Tag: racism

Is King Kong a racist?

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Some people see racism around every corner, while others dismiss those concerns, arguing that racism is virtually non-existent since passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

I find those two extremes equally silly, but I’m not so sure where this blog post falls on that racism spectrum.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of the King Kong movie franchise.

Kong really digs blonde chicks

As a very young child, my fascination with monsters and science fiction had me enraptured with the original 1933 film, starring Fay Wray as Kong’s love interest.

The first major studio remake — released in 1976 — drew me in even deeper. I was 12 years old. I still sometimes think about those images of Jessica Lange frolicking on a tropical beach wearing only cut-off shorts and a skimpy top.

Jessica Lange starred in the 1976 remake of King Kong

In short, that 1976 film became a coming-of-age movie for me. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. It was the first time I saw a woman’s breasts revealed – no matter how briefly – on film.

Jessica Lange about to do a breast scene while sitting in Kong’s outstretched hand.

There have been a lot of remakes and variations of King Kong, but Peter Jackson’s 2005 version came closest to capturing the essence of the original man v. nature classic.

All three of these films follow a common theme: beauty calms the savage beast.

Spoiler alert: in all three films, Kong dies a tragic death after being riddled with bullets from passing planes – first, atop the Empire State Building; and then from atop of the World Trade Center in 1976; and finally — again from the top of the Empire State Building in the final film version of 2005.

Naomi Watts revived the character of Ann Darrow
in the 2005 remake of King Kong

All three films share some very common themes that run the gamut of modern-day social issues: corporate greed, natural resource exploitation, abuse of indigenous people, animal cruelty and sheer human folly.

But all three films also have something else in common.

They each appear to be rather racist, both in their narratives and filming.

In all three movies, Kong is portrayed as a rather lonely dude living on a remote, uncharted island surrounded by Black natives who are invariably living a primordial existence without all the trappings and benefits of the technologically advanced white folk explorers.

Kong sees a white, blonde woman
and almost literally loses his shit
with equal parts fascination and lust.

Kong seems bored with the regular sacrifices given to him by the natives who revere him as a mighty and potentially vengeful god.

But then – for various reasons in each film – Kong sees a white, blonde woman and almost literally loses his shit with equal parts fascination and lust.

Wow! What is this? What have I been missing all these years?

In each film, it is the native people who abduct the white woman because they somehow “know” that Kong will – like most gentlemen – prefer blondes.

Look, don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy watching all three of the main King Kong films, but it does seem strange that right up until 2005 the movies have an unmistakable racist bent.

Can you imagine an uncharted tropical island where the natives are white and they offer their resident beast a Black woman to satisfy his cravings? Can you imagine if these Black explorers were technologically and intellectually superior to the white natives?

Some people complain about a noticeable absence of Black people on television shows such as Seinfeld, Friends and Happy Days. Are those shows racist? I don’t think so. But I do know this:

For nearly a century, Kong has been getting his heart broken by a white chick.

————

Randy Seaver is a cranky, nearly insufferable malcontent living in Biddeford. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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A Hazy Shade of Winter

~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

Some people see racism around almost every corner.

I am not one of those people, but . . .

Two days ago, the city of Saco and its neighboring communities were shaken by a violent crime that resulted in four suspects shooting at each other from their cars while traveling on Elm Street.

At the first press conference, Saco Police Chief Jack Clements described the suspects as “four Hispanic males”

One of the suspects involved in Friday’s shooting. Photo: Saco Police Department

It didn’t take long for bigotry, half-assed assumptions and hatred to begin spreading all over social media.

While I can certainly understand why many people expressed fear and concern, I cannot believe how much hatred is brewing in my own community.

Several people used the incident to underscore their disdain for President Joe Biden and his immigration policies.

Within two hours of the incident, Facebook was being flooded with racist rhetoric, such as: “See? This what happens when you have open borders.”

Or this: “Saco used to be a nice, peaceful town until these people came here and ruined things.”

The woman (a self-described Saco native) who posted that last comment conveniently forgets that Friday also marked the 25-year anniversary of Ashley Ouellette’s murder. Ashley, a 15-year-old Thornton Academy student, was found in the middle of the road by a passing motorist.

I remember covering that story. I don’t recall anyone blaming President Clinton. Of course, that terrible crime took place long before Facebook was invented.

If a Hispanic male commits a crime in southern Maine, he must be an “illegal immigrant.” He must be “one of those people.” Really???

These suspects have yet to be identified. How do we know where they were born? Maybe they were born at Boston General hospital. Maybe they were born at Maine Medical Center. Who knows?

Many people just assume if a Hispanic person is involved in a crime, he or she must be an “illegal immigrant.”

I hate to break the news to you: It’s entirely possible that these four men are United States citizens just like you and me.

I can’t prove that, but you can’t prove they are “illegal immigrants,” either.

Maine is vastly a rural state, in fact the most forested state in the country. Our violent crime rates are much lower than many other places.

For those of us who grew up here, things like the murder of Ashley Ouellette or Friday’s shooting incident are jarring – not at all common.

Imagine how people in Lewiston, Maine felt a few months ago when a mass shooting took the lives of 18 innocent victims.

The city of Lewiston is also home to a growing population of Somalian refugees who came to America seeking a better life. They are people “from away.”

The funny thing? The Lewiston shooter was a white guy. A United States citizen. A military veteran.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of mass shootings (7 or more random victims) are committed by young white men.

See? Members of the Abenaki tribe nailed it 300 years ago, when they said this place has gone to hell since these people from away came here.

The vast and overwhelming majority of Saco residents are some of the most decent, kind, generous and intelligent people you could ever hope to meet.

But sadly, the idyllic community of Saco is just like every other place: home to a few ignorant and insecure souls.

#Black Lives Matter

~ Randy Seaver ~ 3 Comments

Seattle Times photo
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King: Seattle Times photo

I had a little bit of an epiphany yesterday during an especially long drive home.

To prevent road boredom, I was a listening to talk radio, and a news segment about the Black Lives Matter movement caught my attention.

Before we proceed, a bit of disclosure: I am a white, middle-aged man.

Up until yesterday, I generally had a reflexive, knee-jerk reaction to the synergy building in the Black Lives Matter campaign: I would generally mutter: “All lives matter,” and while I still believe that is intellectually true, what is so wrong with acknowledging that Black Lives do, in fact, matter?

I began wondering, can’t we say Black Lives Matter without assuming that it is an automatic dismissal of other lives, races or ethnic backgrounds?

Why can’t we simply acknowledge that Black Lives Matter without feeling defensive and the impulsive need to correct those who deliver that message?

Like most white people, I want to believe that racism in the United States is a topic best left for the history books. I generally ignore it, or once in a while give it a passing nod as a present day and legitimate problem. I wrote about my own battles with racism previously.

But how can we ignore the rising tensions in black communities without actually sticking our heads in the sand?

I know and expect that I am going to get push-back for this blog post, but before you respond I would ask you to consider the following analogy.

Close your eyes and imagine that you and I are close friends. I have just been through a painful ordeal, one in which justice and fairness evaded me.

I say to you, “My Life Matters.”

Do you feel compelled to say, “Well, my life matters, too. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

Or could you say, “Yeah, your life matters. I’m sorry you are going through a difficult time.”

I really think it’s okay to acknowledge someone’s pain, sorrow or grief without lecturing them about what a politically correct response should be.

It is 2015, why is not okay for some people to hear the phrase that Black Lives Matter?

Why does that make so many people uncomfortable? No one is saying that white lives do not matter or that Hispanic lives do not matter.

A growing number of people in America are standing up, acknowledging reality and asserting that Black Lives Matter.

And they do.

#BlackLivesMatter

 

 

40 Acres and a Mule

~ Randy Seaver ~ 5 Comments

I am a racist.

Part of me is tempted to let that statement flutter alone in the social media stratosphere without context. I am curious about the the reaction, but I am not anxious to begin looking for a new job, new clients, new friends and a new wife.

Seattle Times photo
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.    Seattle Times photo

Of course, I’m talking here about degrees of racism. But isn’t that the way it usually goes with us garden-variety racists?

Originally, I was going to write this post after speaking with an African-American “acquaintance” of mine, a woman I have long admired from a safe and comfortable distance. We have tentatively scheduled a cup of coffee — or maybe a pint of beer sometime in the next few days, when her schedule settles down.

I know of this woman only through third parties. Recently, we have become “connected” on a few social media platforms. I find her writing haunting and jarring.

So why did I deviate from my original plan?

1.) I am intimidated by this woman; and

2.) This week is so timely for this discussion, this musing of mine.  For one, this week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the stirring and famous speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We also have all the fallout from Gov. LePage’s latest verbal snafu; but more importantly . . .

3.) I am afraid that I would be less than honest if I met her before writing this. Meaning: I would try to be more careful, bend to my “white-man guilt” by being overly empathetic and trying desperately not to offend. In summary, I would probably open the flood gates of bullshit.

A garden-variety racist

Some racists go all in with their prejudice. David Duke comes to mind, and so did the recent antics of a cranky and seriously disturbed retired cop in Sabattus, Maine.

Others take a shot at redemption in their later years. They either soften or gradually see the light; or — more appropriately  — begin smelling the rot of their own garbage. Strom Thurmond comes to mind, here.

I fall asleep at night comforted that I am not David Duke, David Marsters or even Strom Thurmond. I am more like Governor LePage, and more like most people I know.

I am a tiny bit racist. So I get to skate with the hip, the self-aware and the all-so-cool white folks who either ignore their racism or make excuses for it.

It is not excusable.

Physician, heal thyself

I had this race epiphany a few days ago while reading a media report about Governor LePage and his attempt to “clarify” and explain allegations made by anonymous members of his own party. Essentially, LePage denied ever saying that President Obama doesn’t like white people.

The governor’s defense centered upon his assertion that President Obama has repeatedly missed opportunities to heal our nation’s racial tensions, fumbling or ignoring golden opportunities to bring white and black people closer together.

For just one bat-shit crazy second, that explanation almost made sense to me. It was then that I could no longer deny that I was a racist.

Now, before I bring down the full weight and wrath of those ultimately loyal to LePage, allow me to back up.

Maine%20Governor%20Paul%20LePage(1)The governor was a little bit right in his criticism of President Obama on this front. But here’s the problem, LePage almost three years ago abdicated the moral high ground when it comes to easing racial tensions.

Most of us remember that cold day in January 2011 when local and national media went into overdrive regarding LePage’s alleged racism. He didn’t just decline an invitation to attend the annual Martin Luther King Day breakfast in Portland. Instead, he proudly (with what would become his trademark bluster) told reporters that “the NAACP can kiss my butt.”

If LePage is worried about missed opportunities to heal racial divides, he’s got a damn funny way of showing it.

Consider what he could have said. “I’m not sure why you folks in the media are making such a big deal about this. I simply declined an invitation because my schedule is full, but lets all remember that I consistently attended local MLK breakfast events in Waterville during my tenure as mayor. I also have taken a young African-American man into my home and helped raise him as a member of my own family. I strongly resent any implication that I am a racist. Let’s get busy talking about the important issues we are facing in Maine government.”

Nope, LePage could not resist coming on strong, full of sound, fury and arrogance. He began a path of allowing his pride to trump his greed.

How do we move forward?

I do not think our governor is a more successful version of David Duke, but I do think he has missed plenty of opportunities to talk in a meaningful way about an issue that is still very relevant in today’s world — even 50 years after the delivery of the I Have A Dream speech.

So, I am also a little bit racist, but I am also a little bit greedy, a little bit of a misogynist and a little too quick with anger.

Unless I am willing to look at these things, to painstaking examine my own heart, I have no authority to opine on these issues. We must be willing to confront the things we don’t like . . . even those things that lurk in the darkness of our own souls. Otherwise, the garbage festers and it can grow and infect other parts of our being.

As I said before, these things are not excusable but there are reasons for their development in even the best of people. Part of it is our cultural and genetic pre-disposition to assimilate within the familiar.

In this way, I suspect strongly that I am not alone; that the majority of folks I know are just a tiny, tiny bit racist. We can work on it if we can be honest about it. If we start with the man in the mirror.

White-man guilt

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States embarked upon a period of “Reconstruction.” Today, we would call in FEMA and lease some trailers.

The concept of giving former slaves 40 acres and a mule as reparation for their slavery was short-lived. Much of that land was eventually returned to its antebellum owners. From time-to-time, some guilt-ridden white folks and a lot of still angry black folks talk about the concept of ‘reparations” as the only way to heal the racial divide. Affirmative-Action programs were apparently a lot easier to digest.

Only weeks before being sworn-in, President Jimmy Carter granted an interview to Playboy magazine. It was the November 1976 issue. I know this because I was 12 years old and was an avid reader of my father’s hidden stacks of Playboy magazines.

Patty McGuire was that month’s centerfold. She was later named Playmate of the Year in 1977. She liked CB radios. I desperately wanted a CB radio back then. I saw Patti, and I knew it was a match made in heaven . . . but I digress.

Carter was trying to heal the cynicism of a post-Watergate nation by being painfully honest. In that issue of Playboy, he confessed to “having lust in my heart.”

Unfortunately, Carter had a lot of other tasks at his feet, many of which did not work out so well. But confessing lust in a Playboy interview is sort of like criticizing missed opportunities for racial healing after telling the Maine chapter of the NAACP to kiss your butt.

The message gets lost.

Still haven’t found what I’m looking for

~ Randy Seaver ~ 2 Comments

I am a racist.

Well, at least according to actor Morgan Freeman.

During an interview on CNN this week, Freeman told interviewer Piers Morgan that racism is at the heart of the Tea Party and that racism has been made worse in the United States since the election of President Barack Obama.

Condelezza Rice

I wonder how Freeman would feel about supporting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as a nominee for the high court’s chief justice slot; or about a presidential run by Condolezza Rice? I’m betting he would not support either of them; just as he is not supporting Herman Cain, an African American who is also seeking the GOP nomination for president.

I also don’t recall Freeman hosting any fundraising dinners for Alan Keyes, a fellow African American who made two unsuccessful bids for the presidency.

From my perspective, Freeman is screaming racism because he cannot handle the real reasons that Obama’s re-election in 2012 is anything but certain.

The things that are making Obama increasingly unpopular, even among members of his own party, are the same things I listed as reasons for not supporting him in 2008:

  • His inexperience in the realm of business and finance;
  • His failed economic policies;
  • His desperate need to be liked rather than be strong.

I do think it’s worth noting that I actively worked on behalf of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 nomination process, and ultimately voted for John McCain.

I attended President Obama’s inauguration. It was an awe-inspiring experience; several days of basking in a revived sense of hope and change for a country that seemed tragically off-course and without direction.

Morgan Freeman

I’ve got news for you, Mr. Freeman: I do not want to vote for this hip, attractive and intelligent man because he is woefully out of his league, much the same as his predecessor was.

But unless John Huntsman gets the GOP nomination ( a scenario as likely as Susan Lucci receiving an Oscar) I will be forced to give Mr. Obama another four years of on-the-job training, because inexperience and idealism still trumps stupidity.

Does that make me a racist?