22 comments

• 

  Kathy Sierra

  11 months ago

  "It’s making me feel some sort of way about the tech community that sits in silence rather than speaking out because of fear. It’s saddening and disappointing on so many levels."
  
  Yes.
  reply
• 

  michaeltwofish

  11 months ago

  "However, I didn’t. I thought to give him the benefit of the doubt because “racist” is a very strong label."
  
  I blogged the same thing recently, but it seems pretty obvious now; racist and quite possibly stupid.
  reply
• 

  Shey

  11 months ago

  I can't believe it -- even after all the flack he took. Maybe if many weren't so quick to defend this guy then he would have had time to think about what he's doing.
  
  What say y'all now?
  reply
• 

  vmarinelli

  11 months ago

  Fuck that asshole.
  
  And thanks for blogging this. As always, you rock.
  reply
• 

  Cecily Walker

  11 months ago

  What vmarinelli said. Why do we keep giving him air?
  reply
• 

  mindofandre

  11 months ago

  Just like the government is starting to feel the heat from the citizens of the country, it's time for us to start kicking the soapbox out from some of these people. This whole tech bubble is starting to get filled with written flatulence and it needs to come to an end. I agree with you Shey. Let's see what happens when the blogstar status gets chopped away...
  reply
• 

  Shey

  11 months ago

  The line has been drawn.
  
  It will be very telling to see which side of the line the rest of the community is on; the side enourages racism by defending it or the side that denounces it and stands up against bigotry.
  reply
• 

  Sue Cline

  11 months ago

  You're right, this is a huge FAIL on the part of the tech community. I'm glad you're speaking out about it. I've never followed him anyway due to the crap he pulled with Shel, but anyone helping him from here on out goes on my shun list too.
  reply
• 

  swhitley

  11 months ago

  @Mark Dykeman
  
  As far as comedy goes, the least imaginative comedians resort to racial jokes. I've enjoyed some of Loren's work in the past, but racial comedy is just lazy, and to continue in that vein is tiresome.
  
  Jokes about black people (especially coming from a white man) aren't funny. There is too much real oppression in America for us to laugh. What these jokes often do is confirm a lot of white peoples' skewed view of black people. The jokes aren't that funny and they hurt more than they entertain.
  
  If Loren has talent, then he should be able to develop skits around any topic. To continue using race in his comedy demonstrates either a lack of talent or extremely poor judgment. Whichever it is, he deserves criticsm.
  reply
• 

  Mark Dykeman

  11 months ago

  @swhitley - thanks for your response. You have some very valid points. I don't live in America but I certainly recognize that there are many ethnic groups that have been mistreated by Caucasians around the world and most Caucasians have been in the fortunate position of not having experienced similar treatment against themselves. I agree with your last point - I believe he's said his piece on these topics by now. However, of course, it's always his choice to publish what he wants and accept whatever consequences that arise.
  reply
• 

  swhitley

  11 months ago

  @Mark Dykeman - Both of your comments have been very respectful, and I appreciate that. For the most part, this is an American thing. Our history is such that these issues may not even make sense to a non-American. The wounds of racism run very deep. This type of humor, aimed at black Americans, reopens those wounds.
  reply
• 

  Kenya

  11 months ago

  It seems that many people think that you have to wear white sheets and attend meetings to be a racist. The worst kind of racist is the subtle racist because you don't know. Feldman is blatant but many who are defending him probably have the same ideals as him. For me enabling and defending makes them complicit as well.
  
  My problem with this is that people are saying it was funny to them and that political correctness is evil. Has any one of those people looked at it from the other point of view to realize that people are geniunely offended?
  reply
• 

  maximumleader69

  11 months ago

  "If you are not for me, you are against me" - this is the mantra of fundamentalism; there is good, there is evil, black, white, etc. You are either one or the other. No grey.
  
  Racism, by insisting on essential differences between people, is "fundamentalist" in this way. It writes meaning and permanence into a universe that is in reality fluid, evolving, and endlessly ambiguous (not ambiguous in terms of "did this happen or not" - slavery happened/happens, lynching happened/happens - but ambiguous in the sense of what do these physical realities mean to us now, what will they mean in the future, what do they say about proper behavior, proper action, proper community, etc.)
  
  The critiques of Feldman that are most apt are not those that accuse him of racism - I don't believe that he thinks, as the racists do, that there are fundamental differences between the races and that one race (the "white" one) is superior to all others. If anything he is, like most humans, ethno-centric. He does not identify with being black, that's clear. "They" are different from him and his group. I'm not sure, however, who that group is and it may only be "ethnic" coincidentally, and not race-based at all. That is, I'm not sure that he identifies with being "white" in any simple sense (he's Jewish, right?). His group may be more like "tech-savvy, smarties, with a an extremely relativist sense of humor, and desire for celebrity." I don't know.
  
  Rather than creating friend/foe distinctions and using pro/anti-Feldmanism as an ethical or political litmus test, I would suggest judging his work "in its own terms." In other words: Is it funny? Is it satire? Or, more importantly, does it use parody to express a truth that is otherwise suppressed or ignored? If the end result is base self-promotion, then call "bullshit." If the result, or at least another result, is a meaningful discussion of the truth, then that's good, right?
  
  Frankly, since Feldman doesn't see himself as racist, coming at him from that angle confirms his view that people "don't get it." I'm not sure the argument that his stuff isn't funny would get to him either, but it certainly gives him less wiggle-room.
  reply
• 

  Webferret

  11 months ago

  Right. Overblown. Is it funny? is it not? whats his argument? Is it valid? Does he need to be black to bring up the argument?
  
  Calling him a racist is the easy way out.
  reply
• 

  Tomboys

  11 months ago

  I'm lost. What video is everyone talking about?
  reply
• 

  marybaum

  11 months ago

  FWIW: I seem to remember a Miss Manners column where the reader was asking how to respond in polite company to blatantly offensive jokes of any kind -- racism, obscenity, whatever.
  
  I suspect her prescription could be all the more deadly in comments on Mr. Feldman's videos.
  
  Miss Manners recommends: Feign utter incomprehension. As in: "I'm so sorry, I guess I just didn't get that. Would you mind explaining it it to me?"
  
  Imagine 100 or so of those showing up in a matter of an hour or two . . .
  reply
• 

  Gabriel Suppiah

  8 months ago

  I think the old folks are the ones stirring the racial tension.
  reply
• 

  Mark Dykeman

  11 months ago

  This is difficult, but I'm going to ask this question: would you judge Sacha Baron Cohen based on the behavior or mannerisms of his characters like Borat or Ali G.? I'm pulling a name out of the air because I'm trying to think of a better example, but let's stick with Cohen for a moment. Is he his characters, some of whom are offensive and could be considered racist? Or do we know? Basically, here's my question: should we assume that the Loren Feldman that we see in his videos is the "real" Loren Feldman, who has admitted to being a dumb comic (or something similar) in one or more of his videos? Therefore, is it possible that we are making assumptions about a person without actually knowing him? I've sent him an E-Mail to try to get some better understanding of his Affirmation Action video. As dumb as that may sound, my experience has told me over the years that it's better not to make assumptions about things. And, quite frankly, I think that there are probably far worse people in higher positions of power, authority and wealth than Loren Feldman. It's difficult for me to write this comment, Corvida, because I do not wish to alienate or offend you, nor do I propose that racial stereotyping and related parody/satire are morally correct, but I am concerned that the tone of your comments, and the emotion that I perceive to be underlying them, may lead to rash thoughts or actions and may not lead to constructive discussion. This is my interpretation of what I am reading and feel free to call me out if you think I'm wrong. I don't know you other than what I've read in blogs (I have stated my opinions of you and your work previously) and could be wrong about what I'm reading here. I don't see this as a binary (yes or no; right or wrong) issue, however, not from my perspective. I chose not to sit in silence in this case, but it might not be the type of reaction that you're looking for either, I'll give you that. At any rate, peace.
  reply
• 

  Webferret

  11 months ago

  +1
  reply
• 

  Webferret

  11 months ago

  Is this racist? Whats the difference?
  
  
  
  Nigga Technology
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArgWxB-vSL8
  
  Boondocks: Martin Luther King Speach
  http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids....
  
  
  Nigga Moment
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqsDRQJesMI
  
  Nas - Fried Chicken (Nigger) (Untitled)
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sU9zUPdOvM
  
  Nas- Be a Nigger Too *NEW* Music Video! (High Quality)
  http://youtube.com/watch?v=l0epSWX9GYQ
  
  Nas - N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and The Master) 2008
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7OkjaO8Noc
  reply
• 

  Webferret

  11 months ago

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyJU7A2uYJ8
  reply
• 

  Corvida

  11 months ago

  There's a huge difference between the Boondocks episodes and Feldman's ridicule and it's that there's meaning and a message in the Boondocks episodes. ALWAYS! The character Huey always makes the message clear. The episodes do display stereotypes that people perpetuate about African-Americans, yet by the end of the episode you can receive valuable information about these stereotypes. The Boondocks educates you about them. They display them as examples and then give you the other end of the spectrum (which to some would be the truth). In the end, there's a message that F-man consistently lacks in his little videos.
  
  As for NAS, he's just being controversial and I don't have a say on his album because I haven't heard it. The Fried Chicken song is the truth about how he feels about fried chicken. It's how I feel about chicken sometimes to. There's truth in what he says. He's not just perpetuating stereotypes. It's part of
  
  Have you listened to the Be A *N* too song? You're not understanding the message if you're trying to use that song as an example.
  
  Here's a song for you thoug: Mr. Nigga by Mos Def! Listen to that and come back to me with your thoughts.
  reply