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Okay, back to the topic. This discussion was suppose to be about why there is such a disconnect regarding how the Confederate flag is viewed. There is a large disconnect between how Blacks in the South view it vs how Whites in the South view it. And there are some things that need to be considered.
It's amazing how the Dukes of Hazzard went onto national TV in 1978 and their car, one of the main elements of the show featured a very prominent Confederate Flag. It became a top 10 TV show of the day.
And....... Not one bit of protest about it. People saw it for what it was. Comedy.
Today, there would be absolute outrage over it. Why is that? People find what they want to find, and if that means getting violently mad at a piece of colored cloth then it's really their issue. They don't have to look at it. We have a lot of Race Hucksters these days who profit in status and money by keeping people outraged. It's up to the individual to decide if they really want to be fodder for it.
It's amazing how the Dukes of Hazzard went onto national TV in 1978 and their car, one of the main elements of the show featured a very prominent Confederate Flag. It became a top 10 TV show of the day.
And....... Not one bit of protest about it. People saw it for what it was. Comedy.
Today, there would be absolute outrage over it. Why is that? People find what they want to find, and if that means getting violently mad at a piece of colored cloth then it's really their issue. They don't have to look at it. We have a lot of Race Hucksters these days who profit in status and money by keeping people outraged. It's up to the individual to decide if they really want to be fodder for it.
I have a question. How many Black people actually watched that show? I have never watched Dukes of Hazzard?
And funny little thing, that was the 70s. If you think "race hucksters" are getting black people mad over the Confederate flag, then you are basically saying that Blacks can't think for themselves. Or at the very least you feel like any grievance a Black person has is somehow stupid.
I have a question. How many Black people actually watched that show? I have never watched Dukes of Hazzard?
I have no idea. But in 1978, there were only 4 national broadcast channels. ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. There were no cable channels. I think HBO might have debuted by then, but it was unavailable in 98% of the cable systems that existed.
DoH averaged 21,000,000 viewers for the first 3 years. It was in the middle of the block that started with the Incredible Hulk and ended with the very popular Dallas. I'd say that plenty watched it.
I have no idea. But in 1978, there were only 4 national broadcast channels. ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. There were no cable channels. I think HBO might have debuted by then, but it was unavailable in 98% of the cable systems that existed.
DoH averaged 21,000,000 viewers for the first 3 years. It was in the middle of the block that started with the Incredible Hulk and ended with the very popular Dallas. I'd say that plenty watched it.
Different Strokes had more Black characters than Friends or Seinfeld. It does not mean much to me at all. It does not negate how alot of Black people see the Confederate flag.
Dukes of Hazzard had 21 million viewers for the first 3 seasons. Do you know for a fact how many Black people watched that show?
And how do you said Black characters didn't keep their mouths shut just for the money?
Different Strokes had more Black characters than Friends or Seinfeld. It does not mean much to me at all. It does not negate how alot of Black people see the Confederate flag.
Dukes of Hazzard had 21 million viewers for the first 3 seasons. Do you know for a fact how many Black people watched that show?
And how do you said Black characters didn't keep their mouths shut just for the money?
LOL - the funny thing to me is that these posters think that no black people said anything about that flag being on the Dukes of Hazzard.
Note I used to watch that show when I was a kid. My older brother loved it and he wanted a car like the one they had. Our grandmother refused to buy him one because it had the flag on it....
Many black people spoke out about it, but like I stated earlier in the thread, white people just didn't pay attention to black people in the 1980s and for a significant amount of our country's history.
It is hilarious to me that they look to us for our views on racist symbols, images, and racism as a whole in order to try to validate whether or not they are a racist, yet if we state something they don't like about said subjects they just ignore it.
I'll note on Diff'rent Strokes that I didn't like that show because it was dumb to me that black kids on TV oftentimes had white parents. I knew no black kids with white parents and thought it was dumb. I remember Good Times - which I absolutely HATED as a kid because of the ridiculous stereotypes and caricatures they portrayed of black people and black families. Even the stars of the show complained to the white creators of that show and they were not listened to. That is why the parents on the show (John Amos and Esther Rolle) eventually left the show - because they couldn't take the ridiculous racial stereotypes of the white creators. Black people also didn't 100% like The Jeffersons for the same reason but at least he was rich and told white people off lol. So he was more tolerated. Black people have always and still complain about TV shows.
I personally don't like "reality" shows that feature black people. They are usually extremely stereotypical and stupid and push false realities of black America. But they are still entertaining so people will watch them.
I'll also note on stereotypes in relation to the era of Dukes of Hazzard, that black people by and large back then and even a lot of black people today know that a lot of white people basically like to be on some racial BS. We often expect white people to make excuses about their racial BS. It is not surprising when this happens.
By and large, we have always seen the confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy. We also understand that many whites love their symbols of white supremacy - it makes them feel good - and we know that those types of people are like that so it doesn't really bother us all that much.
OP I think because you are of the Millenial generation, you are just more bothered by this sort of thing. I also think many of the self proclaimed white posters are typical of what I described in the latter paragraphs and they don't realize that black people like myself - we see what they are doing and we know what the flag is about. Them liking to celebrate symbols of white supremacy is not surprising to me or people like me so it doesn't cause a "reaction" because, like many of our older family members used to say in the past - white people do a lot of strange white people things lol. They also like to claim ignorance about things and pretend things aren't what they seem. It is typical of these specific types of persons. And note all whites are not like this, but the ones who are going back and forth with you in this thread - they are those people. And they will get mad about me or you stating as such and claim we're racist when they support a white supremacy banner lol. It is hilarious to me.
I'll also note on stereotypes in relation to the era of Dukes of Hazzard, that black people by and large back then and even a lot of black people today know that a lot of white people basically like to be on some racial BS. We often expect white people to make excuses about their racial BS. It is not surprising when this happens.
By and large, we have always seen the confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy. We also understand that many whites love their symbols of white supremacy - it makes them feel good - and we know that those types of people are like that so it doesn't really bother us all that much.
OP I think because you are of the Millenial generation, you are just more bothered by this sort of thing. I also think many of the self proclaimed white posters are typical of what I described in the latter paragraphs and they don't realize that black people like myself - we see what they are doing and we know what the flag is about. Them liking to celebrate symbols of white supremacy is not surprising to me or people like me so it doesn't cause a "reaction" because, like many of our older family members used to say in the past - white people do a lot of strange white people things lol. They also like to claim ignorance about things and pretend things aren't what they seem. It is typical of these specific types of persons. And note all whites are not like this, but the ones who are going back and forth with you in this thread - they are those people. And they will get mad about me or you stating as such and claim we're racist when they support a white supremacy banner lol. It is hilarious to me.
I think the flag on the car in the Dukes of Hazzard was more to emphasize the rural/southern premise of the show. Perhaps insensitive, but the show was hardly a ringing endorsement of cross burning bigotry. I don't like the Stars & Bars either, but I got the joke, at least the few times I actually watched it, which was mostly to see Daisy.
I also recall that every white character, with the exception of the two Duke boys, was more or less a hapless dunce constantly being duped. So much for white supremacy.
I also recall that it was simply a stupid show and like all stupid shows, bears little relation to reality.
And as for black kids having white parents, I have known a few. They were loving, supportive parents so I fail to see what is so "dumb" about that.
Seems you are more than a bit like the very people you despise.
I think the flag on the car in the Dukes of Hazzard was more to emphasize the rural/southern premise of the show. Perhaps insensitive, but the show was hardly a ringing endorsement of cross burning bigotry. I don't like the Stars & Bars either, but I got the joke, at least the few times I actually watched it, which was mostly to see Daisy.
I also recall that every white character, with the exception of the two Duke boys, was more or less a hapless dunce constantly being duped. So much for white supremacy.
I also recall that it was simply a stupid show and like all stupid shows, bears little relation to reality.
And as for black kids having white parents, I have known a few. They were loving, supportive parents so I fail to see what is so "dumb" about that.
Seems you are more than a bit like the very people you despise.
I agree on the bold about that show. The fact that the flag was on it was just as stupid as everything else about it and is a reason why my post you quoted was focused on the fact that Dukes of Hazzard having a confederate flag and it being a popular show, has no bearing on what black people feel the flag represents.
On the rest of your post - I based my views of black kids with white parents on the 1980s where I grew up and was a kid. I didn't know any black kids with white parents, especially not rich white parents. I also thought all the rich white people on TV were kind of ridiculous since I didn't know any rich white people lol!
Today I know many white parents of black children because I'm an adult. As a kid, I thought that was the dumbest part of the show. Maybe you cannot understand that. And FWIW, I have an aunt, who when I was a kid was a foster parent and she adopted 3 white kids. So I knew a black parent of white children (and I know more of them today than I do of white parents with black children - yet it is rare to see this sort of thing on TV even to this day and especially not on such a regular basis where it is repeated on multiple shows).
I agree on the bold about that show. The fact that the flag was on it was just as stupid as everything else about it and is a reason why my post you quoted was focused on the fact that Dukes of Hazzard having a confederate flag and it being a popular show, has no bearing on what black people feel the flag represents.
On the rest of your post - I based my views of black kids with white parents on the 1980s where I grew up and was a kid. I didn't know any black kids with white parents, especially not rich white parents. I also thought all the rich white people on TV were kind of ridiculous since I didn't know any rich white people lol!
Today I know many white parents of black children because I'm an adult. As a kid, I thought that was the dumbest part of the show. Maybe you cannot understand that. And FWIW, I have an aunt, who when I was a kid was a foster parent and she adopted 3 white kids. So I knew a black parent of white children (and I know more of them today than I do of white parents with black children - yet it is rare to see this sort of thing on TV even to this day and especially not on such a regular basis where it is repeated on multiple shows).
I'll note to Moth on the Dukes of Hazzard show, that it is interesting to me that the other posters responding to the OP seem to have the stereotypical view that black people will "cry" or "whine" or do something outrageous over something we perceive to be racist on TV.
There is too much racist crap on TV to get upset about everything. Plus contrary to what they seem to believe, we don't have the emotional reactions to these things all the time that they think we do.
Especially not in 1978. In 1978 this country was still practicing traditionally racist housing and discriminatory behaviors of government and were ignoring black people about that. So of course people would pick and choose what to be active about. When you are getting denied housing or access to decent schools, the Dukes of Hazzard and its dumba$$ show would be the last thing on your mind to care too much about. Only after all the really egregious Civil Rights issues were settled in the 1980s do you see black people start to focus a whole lot more on media images. It is something that is HIGHLY debated and spoken about today to the point where even I get sick of hearing about it lol. My spouse is very into "racist images" he sees on TV shows to where I cannot watch a show with him because he sees something in everything and I have joked with him that he should thank his ancestors for having the freedom to care about TV more than his civil, social, and political rights being violated lol.
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