Please, enough with the racism!

[jimnyc]

Congrats to Gabby Douglas, the US Olympian who took home the gold medal in the individual all around event. And yes, she is black. Why she is continually being identified as an "African American Olympian" is beyond me, it should appropriately be "Olympian".

So Bob Costas was doing a wrap up and talking nothing but good stuff about Douglas. Then the segment was over and it went to commercial.

That's when things got heated. They followed with a promo for the new show "Animal Practice", which in this commercial showed a monkey doing gymnastics.

Purposely or coincidence?

With all of the heat they are taking as it is, I highly doubt they planned this in advance. And the commercial existed long before she won the gold medal. Of course people are going nuts about it now.

Was it bad timing or insensitivity? Moments after Bob Costas was talking about Gabby Douglas's record-breaking gold medal and how she was the first African American to win the women's all-around title, a commercial came on featuring a monkey doing gymnastics. The spot was for NBC's fall show "Animal Practice," which the network has been promoting heavily through out the Games. In the series, a monkey, whose name is Crystal, plays a character called Dr. Rizzo. Seriously.

Social media immediately lit up in protest with one Twitter user posting, "Anybody else notice that NBC just went racist?" Another person Tweeted, "NBC is not racist. They are just careless. And Lazy."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending...172057606.html

[Dilloduck]

Seems like white guilt just never ends.

[Trigg]

oh good lord aren't these spots bought out months ahead of time????

He could have been talking to or about anyone and the same commercial would have played.

Idiots just looking for something stupid to bitch about.

On a side note the gymnastics team did an awesome job and looked amazing. This was my sport in HS so I really enjoy watching all the different teams.

[Noir]

Someone caring enough to report that she's African American, and caring that someone cared enough to to report that she's African American are much the same.

[Trigg]

Someone caring enough to report that she's African American, and caring that someone cared enough to to report that she's African American are much the same.

the first african american this and the first hispanic that is BIG news.

However the first Indian or Asian this or that......no one cares. They aren't a disadvantaged minority.

That's the difference and that is why the media, in the US, goes over the top pointing out the accomplishment.

[Drummond]

Someone caring enough to report that she's African American, and caring that someone cared enough to to report that she's African American are much the same.

As I see it, the more that race is concentrated upon, the more likely it is to be perceived as some kind of issue.

This is needless, so, why is it being done ?

[Noir]

As I see it, the more that race is concentrated upon, the more likely it is to be perceived as some kind of issue.

This is needless, so, why is it being done ?

I would say exactly the same for the case of nationality. Who cares that a Jamaican man can run 100 metres in 9.something seconds, surely the point would be a human can achieve such a feat, their nationality (alike your point about race) is needless, no?

[jimnyc]

I would say exactly the same for the case of nationality. Who cares that a Jamaican man can run 100 metres in 9.something seconds, surely the point would be a human can achieve such a feat, their nationality (alike your point about race) is needless, no?

No, because these games are nation vs. nation, so they're SUPPOSED to point out the nationality of the athlete. The race is not necessary and serves no purpose.

[hjmick]

Life is too short for guilt, White or otherwise.

[Noir]

No, because these games are nation vs. nation, so they're SUPPOSED to point out the nationality of the athlete. The race is not necessary and serves no purpose.

Exactly, the games themselves are built upon an needless premise that the athletes nationality matters.

[jimnyc]

Exactly, the games themselves are built upon an needless premise that the athletes nationality matters.

Well, when it's country versus country, I kinda think it does matter a little to know which country the athlete you are watching is from. That's the whole point. Well, maybe not the whole point, but people and those keeping score, need to know the nations the athletes are from.

They don't need to know the race. It's not part of the games. Nationality is, whether you agree with it or not, but it's been like that for a few years.

[taft2012]

I, and a lot of others I'm sure, thought that once America's black community got the "big enchilada," the US presidency, we'd finally be able to no longer hear about these "African-American" firsts, like "the first left-handed African American with Tourette's Syndrome to climb Mount McKinley"....

No such luck.

[Noir]

Well, when it's country versus country, I kinda think it does matter a little to know which country the athlete you are watching is from. That's the whole point. Well, maybe not the whole point, but people and those keeping score, need to know the nations the athletes are from.

They don't need to know the race. It's not part of the games. Nationality is, whether you agree with it or not, but it's been like that for a few years.

...but African American *is* a nationality, which makes your position a lol confusing. You're fine to define by nationalities, but only of those nationalities don't encompass the persons race?

[jimnyc]

...but African American *is* a nationality, which makes your position a lol confusing. You're fine to define by nationalities, but only of those nationalities don't encompass the persons race?

But African American IS NOT a nationality. It's something used in the US as another way of saying black. None of these people were born in, or from Africa. If you want to go back to ancestry and such, that would be retarded. Then I should go around telling everyone that I am Polish-German-Czechoslovakia-American. Other than a black person, show me another person from the US contingent doing similar. Many are Italian, German, Polish, Indian and from all parts of the world, and every last one of them refers to themselves as American. I'm willing to bet that even Gabby Douglas herself, especially over at the games, refers to herself as American.

In fact, the US government itself, LONG ago referred to blacks as "negro". They later, on government documentation and census crap, simply referred to them as "black". Then it was changed to "African American". So since it takes over these areas for race, you'll see the connection as to why so many see the term as referring to race. So am I to assume that on a census sheet for example, that everyone in the US is expected to put their race, or check off the box accordingly, except for the blacks who get to put their nationality instead?

[taft2012]

...but African American *is* a nationality, which makes your position a lol confusing. You're fine to define by nationalities, but only of those nationalities don't encompass the persons race?

Are there any African-British or African-French being identified?