The Great "Bright" Way — Page 2

Princeton2 said: "uncageg said: "No, that won't happen and as a member of the Black community, we are ok with being called black or African American. I can't speak for the entire community but in my many years on this earth I haven't met a person that has had a problem with it. We embrace it."

This is part of the problem and what causes confusion. While you say the black community are fine with African American, that's not actually true as I've seen several black commentators recently saying African American is not an ok term anymore, mainly because not all black people come from/or have ancestors from Africa. Completely understandable and valid comment but the confusion doesnt help people know what the right thing to say is. Especially in a society so obsessed with labels for everyone these days."



Read my comment. I said I can't speak for the entire community. That may be how they feel, but they don't speak for the whole community. The people in my life over the years have not had problems with it no matter what a commentator on tv says.

I think we are getting way off track here. We don't need to revisit the robe or other ancillary topics, or debate extant labels (whether accurate or not). The bottom line is that we need to hunt down and kill "subconscious bias."

Thanks. :)

Here’s the original clip:

Tag said: "Whoopi is spoon-fed through a teleprompter and earpiece the entire show. She rarely knows what is going on."

I didn't know that, Tag; I don't watch the show. I just think it's a silly suggestion.

@Gaveston, this is not about word police, nor is it a mindset that can be cured in short order. It is about rethinking what underlies the pain to which a large segment of our society is subjected by constant bombardment. It saddens me that your takeaway from the events of the last few weeks is that re-evaluation of systemic racism is "insane."

HogansHero said: "@GavestonI am glad you explained what you meant.

I don't think that the process I am contemplating is as monumental as you think but I would ask you to process it a little differently. You mention the self-identification by blacks, but how about the self-identification by whites that antedated it?"

I suspect the association of white and light with goodness, and black and dark with evil, dates back to Neolithic campfires, where the darkness all around was full of lethal beasts.

That it was later applied to human beings is tragic, of course.

But even now, most kids start out afraid of the dark at some point. I don't think scrubbing the language is going to change that. So the question for African Americans is this: is it preferable to embrace the "negative identity" (sociology term for the embracing of negative stereotypes by minority groups) of "black", at the expense of inadvertently acquiring the derogatory associations of the color? Or would another label be preferable at this point in the Civil Rights Movement?

As I said above, it is not my call; nor do I think the comfort of white people should be a factor in the choice. I will use whatever term seems preferred by those it describes. (And to be clear, a "negative identity" has its benefits: it's a way of fighting fire with fire. I do understand this.)

In the meantime, "I'm Dreaming of a Bright Christmas" anyone?

PatrickDC said: "Do people still use the term "Great White Way" that often? I don't live in NYC so maybe they do there.

Just seems like one small comment that is getting way too much attention thanks to social media. Not everything is racist.This is no white privilege agenda behind every single term or phrase."

I think you're right, Patrick. Whether Miss Goldberg thought of it or the show writers did, I imagine the remark was prepared to generate conversation, which is, after all, the entire content of the hour. Nothing more.

And now that I've had a day to think about it, perhaps the point of the question wasn't to invite a re-invention of the entire English language. We've all agreed that Broadway in particular and American theater in general should become less of a "white people" pastime and more inclusive to people of other backgrounds. Maybe the "Great Bright Way" question was only meant to provoke thought on how to make Broadway audiences more diverse, and not, as I and others heard it, a stand-in for every use of the word "white" in English.

It seems to me that some people are missing the point. This isn’t a matter of removing “black” and “white“ from every questionable phrase. On its face, the expression “The Great White Way” sounds like a slogan for white supremacists. Although I’m assuming most people realize that it doesn’t refer to caucasians, the actual meaning isn’t totally clear.

So, going forward, why would Broadway want to use a nickname that sounds extremely racist, regardless of what it actually means? Not everyone who hears the term will have someone there to tell them that it refers to the lights of Broadway, most of which aren’t even white anymore. Changing it to “The Great Bright Way” makes more sense, and it doesn’t require an explanation.

Updated On: 6/25/20 at 08:34 PM

CT2NYC said: "It seems to me that some people are missing the point. This isn’t a matter of removing “black” and “white“ from every questionable phrase.On its face, theexpression “The Great White Way” sounds like a slogan for white supremacists. Although I’m assuming most peoplerealize that it doesn’t refer to caucasians, the actual meaning isn’t totally clear.

So, going forward, why would Broadway wantto use a nickname thatsounds extremelyracist, regardless of what it actually means?Not everyone who hears the term will have someone there to tell themthat it refers to the lights of Broadway, most of which aren’t even white anymore. Changing it to “The Great Bright Way” makes more sense, and it doesn’t require an explanation."

But it doesn't sound extremely racist