After weathering one of the most embarrassing days in her career, during which her racially insensitive remarks were disseminated on the Internet, Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal is ready to begin the ‘healing process,’ and reached out to the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
‘I’m being proactive,’ the executive tells The Hollywood Reporter. ‘And I want to accept responsibility for these stupid, callous remarks.’
(Hollywood Reporter, December 12, 2014)
Except that, if she takes this path to (presumed) racial absolution, Black folks will think Pascal is not only a closeted racist but a shameless cynic to boot.
After all, we know all too well that these venal reverends would grant racial indulgences to the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, in a minute, for an extortionate fee, er, contribution (to slush funds operated by Jackson’s practically defunct Rainbow Coalition and Sharpton’s notoriously indebted National Action Network). Pascal knows this all too well … too.
But only God knows why so many White folks think kissing Jackson’s or Sharpton’s brass ring will wash away the stain of their racism in the eyes of all Black folks. (Come to think of it, at least Rev. Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson can commiserate….)
Remember the spectacle radio shock jock Don Imus made of himself in this respect? And I don’t think Imus even has (or had) a racist bone in his body. That he referred to women on the Rutgers Basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” – not in private to one person, but on live radio to millions – would seem to indicate as much. Never mind that that was a pretty accurate description of at least a couple of their players….
Of course, neither the reverends nor Pascal could care any less about the insult this path (of least reflection) poses to the racial pride of any self-respecting Black. After all, I don’t know anyone who thinks either one of these race-baiting charlatans wields racial authority over even a few Blacks, the way the pope wields moral authority over more than one billion Catholics.
Which is why Amy’s penitence will amount to little more than Jackson and Sharpton using moral suasion to extract as many (proverbial) pieces of silver from her as possible. And don’t be surprised if, pursuant to the racial indulgences they dispense, Sony makes quite a show of announcing the hiring of minorities; even though we all know this will amount to nothing more than Sony putting a nominated bagman for each reverend on its payroll.
Related commentaries:
Don Imus…
Sony e-mails expose Hollywood closet racists…
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Friday, at 6:33 p.m.
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