A pattern I
notice in popular entertainment and public responses to it:
There's a TV
show with a diverse or semi-diverse cast. Or maybe not even diverse; they might
be all white except for one black actor. A white viewer complains
that the show is "too PC" essentially because it's not entirely
composed of white people. They accuse the show or casting director of
"pandering" or "caving to political correctness”—again, because
not every single face on the show is white. Said viewer speculates that
the racial minorities on the show were only cast because of their race and
couldn't possibly have earned it by being the best actors for the roles. They
call it "reverse racism."
In response to
being made to feel unwanted in mainstream entertainment, non-white actors and
entertainers create their own spaces and their own shows which predominantly
feature racial minorities because they want fair representation that isn't
received with bigotry. They want to feel welcome and have fellow ethnic
minorities feel welcome, too. The same white viewer who didn't want to see them
in mainstream entertainment now accuses them of excluding white people and
"separating themselves."
This
demonstrates that there are some white folks who just don't want to see
non-whites represented anywhere in media, whether it's within an integrated
cast or in their own.
If you're a
white person who wants to say that you'd never respond this way, then this
analogy doesn't apply to you. But even if it doesn't, I'd recommend that
you please not jump to the "not all white people" defense. It really
doesn't help the situation.
