Unfortunately, when it comes to ethnic identity and bigotry my observations point to a very detrimental trend that makes improving the situation much more difficult. Stated plainly, it is the encouragement in each group of a knee-jerk resentment toward and stereotypical profile of another.
Recently Don Imus, Michael Richards, Mel Gibson and Isaiah Washington all used awful language. (racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic respectively). They followed almost the same formula after the fact. All publicly expressed regret. So far only Richards and Washington seem to be sincere in their efforts to deal with their personal demons and also reach out to the communities they offended. (I would also use the infamous "exterminate white people" speech by Kamau Kambon but not only does he not fit the formula of expressing regret but he's thankfully not getting much media attention.)
The consequences? We can't predict the future, but so far it seems clear that Imus' career is over, Richards will never appear on stage again, Mel Gibson isn't going to suffer much (Apocalypto did just fine) and ABC backed down from dismissing Isaiah Washington from the set of "Grey's Anatomy."
So why do Gibson (white anti-semite) and Washington (black homophobe) get a free ride while Imus and Richards (white bigots) lose their careers? To me it highlights the big flaw I have with your article's author. Simply put, defining racism as a primarily white problem does a disservice in two ways. It ignores the fact that racist attitudes do indeed exist in every ethnic group and it undermines the most promising solution--multicultural education. Bottom line, the celebration of diversity is a better foundation for racial harmony than class guilt. That is why the "shame on us for being racist because we're white" guilt expressed by Molly Secours in the linked article Oops we did it again! Everybody sing "I'm not a racist"only encourages a "whites are racist" reflex that limits the potential for mutual cultural respect.
Unfortunately, when it comes to ethnic identity and bigotry my observations point to a very detrimental trend that makes improving the situation much more difficult. Stated plainly, it is the encouragement in each group of a knee-jerk resentment toward and stereotypical profile of another. Each of the celebrities represents what I'm talking about. For Gibson's WASPs it is the Jews. For African American males like Washington it is gays and lesbians or pervasive white racism. For Richards and defenders of Imus it is the ingrained at a young age stereotypes of blacks. Sadly not only are we not doing enough in each of our communities to break the learned association between our own ethnic identity and the stereotypes of another, we are actually borrowing from each other.
Actually, you'd be surprised how this works. One day my own son (adopted Hawaiian/Filipino) suddenly stopped wanting me to walk him to class and come on field trips. Now that was weird not just because we love each other but because I'm very proud to say he used to tell me his classmates said he had a "cool Dad" and always asked him if I was coming. I'm bummed but what can I do. Some time later I have to begin correcting him for saying "that's gay" or "your gay" around kids in the neighborhood. I thought he was hearing this kind of talk from this white kid down the street who's father is teaching him to be an arrogant bully but long story short – both the not wanting to be seen with me and the homophobia lessons were coming from two African-American brothers who "befriended" him (one is in his 2nd grade class the other is 4th) and started giving him the truth about the world from their perspective (or rather their parents or peers or favorite music). Fast forward after lots of emotion and mental reprogramming and we are now (including my daughters – also adopted) having breakfast at school together and I'm the cool dad on field trips again. Unfortunately those two brothers don't like me much especially after I corrected them for using the B-word when referring to girls and calling people "gay" in conversation at our breakfast.
My point in all this is to say that yes, we do definitely need to fear Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism because he has the power to make movies that inculcate the hatred of an entire people/religion in a generation of gullible people. But we must also guard against excusing or encouraging our own group's sacred cows of prejudice.
I did find a good example from M-TV: Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has recorded a series of public service announcements with rapper Jay-Z encouraging young people to fight racism and anti-Semitism in their communities. The ads are airing in the United States and in Europe. Simmons is the co-founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding along with Rabbi Marc Schneier, chairman of the World Jewish Congress American section. Their goal is to open discussion about prejudice, bringing together members of different communities.
I was also encouraged how back in 2004, students at Spelman College, (a black women's college in Atlanta), became upset over rapper Nelly's video for his song "Tip Drill," in which he cavorts with strippers and swipes a credit card between one woman's buttocks. The rapper wanted to hold a campus bone marrow drive for his ailing sister, but students demanded he first participate in a discussion about the video's troubling images. Nelly declined (I guess his sister's illness didn't weigh as heavily as the damage to his "rep" if he were to respectfully talk to educated black women).
And hey, despite the horror of Virginia-Tech isn't it encouraging to see that the fear in South Korea and among Koreans in America about a violent backlash against their community for the actions of one member were proven to be so wrong? Things are gettin' better I tell ya.