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Ostensibly Enlightened Brown Professor Shows His True Colors
4:51PM ON
07/05/2008
BY
Ariel Werner
From Rinku Sen, RaceWire:
On last night’s broadcast, a repeat from June 16, Colbert did the kind of thing that I almost never rely on white media figures to do. He was interviewing Kenneth Miller, who wrote a book about how the proponents of “intelligent design” are trying to teach creationism at schools. At one point, Miller compared creationists to women who fraudulently collect welfare checks, saying they’re asking for a government handout, “I would compare them to welfare queens,” he said.
It wasn’t an off-the-cuff remark. Miller had clearly thought this through and found something clever in comparing white male creationists to black women who obviously arouse Americans’ disgust. As I was getting mad (not such a good thing right before bed) and wishing I was on the set to take Miller down, Colbert did it for me. “So you agree with me,” he said to Miller with a smirk, “that there are welfare queens driving Cadillacs waiting for their government cheese. Thank you for coming along with me and Ronald Reagan.” Reagan, of course, was the one who cemented the code of the welfare queen with ads featuring Black women in fur coats and big cars during the 1980 election cycle. Thanks to Colbert for setting a good example by punishing this racist analogy. If more white people did the same, I could sleep well every night.
Let’s write, call, and email Miller and tell him to stop perpetuating racist stereotypes!
Kenneth R. Miller
Professor of Biology
Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence
Box G-L211
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island 02912Office: Sidney Frank Hall 211
Laboratory: Biomedical Center 273
Telephone: 401-863-3410
e-mail: Kenneth_Miller@Brown.edu
July 5th, 2008 at 8:47PM
JOE BERNSTEIN Says:
Ari-what makes you think creationists are all white males or that welfare scammers are all black?Who’s thinking in racial terms here?In one apartment complex where I lived with my family in Itasca,Illinois most of the human flotsam that hung out all day doing drugs and drinking and collecting where white.We had three black neighbors in our building-all solid working families.The people across hall moved out just before we did(we were both trying to buy houses)-the husband was a medical equipment technician.So much for stereotypes.You know the saying”sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”?Sometimes its not all about race.It may be though.I don’t know Professor Miller-didn’t you go to Brown?Do you know him?
Reply
July 5th, 2008 at 10:37PM
Ariel Werner Says:
First of all, Joe, check the name before you critique a post, eh? This was me, not Ari. Yes he went to Brown, and I still do.
And all I did here was quote Rinku Sen. I said nothing about race. That being said, the term “welfare queen,” is loaded with the meaning imbued to it by Moynihan, Nixon, Reagan, W.J. Wilson, the Chicago school, etc… a bunch of folks who believed that the situation of black people in America had to do with laziness and complacency because of social entitlements. A very, very racist bunch. That is why Miller’s use of the term “welfare queens” incites an inherently racialized idea.
Here’s what Wiki has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_queen
And, boy, what a life! You have an anecdote for everything!
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July 6th, 2008 at 9:04AM
Jami O Says:
Yes, I am a white woman, but I am first and foremost a human being, a sister to those who share this planet. My brothers and sisters are black, yellow, white and so on. They are struggling, on welfare, employed, unemployed and well-off. They have AIDS, heart disease, Herpes, Anemia, Cancer and some are well - at least for the moment. It sickens me that the people of this global community are so ignorant and downright stupid that they need to put others down to prove their own worth. the term, Welfare Queen, although often associated with black women (thank you Reagan), is also derogatory to anyone who is unfortunate enough to have to collect welfare.
One thing that whites easily forget….more often than not, blacks are put down with derogatory terms. It’s easy for whites to suggest blacks are being paranoid. We don’t walk into a job interview, losing it before we even open our mouths. Women get it more than men because we have experienced some form of prejudiced. We are stupid if we are attractive. We are useless and lazy if we are overweight. we are sluts if we are sexy….we are smart if we are ugly.
Anyone who uses these derogatory descriptions - even if they are not thought out - should try using empathy first, take a look at their own issues and realize none of us - NONE OF US - should be able to judge others based on the stereotypes. Anyway…this got me on a soapbox. It pisses me off.
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July 6th, 2008 at 9:05AM
JOE BERNSTEIN Says:
Yes I do-do you think I would bother to make these things up?I have to say that I have lived a pretty interesting life,not in the sense of it being a great deal of fun particularly,but it wasn’t boring.The way you’re going by the time you’re 62 you will probably have plenty of stories to tell.I really did miss the byline,but let’s face it-the Projo had you and Ari in the same story and your first names ARE similar,and you both seem to share a similar point of view-maybe you could be a tag team in mixed wrestling.:))
Who is Rinku Sen?
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