While I generally agree with Prelutsky’s arguments, I can also see some validity for the black caller’s perspectives. Let’s examine some of the reasons he thinks what he thinks -
1) Pandering by the government and the DBM to the race-baiters. Non-stop pandering to race-baiters like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan and myriad others gives them legitimacy in the eyes of those who believe their brand of racism.
2) “Black Liberation Theology” as taught by the likes of Rev. Wright.
3) Stereotypes of blacks in movies/television. Mass media entertainment is a major part of the way that blacks perceive themselves. Today, it is virtually impossible to see any film or TV show in which blacks are positively portrayed as anything but drug sellers, thugs and criminals. Too many of them have no view of life outside their little corner of the world and believe this is what they are supposed to be.
All of these influences speak volumes about the way that blacks perceive themselves. Within that perception, black men are almost never portrayed as caring, responsible husbands and fathers. Whether we want to agree with it or not, the images that blacks see about themselves influence what they believe about themselves, much the same way that Madison Avenue portrays various groups in their advertising. Too many targeted groups or individuals allow the image of their targeted group in the media to influence the way that they see themselves.
While the caller’s complaint laid the blame on whites for the poor choices too many black men make in their lives, the fact is that the influences are valid, they just don’t stem from white people trying to oppress blacks. Blacks like Jackson, Obama and Sharpton are much more adept at that than whites are. At the end of the day, it is both telling and unfortunate that the caller honestly believes what he believes about blacks and whites. His view of the world is largely incorrect and corrupted by the racists in his own ethnic group.
“Stereotypes of blacks in movies/television. Mass media entertainment is a major part of the way that blacks perceive themselves. Today, it is virtually impossible to see any film or TV show in which blacks are positively portrayed as anything but drug sellers, thugs and criminals.”
This might have been true in the early 1960s, but during the past four decades Hollywood has usually followed an unspoken, self-imposed rule: "Thou shalt not cast a black man or woman as the evil character who remains unrepentant and unredeemed."
From Bill Cosby to Will Smith, black actors who typically play "good guy" roles have been impossible to miss, not impossible to see.