Comments on: More from White Women

By: “The Blind Side” : Sandra Bullock, White Women & Racism :: racismreview.com

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:12:28 +0000

[...] Ovington, Lillian Smith, or Viola Gregg Luizzo, and instead draws on the much broader tradition of white women perpetrating paternalistic racism, set in stark contrast to portrayals of black women as unfit mothers. This kind of [...]

By: Stacey

Stacey — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:49:55 +0000

I agree Walters comments were White Paternalistic Racism, and its clear to see she was doing her best to not engage Goldbergs’ dialogue. After Goldbergs’ comment Walters says, “Before we go, just to give a different picture” meaning I’m changing the subject now – yikes – not going to go there. However Behar says, ” picture yourself on a plantation” which redirects the conversation back to the possibility for Goldberg to get a direct answer, but the opportunity was lost when Barbara overtook the conversation arms outstretched in a sense asserting her privileged position and attempting to pacify her concerned co-hosts with Walters’ paternalistic racist ill humored comment.

By: Cal

Cal — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:54:14 +0000

I agree with LiberalTexan.

Goldberg’s point was an uncomfortable one for Walters, and rather than attempt to deal with it she attempted to reduce it to the status of a joke.

But I don’t think Goldberg intended it as a joke, and I don’t think she should have intended it as a joke.

By: LiberalTexan

LiberalTexan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:28:06 +0000

I will agree with the observation that Barbara Walter’s comment was white paternalistic racism, and the intention was completely to defuse the argument and prevent the broader point from being made. Also, it irritates me when conservatives talk about “constructionist” judges and rail against “activist” judges. The constitution is a living document and to assume that those that wrote it sought only to protect the rights they listed is ridiculous.

By: JDF

JDF — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:07:09 +0000

I thought Whoopi made a terrific point that flies in the face of these cons that argue for “strict constructionism” of the constitution, as if the document had been carved in stone. Walters, meanwhile, indeed made an incredibly paternalistic remark, and it was very embarassing.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:33:02 +0000

Lesboprof, very good point. The body language says a great deal for all in the video….. Huge info there, indeed.

Social scientists too often ignore that part of social reality.

By: lesboprof

lesboprof — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:19:27 +0000

Forget the comment…just look at her face when Whoopi is speaking. Barbara seems to want to disappear. Soooo uncomfortable.

By: mordy

mordy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:18:29 +0000

It was kind of an eerie moment, and if it was joke, pretty not funny. I wold agree with Joe. I credit Whoopi for raising this issue. It has always struck me that inherent in the world view of a conservative vis-a-vis the ‘constitutionalist’ judges-is to invite slavery back into our society. Yet i have never heard anyone raise this obvious implication. I had hoped that Whoopi or one of the others would have pressed McCain on his response (such as it was). If it such an “excellent point”, why does he continue to insist that he will nominate constitutionalist jurists?
The full interview (available on a variety of sites) is one of the best ones i have seen. I only wish the rest of media wasn’t afraid to insist on answers to the specific questions they asked.

By: Muriel Minnie Mae

Muriel Minnie Mae — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:09:34 +0000

I agree with Joe: white paternalistic racism. But what else do you expect from Barbara Walters?

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:38:56 +0000

Classical white paternalistic racism. Not one of the whites got Goldberg’s point. And Walter’s intentionally moved the discussion off the reality that Goldberg was highlighting. Even “liberal” whites do not want to talk about white racism, past or present. That is one reason Obama has huge barriers to overcome. We do not talk about the racism resisting him and boosting McCain…..