Afros

Okay, about Isaiah Washington's slur against his co-worker. The "f" word. It's pretty rude to say anything that will hurt a colleague or an entire group of people. He shouldn't have said it. That said, folks in hollywood DO seem to get upset over certain kinds of prejudice while they indulge in others. And they DO seem to pick on certain folks more than others. For instance, if a black person does something socially unacceptable, the media treats it as if it's the crime of the century. Their attitude reminds me that racism in the supposedly liberal media is alive and well. We must not forget that most of these media folks probably had childhoods where they didn't really know any black people. They may have microphones in their hands and they might be pontificators but at heart they are not socially-educated about racism and its subtleties. They DO believe that black women and men are touchy and overly-sensitive and apt to go overboard emotionally. That's their deep-seated idea but they don't realize they have it.

They also are unaware of their prejudices against non-normal physical attributes. Of course they are all into beauty and cosmetic surgery and looking good for the cameras. But it goes even further. For instance, on idol chat, Rosanna and Kimberly were mocking Justin Guarini's afro, comparing his hair to Bozo the clown. On E's commentary on the golden globe fashions, the hosts -- and Miss Jay a black person with transgender issues should know better-- got a lot of laughs mocking Vanessa Williams and Will Farrell's hair. Why? Because of the afros and curly hair. Why should curly hair and afros bring knee-jerk laughter? Yet, all over television there is a continued mockery about afros which shows that subtle racism is still alive.

On American Idol, Simon Cowell (or the producers) always set up fat or disabled people or oddballs as a butt for laughter and Hollywood poo-poohs their cruelty but don't really fire any one. Nor do Hollywood execs fire people who mock are disdainful of Christians and Catholics or fat people.

Ah yes! They are pretty sneering about Christians. I can tell you all the types of Christians who pop up in TV shows: the innocent indoctrinated not too bright young girl with simple faith. The intellectual who leads those with simple faith but who tolerates their beliefs because they're obviously not as deep as he is. The innocent searcher who grows to realize his religion is too old-fashioned and intolerant. The crazed abortion-clinic bomber. The deluded believer who believes God actually guides him and talks to him. The cruel judgemental evangelical with no sensitivity to other people who thumps his Bible. Ah I could go on. So, yes, there is a bit of imbalance there about how "offended" Hollywood gets when certain groups are picked on.

Ah brothers and sisters! We can do nothing about the world, but we can do something about ourselves. As Christians we mustn't pick and choose what offends us. The world can do that. Not us. Some of us don't get mad when another denomination is picked on, but we get mad when our denominati0n is mocked. Some of us get mad when Christians are slammed but we don't mind when Blacks or Jews are picked on. Let us search our hearts. Remember what the apostle John said, "if you don't love your brother, you are a murderer. And no murderer has eternal life" That's pretty clear. We Christians are often ready to put Christian homosexuals in hell, why aren't we just as willing to put Christian racists in hell? The blood of Jesus covers every sin.