I was led to this post, The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters while reading Sivacracy. What really caught my attention, apart from the references I hadn't previously thought about, where the reader comments (over 600 and I didn't read them all). The overall impression is one of white denial and a total lack of understanding. Here are just a few examples;
I think the racist one is the person who posted all the crap with some real classic entertainment!! Someone needs to find a new hobby...Have a look at the link above. Perhaps you have other examples that come to mind, there are so many. Below is a montage I found on Youtube.
do people have nothing better to do these days???? its so easy to throw the race card down at every little thing its ridiculous.
Which is more racist? Finding Racism in characters, which is what they are, made up characters that have character, or making comments like Aladdin being a "white piece of cornbread". We all have characteristics which can be stereotyped into a demographic. We can either be adults and get over it, or maybe even get a sense of humor and be able to laugh at ourselves. Or we can contribute to the problem and blame the world for being mean.
These disney films are for kids, they teach morals and self values. In no way what so ever are the meant to be seen as racist.
People just WANT to be offended these days. I really wish the hyper-sensitive PC gestapo would just off themselves. The real world is just too hard for the poor delicate dandies.
My point is not to conclude that the majority of White America is still overtly racist. But I think these comments could be instructive. There seems to be on the one hand, a real desire to "get past race," as evidenced for example, from the overwhelming popularity of Obama's "post-racial" presidential campaign. On the other hand, people want to deny or ignore that there was and is any racism to "get past." It seems that much of America doesn't so much want to get past racism as it wants to get past the discussion of racism.
