Letters to the Editor
anonny
Published Letters: 124 Editor's Choice: 13
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But what about Pocahontas
[Read the article: Is a black princess that hard to imagine?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I find it so sad that after all of these years there has not been a brown or black prince or princess storyline out of Disney.
Well, except for Pocahontas (1995). Alas, not only was that a box office bomb (it was big on formula and short on story-telling, with a forgettable soundtrack to boot) but Disney got tremendously criticized for their supposedly racist portrayal of a native American heroine -- despite her being protrayed as brave, resourceful, empathetic, and wise; and despite the Europeans being portrayed, with the sole exception of John Smith, as greedy, hateful buffoons. One of the big criticisms at the time was that Disney was exploiting non-white cultures (Jungle Book, Aladdin, Lion King) and portraying the non-whites as superstitious believers in magic. Such criticisms ignored the many magical Disney tales based on English and European myths (Fantasia, Robin Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid), but they were highly popular. Another argument made was that the term "Savage" (which in Pocahontas was used by both sides to deride the other) was the equivalent of "Nigger" for native Americans -- another fact-free criticism, but one which kept a number of children from seeing the movie.
So, although I have ZERO sympathy for Disney or its management for a multitude of reasons, I can understand why following their Pocahontas experience they would be gun-shy regarding race issues around their cartoon heroines. Do keep in mind that the Disney channel strongly promotes racial diversity and integration, and has since its inception. And this is the company that refused to give into the Southern Baptist boycott because Disney allows Gay groups to host events at their parks.
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Only an authoritarian follower ...
[Read the article: National Review writer compares Obama to Hitler]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... could witness a politician who waxes eloquently about bringing people together from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints -- and think of another politician who enthused crowds with speeches on nationalism and hatred of other peoples and races.
The messages are 180 degrees opposite, but the authoritarian follower never listens for the meaning. The authoritarian follower only asks "is this person on my side or not?" The authoritarian follower, therefore, figures that Obama and Hitler are both on the "other side", thus they must be allies. It's the same way the right wingnuts figure that feminists must be allied with the Taliban and environmentalist allied with the Chinese communists.
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Wishful thinking ...
[Read the article: Who'll be the Republicans' Obama now?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have said this many times before. McCain would be smart to pick her. He himself is making great inroads among seemingly somewhat rational people. Picking Condi would be huge news. Seemingly somewhat rational folks will like Condi better than gleaming-hair Romney.
Well, no. At first some rational people were attracted to McCain on the grounds that he seemed moderate and more experienced than Obama. But then they got more than just controlled sound bites from McCain and now it's hard to find any rational thinker who imagines McCain is moderate or has the appropriate experience -- in fact more and more he seems like the second coming of Bush, not just on policies, but on his general lack of accomplishments or knowledge and understanding of the world.
As far as Condi goes -- well you could search back 218 years and not fine a less capable or accomplished Secretary of State. Her sole value to the Bush administration is her unswerving loyalty. No rational thinking person could remotely be interested in having her in a position of even more power.
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The answer is obvious
[Read the article: The Obama show lands in Israel]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The right wing of Israel seems to think that they can survive forever being hated by the rest of the world as long as the US supports them -- but that isn't their best strategy.
Obama, who has a knack for bringing competing groups together, will be the best for Israel's future. McCain would just fuel the militant fires -- and make the rest of the world even less sympathetic to Israel. Someday, Israel will need the goodwill of a country other than the US.