Another Letter to the NY Times
by tristero
To the Editor:
Whether canceling “Roseanne” is an act of corporate bravery or just retribution, the fact remains that the public shaming of Roseanne Barr will do nothing to change her heart about her feelings about African-Americans and may in fact intensify the feeling of persecution felt by those people who share her rancid point of view.
The real teaching moment is for liberals to stop feeling so morally superior when we stand up to racism in this way and learn that to change people’s outlook, you have to persuade them through example that they will be better people if they eschew their racist tendencies and recognize the humanity that exists in all of us.
MICHAEL SCOTT, SAN FRANCISCO
Bullshit. It's not I who refuses to recognize Roseanne Barr's humanity, but Barr who explicitly refused to recognized the humanity of others. It's not any kind of "retribution" for such dehumanization to be condemned and for the purveyors of dehumanization to experience consequences. It's simply necessary.
Nor is it particularly brave for a corporation to have cancelled her show. It was simple human decency of the sort Barr doesn't have.
Finally, liberals "persuade by example" not by trying to engage people who simply are too wrapped up in their bigotry to be engaged but by expressing outrage at racist remarks and insisting they have no place in public discourse.