Steve Carrel, the Office, and Racism

For the first time in American history, we have a black president. The month of February being Black History Month is now another emphasis on Obama and the progress of our country moving further away from racism; however, Dr. Carter G. Woodson noted that in this month "We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice." That one statement is a strong one: the history of the world void of race hate. I do agree with him that we should be focusing on a world moving away from race hate, but a world void of it? As great as this idea sounds, I wonder if it is possible to become a complete reality. Obama becoming president is a momentous occasion that will be remembered in history as a step foreword from racism, but that does not mean racism is gone. In Huck Fin, blacks are openly referred to as the n-word, and while today this is not considered politically correct, it still is said and racism is still present. What about jokes, is it acceptable to make a racist joke, or laugh at one, if you are not racist? The popular TV sitcom, the Office, is about the daily life of working under Michael Scott (Steve Carrel), a crazy boss who talks before he thinks, and even after he speaks he just doesn't quite get it. Although this is one of my favorite shows, and a popular one across the country, in the new episode a line stuck out to me. One of the office employees passes out during what they thought was a fire, and in response Michael runs over, and in attempt to wake him up yells: "Stanley, Stanley, you will not die!... Stanley, Barack is president! You are black Stanley!..." Now, whether you know that character or not, you can see that he is openly ignorant in his comments, as proven in this quote. The idea of keeping someone alive by reminding him that he is black is so stupid, and yet the ignorance of Michael Scott is amusing to viewers. Of course not everybody who laughs at this remark is a racist, but the idea of this comment appears racist and pointless. A person being "saved" by being reminded that they are black is as ridiculous as be reminded that they are a boy, have brown hair, or are wearing a red t-shirt, and yet it is said, and people laugh. This scene is a hyperbole, but even so, it is a comparison of what kind of racism takes place in real life.