Date: Saturday, July 06, 2002 9:15 PM
From: A.D. Powell
Subject: Letter to the Editor
While channel surfing I came upon a disturbing UBN “reality” show called “Blind Date.” The idea is to follow the contestants on a “blind date” and amuse the audience with embarrassing cartoonish “word balloons” supposedly giving the “thoughts” of the contestants. This episode paired a “black” male with a woman who looked somewhat “mixed” and who was apparently adopted by “whites” or otherwise reared in a “white” home and social environment. This fact made the “black” male uncomfortable. He peppered her with the usual “race loyalty” questions: “Do you hate black people?”; “Do you see yourself marrying a white man or a black man?”, etc. The woman seemed to be a very nice, level-headed person. She explained that the great majority of her social contacts are “white” and she presumed that she would probably marry a “white” man. The “black” male pronouned her a “racist” (through the word balloons) and was assisted in this character assassination by the sneering “white liberal” host who announced to the audience that the “black” male had been rejected “because of the color of his skin” (as opposed to being an “a**h***,” which he was). The “word balloons” had the woman “thinking” stuff like “I’m better than you; I’m one-sixteenth white.” The reality is that SHE was expected to accept a man who hated her family, upbringing and values. HE was never criticized for the obvious racial chip on his shoulder. The “white” host ended the program by taking a racist shot at the woman.”Maybe next time we’ll pair her with a white guy – Michael Jackson.” (ha, ha, sneer, sneer). As for this hypocritical crap about “the color of his skin,” I wanted to ask the “white” host how many “blacks” HE has dated. Doesn’t HE pick his dates based on the “color of their skin”? Why did the producers of the show take pains to pair two people they considered “black” instead of ignoring “race”? Who’s the racist here?
This racist program is a prime example of how old fashioned racism is being revived under the guise of defending “blacks” from “uppity” mulattoes and others who don’t kow tow to the “race” loyalists. The message of the program was not really different from old-line anti-miscegenation propaganda. This “uppity” woman though she was as good as “whites” and entitled to marry a member of the “superior race.” She had to be “put in her place.” The difference is that this racism is being promoted in the name of defending the “pride” of “blacks” as opposed to their “inferiority.” The “white” host gets to indulge in the luxury of some old fashioned racism without feeling guilty. He has been absolved by “black” racists because he is defending the racism that THEY like.