Sunday, January 24, 2016

Goldberg vs. Dash

Talk show host Whoopi Goldberg has a public argument going with actress Stacey Dash. They're both successful black women, but Dash upset conventional liberal wisdom by suggesting that the BET (Black Entertainment Televsion) network contributes (albeit unintentionally) to racial divides in America. Dash also takes a dim view of Black History month, echoing what Morgan Freeman had once said about "black history being American history."

The entertainment-themed news outlets that regard every exchange between celebrities as an opportunity for score-keeping seem to think that Goldberg taught Dash about unmet needs in this plea:

"But the thing is, [black history] is not taught. Asian history is not taught in school as it pertains to America. American history holds all of us, and [Dash] is right in that, yes we are all Americans, but we're not all treated like Americans. One of the reasons that there is a BET is because networks wouldn't take a lot of shows that [had] an all black cast."

(Note that even Whoopi puts the rationale for BET in past tense -- "wouldn't," not "won't" --, doubtless because she knows that all-black shows like Empire are out there on other networks).

Phoenix Tso, web writer for Uproxx, amusingly suggests that "it's hard to argue with an explanation as direct as that." But Phoenix Tso has not read Cobb's masterful blog entry on The Problem With Multiculturalism. I don't imagine that Stacey Dash has read Cobb, either, but Dash understands our situation better than Goldberg does.

Here's part of Cobb's point:

"The problem with today's multiculturalism is that is is different than pluralism. Pluralism is the proper ethos for America; multiculturalism is not. The difference can be explained by assuming Americans can be divided into two tribes:

Ideological Tribe A

We believe that America is at its best when its mainstream is maintained without regard to race, creed, color, sexual preference, etc...

Ideological Tribe B

We believe that America is at its best when its mainstream is maintained with special regard to race, creed, color, sexual preference, etc.

I could go on at length to describe the nefarious notions that are sustained in the American Culture Wars, begun in the late 50s, taking shape in the 60s, and blossoming in the 90s, but the distinction above nails it. What's important is that multiculturalism is now clearly showing its philosophical weakness and that ordinary people are recognizing it."

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