Ames McNamar wearing feminine clothing He played Roseanne's grandson on the show |
Barr’s public disgust at transgender people dates back to a 2001 book in which she describes transgender women as “a huge guy with boobs talking about female hormones and deciding to keep his penis.” In 2012 Barr mocked Green Party candidate Jill Stein for declining to debate her, tweeting, “Jill is also in favor of letting men into spaces where young girls get changed,' and 'Women do not want your penises forced in their faces or in our private bathrooms. Respect that FACT.'
Many people liked the show, including my adult daughter. ABC had attempted
to dilute the criticism of the show within the LGBTQ community by the fact that Barr’s
TV show grandson, Mark, is depicted as gender nonconforming. And Roseanne's producer Sara Gilbert is a lesbian. Mark
wouldn’t be problematic if the show’s star didn’t have a virulently
anti-transgender streak.
Enough said. ABC did
the right thing Tuesday when it canceled Roseanne. The amazing part of the
sordid affair is that a corporation put
sensibility ahead of profit.
I grew up in
a place and time when white Americans could compare African-Americans to animals with impunity. In fact, racist segregation was the law where
I lived. Separate was not equal and discrimination / racism was wrong then and wrong now.
Make no mistake — these types of racist remarks and incidents have been happening for a long time. For one moment let us look at
another source of racist hate speech and actions; Trump.
For instance, while Donald Trump never compared Barack Obama
to an animal, he did — as Barr did with Jarrett — suggest Obama might be a
terrorist. And Trump, of course, launched his national political career on the
wings of the “birther” lie that Obama, the nation’s first black president, was
not a "real American". Implied - Only white Americans are real Americans!
As president, Trump has suggested that Nigerians live in huts while describing Haiti and countries in
Africa as “shitholes.” He defended white supremacists who marched with torches
and chanted anti-Semitic slogans as “some very fine people.” He has defended Confederate monuments, pardoned racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and vilified African American NFL players who were peacefully protesting police brutality by saying they “shouldn’t be in the country.”
Hate speech (spoken or Tweeted) by anyone is blatant racism. My hope is that hate speech is now seen for what it is. Thank you, ABC, for standing tall. Maybe this will become a tipping point or a learning experience, as some are calling it.