you're still gonna be treated differently (and better) than a Black man living under the exact same conditions.  White privilege and economic inequality only intersect when White America tells us that the reason why we aren't as wealthy as our Caucasian counterparts is because we aren't working hard enough; when, in fact, it's because your skin color has allowed you distinct advantages in the business world that ours never do.

 

And for God's sake, PLEASE spare us ALL any further talk of how being harassed by law enforcement on account of your Black bf helps you understand our situation better.  If anything, your ex should be the one sharing these experiences of how systemic racism has affected his life, not you.

 

I don't care how many times you've seen one of us harassed and/or threatened by cops for no reason.  I don't care how many (Black) men you've dated, or how many Black families you lived next to while growing up.  You could be Navin P. Johnson, for all I care, but unless you were born and have lived your entire life AS a Black man, you have No. Idea.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Khan

[Fevuh]

It was horrible.  He stared straight ahead.  We both put our hands up and I asked permission to get out of the car.  This was when there were no dashcams.  He could have shot us both and lied.  

 

[Darn]

I'm trying to be all calm and sh!t and @Khan

 

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[GLATWT88]

 

This is a clear example of white privilege. The fact that it bothers you that a black woman continues to talk about the injustices and poor treatment on a TV show because of the color of her skin. White people don't have to worry about finding representation on mainstream media, because they are well represented. They have plenty of space where they can find roles, where casting directors look like them, where execs look like them, etc. You have the privilege of being bothered by someone else's injustice instead of being directly impacted by it. 

 

Also, white privilege doesn't mean you didn't have a hard life or you didn't struggle. You can have white privilege and be poor, homeless, faced discrimination based on your sexual orientation, etc. There is a huge misunderstanding of the term. White privilege means that you didn't have to struggle or endure injustices because of the color of your skin. You yourself sad the cop only pulled you over because of your AA boyfriend, so you agree that race plays a significant role on the perceptions individuals have of certain people. America was a country founded on slavery and those roots of oppression have a hold on our country for its entire history and until there is healing, awareness and understanding things will change very slowly. Slavery and segregation didn't cease to exist in this country and then suddenly we didn't have a race problem. Forms of violence against AA people have been committed in more subtle ways or not so subtle such as disproportionate police brutality cases. 

[ReddFoxx]

First off not everyone handles things the same. Some black actors and actresses will just refrain from saying anything because they want to work. Black people are always called troublemakers if they complain about anything. You being gay is not relevant here, but being white still comes in ahead of that. Your privilege is showing in your posts.