12 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!

1. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 5, 2007

   Permalink

   LM said:

   
   

   An addendum to my points during this podcast on the Dungy-Smith “first” in last night’s Super Bowl — I was wrong in saying that there hadn’t previously been a non-white head coach in the league’s championship. Tom Flores, who coached the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins in the 1980s, is Hispanic.

   Liam

2. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 6, 2007

   Permalink

   charlie mingus said:

   
   

   It was nice to hear Carmen co-hosting with Mat Johnson, who gave some interesting opinions and commentary. I grew up in the same Philadelphia neighborhood as he. The city of brotherly shove!

   About the call-in who discussed the issue that all black men do not desire white women, that may be true. But as Mat reinforced, black men are bombarded by seductive images of white women from childhood thru cinema and t.v., and it certainly affects the affinity to white female beauty. The arrival of the Michael Jordan image as well as the black gangsta rappers have become the “Madison Ave.” attraction to all cultures of women, but especially white since they are targeted because of their buying power thru high end segmentation marketing . Thus white women too become attracted to black males for social and sexual reasons. Or simply put, our society is breaking down many cultural walls and taboos, making for more cross cultural connections without fear or rebuke.

   Carmen, keep up the good the work.

   P.S. About the Oprah multimillion dollar S.A. school, this article is right that her money certainly could have benifited many more than 150 chosen girls. http://www.nathanielturner.com/oprahsgoodintentionsirenemonroe.htm

3. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 7, 2007

   Permalink

   Rob said:

   
   

   Charlie mingus’ post only serves to reinforce my belief that public’s view of Asian men being asexual is a direct result of public media bombardment which, sadly, is the one area of American life that Asian Americans refuse or are too apathetic to challenge.

   It’s almost mind boggling how the Asian mind works.

4. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 7, 2007

   Permalink

   Tereza Topferova said:

   
   

   Thank you for the fabulous interview with Sarita Malik, which added more of an international scope to your podcast. I feel that learning about race relations in other parts of the world helps us understand these issues better at home.

5. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 8, 2007

   Permalink

   Daniel Brennan said:

   
   

   Hello Carmen and Liam. Great show with a lot of interesting points made. As I dislike professional sports in general, I was dubious about the piece on the Superbowl, but it turned out to be an interesting segment and it highlighted one of the reasons I dislike pro sports. I’ve always felt that the racial disparity between players and coaches is illogical and it was interesting to hear Liam’s point that black coaches have enjoyed greater success than their white counterparts. That was certainly true this year!
   Carmen, I like the coverage of reality TV as I can’t personally stand to watch it. With your coverage, I get the highlights without having to suffer the pain of watching the torture first hand. I must be missing the reality TV gene because I’ve never understood the attraction of any of the reality shows. I do think your analysis is much more valuable as it actually deals with more reality than the shows themselves. It was definitely interesting to hear the British point of view from your UK guest and fascinating to hear about the Indian actress and her experience with her ignorant roommates on Big Brother. Is this really a show here in the US? Wow! Most of the people on the show seemed like complete idiots (from your description) and I can’t imagine actually sitting in my living room and watching such a debacle.
   I’ve been catching up on your latest shows in the past week and they’ve all been interesting. I like the new format and the guest hosts have all been good. I’ve been buried lately with work and other personal issues, but I’m still here listening and spreading the word about your superb podcast. Keep up the good work.

   Daniel

   NYC

6. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 8, 2007

   Permalink

   Minotaar said:

   
   

   My ears pricked up when I heard that black coaches have enjoyed greater success than their white counterparts. In a race-biased selection process, it is clear that black coaches are being held to a higher standard, and that only the most brilliant black coaches are considered.

   It is unclear to me why, in general, this observation isnt more widespread, but I’ll make it now:

   If we pre-suppose that all ethnicities are equal in all capacities, and that no one removes themselves from the selection process, then we must accept that outperformance that occurs with high correlation to race must be a result of racial double standards.

   The effect that is happening to black football coaches is also happening to asian college students and asian medical/law students.

   I dont think, however, that underperformance is a result of the deliberate enforcement of racial quotas, i.e. affirmative action. Underperformance can be caused by many things other than racist double standards, and is a wholly separate (and very important) problem. I can only say that racial Overperformance is clearly from double standards.

7. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 8, 2007

   Permalink

   Chi said:

   
   

   Great podcast Carmen! Your co-host, Liam, is clearly well informed on the subject of sports, and it was refreshing to hear about the accomplishments of black coaches. All too often, facts of this sort are overlooked. I just wish there was more balanced reporting in the media. But having shows like ATR definitely helps. Keep up the good work!

8. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 8, 2007

   Permalink

   Meg said:

   
   

   Minotaar wrote:
   >My ears pricked up when I heard that black coaches have enjoyed greater success than their white counterparts.

   I found that really interesting as well and appreciated the in-depth look at why it was happening – ie the probable higher standard to even get considered for an assistant job let alone head coach. It marries itself with the interest in black quarterbacks and the intense focus on their performance. Even if it’s not overtly racist (“i won’t pick a black guy”) it becomes a case of not encouraging black footballers to develop into quarterbacks, instead they’re directed to other positions. I agree it lends itself to comparison to other arenas such as high performing asian students because, anecdotally at least, you hear minorities saying that they have to work twice as hard, be twice as good to get success that other ppl take for granted – and that’s drummed into them by parents, family, friends,etc. Coaches in the NFL are a high profile example of these issues at work.

   Also I thought Sarita Malik was excellent and i really enjoyed hearing the international perspective. I know the podcast is american based, but as an international listener it’s nice to broaden out the conversation sometimes and hear someone as good as Sarita really break-down what was happening in britain.

   and one other thing – more frequent appearance of sports stories in the podcast would be good

9. 
   
   

   Visit My Website

   February 9, 2007

   Permalink

   deb said:

   
   

   Thanks for discussing the “ghetto parties” phenomenon. In my opinion, on the social evolutionary scale, these people–are subhuman. (And that’s an insult to small-brained hominids!) Surely, they must know how insensitive and racist their antics come across. I mean if they think they’re just mimicking what they see on TV (in music videos) then why not mimic what they see on the Jerry Springer Show? Why not throw a “white trailer park trash” party? Or, are they just more sensitive/human when it comes to issues of class than race?

   Over at Blackcommentator.com I read an article about a white man who didn’t know that February is Black History Month. (Amazing.) Brian Couzens booked Charles Knipp, a white drag queen that performs in black face under the stage name Shirley Q. Liquor, for a February 23rd performance. Couzens said that had he known about Black History Month he wouldn’t have booked Knipp. The author doesn’t accuse Couzens of being a full-blown racist. Instead she calls his condition “unconscious racism” and states that “Unconscious racism as one federal judge put it ‘can be found in the latent psyches of white Americans that were inundated for centuries with myths and fallacies of their superiority over the black race,’ and that a form of ‘benign neglect’ has replaced overt and intentional discrimination.”

   What also comes to mind when folks try distinguish between unconscious racism and the KKK variety is what George Lipsitz refers to in his book The Possessive Investment in Whiteness as “’Referential’ racism (the snarling, sneering, cross-burning displays of antipathy toward minorities) and ‘inferential’ racism (a system of structured inequality that allows white people to remain self-satisfied and smug about their own innocence).”

   Perhaps when all the myths and fallacies of white superiority are shattered; when the system of structured inequality is once and for all dismantled; when people become “fully human” and “reject a system that conditions [their] pleasure on someone else’s pain,” as my favorite ATR guest Robert Jensen says, perhaps then we will no longer have to read or hear about these insensitive and demeaning portrayals of non-white people.

   How or when these social changes will ever evolve is anybody’s guess.

10. 
    
    

    Visit My Website

    February 9, 2007

    Permalink

    Kenda said:

    
    

    This was a great podcast. I particularly enjoyed Liam’s analysis of the NFL and the Superbowl. His mention of black coaches enjoying greater success than their white counterparts really made me think. Their being held to a higher standard may have some bearing on this phenomenon, but I believe the main reason the majority of black NFL coaches have been successful is that the pool of black coaching candidates is artificially high right now. So many capable black candidates have been passed over for head coaching jobs that the ones currently being hired are the “cream of the crop”, so to speak.

11. 
    
    

    Visit My Website

    February 9, 2007

    Permalink

    Anonymous said:

    
    

    Kenda, that’s a good point. I think you meant that because so many capable black coaches have been passed over for so long, there is now a large pool of excellent candidates to choose from? Good point, most likely very true.

12. 
    
    

    Visit My Website

    February 9, 2007

    Permalink

    Daniel said:

    
    

    The above anonymous comment was from me.