Besides a lot of people finding the video offensive, uncomfortable, demeaning, hurtful etc.., very little (at best as I have been able to follow the thread) in the way of constructive criticism.
grabbing the bridge collapse to try to make my point. It took a catastrophe to raise awareness of the problem.... Besides a better written skit with a clear message or stated purpose, What could/should have been done differently and still generated the kind of conversation this video sparked? A less insulting stereotypical caricature? No stereotype? A more extreme delivery (think Fight Club), Loren Feldman as "MC Catastrophe" spit'n out barbs against the inequalities still prevalent in our country today not just the net? As a Jew? Jewish Rabbi? As Loren Feldman "the man" or Loren Feldman "the political commentator"? Would it have been more powerful had he dropped the "act" and instead looked into the camera and stated "Where are all the Black Tech Bloogers?" and listed all that he might know and invite viewers to submit links and comments? It certainly has me thinking again, not only about the meaning of the video, but friends I lost contact with. It emphasized just how different things are. It is much easier for me to locate white friends when I search the web. I am still going back and forth with myself on this. I tried to "see" something in the video that was not stated, adding my own idea of what could have been done better to parody and satirize more effectively. I see parallels to the net today and the turn of the last century, especially the entertainment industry. That influenced my first responses and what I took to be his attempt to show what might be expected/feared/assumed in the minds of some. Pretty wild, the timing of his video. Was it done this way intentionally? Done to coincide with the KOS convention? What the hell? <http://tinyurl.com/2zz9sr> I look for the best in people and things, often to my detriment. I sure wish he'd speak up about his intentions. D > ...it became clear that only a handful of the 1,500 > conventioneers -- bloggers, policy > experts, party activists -- are African American, > Latino or Asian. Of about 100 scheduled > panels and workshops, less than a half-dozen dealt > directly with women or minority > issues..... > > ......Cooper is worried about generating more > "inclusion," using the word no less than six > times in 15 minutes. > > ....."I hate using the word 'diversity.' I don't > know what we use there. But what we definitely > need are voices from different communities," she > says. And the problem, she adds, > stretches beyond ethnic and gender inclusion. > There's a socioeconomic gap, too. > > > .....Stoller half-jokingly says that the netroots > community is full of "white liberal men,".... > "It's also important to remember that this movement > is still young. It's still not that > advanced, it's still building coalitions, it's still > maturing." > > > Diversity of Opinion, if Not Opinionators > At the Yearly Kos Bloggers' Convention, a Sea of > Middle-Aged White Males > By Jose Antonio Vargas > Washington Post Staff Writer > Monday, August 6, 2007; C01 > > CHICAGO, Aug. 5 -- It's Sunday, day 4 of Yearly Kos, > the major conference for progressive > bloggers, and Gina Cooper, the confab's > organizer-in-chief, surveys the ballroom of the > massive McCormick Place Convention Center. A few > hundred remaining conventioneers are > having brunch, dining on eggs, bagels and sausage. > > Seven of the eight Democratic presidential > candidates have paid their respects this > weekend, and some 200 members of the credentialed > press have filed their stories. A > mere curiosity just two years ago, the progressive > blogosphere has gone mainstream. But > Cooper sees a problem. > > "It's mostly white. More male than female," says the > former high school math and science > teacher turned activist. "It's not very diverse." > > There goes the open secret of the netroots, or those > who make up the community of the > Internet grass-roots movement. > > For all the talk about the increasing influence of > this growing group -- "We are a > community . . . a movement . . . an institution," > Cooper said in a speech Saturday night -- > what gets scant attention is its demography. While > the Huffington Post and Fire Dog Lake, > both founded by women, are two of the most widely > read blogs, the rock stars are mostly > men, and many women bloggers complain of sexism and > harassment in the blogosphere. > > Walking around McCormick Place during the weekend, > it became clear that only a handful > of the 1,500 conventioneers -- bloggers, policy > experts, party activists -- are African > American, Latino or Asian. Of about 100 scheduled > panels and workshops, less than a > half-dozen dealt directly with women or minority > issues. > > A panel called "Blogging While Female," held > Saturday morning, was an aberration -- an > overflow room of about 75, mostly women, a few of > them minorities. > > "How many of the women in the audience blog?" asked > a panelist. > > Nearly three-fourths of those present raised their > hands. > > "How many of you get harassed?" > > The hands stayed up. They complain of being harassed > online for their views on issues > such as abortion rights. > > "There's an awful lot of work to do, and the thing > to remember is, this progressive > movement is at a place right now to bring more > voices in, especially when you talk about > issues -- abortion, voting rights, public education > -- that directly affect women and > communities of color," said Latifa Lyles, sitting in > the back of the room, her arms crossed, > and balancing her computer on her lap. She's black > and works for the National > Organization for Women. > > Allie Carter, of the American Civil Liberties Union, > her laptop also on her lap, nodded and > chimed in. She's white. "Yes, this is a problem. A > big problem." > > Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, who is part Latina, > attended a panel on Friday called "The > Changing Dynamics of Diversity in Progressive > Politics," organized by Cheryl Contee, an > African American woman. Ancona works for Vote Hope, > a California-based activist group, > and said one reason she came to Yearly Kos was to > get an answer to this question: "Why is > the blogosphere, which is supposed to be more > democratic, reinforcing the same white > male power structure that exists?" > > Everyone agrees it's a problem, yet no one is sure > how to address it. Historically, the > progressive movement has included a myriad of > special-interest and single-issue groups, > and the challenge has always been to find common > ground. The same is true on the > Internet, but with an added twist. The Internet, > after all, is not a "push" medium like > television, where information flows out, but a > "pull" medium, where people are drawn in. > > Build a liberal site such as Daily Kos, as the > Persian Gulf War veteran and former > Republican Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zuniga did five > years ago, and bloggers either join the > discussion or not. For two years now, Moulitsas has > lent his name to the conference. But > on Saturday, Cooper announced that next year the > event will be called "Netroots Nation." > > Cooper is worried about generating more "inclusion," > using the word no less than six > times in 15 minutes. > > "I hate using the word 'diversity.' I don't know > what we use there. But what we definitely > need are voices from different communities," she > says. And the problem, she adds, > stretches beyond ethnic and gender inclusion. > There's a socioeconomic gap, too. > > "Naming the conference 'Yearly Kos' was useful for > us. It gave us a brand," Cooper > continues. "Now that more people know about us, > people should know that everyone is > welcome. The big question is, how do we include > everybody?" > > Cooper says she is working on efforts to improve > outreach. Paul Delehanty, a white > blogger in Oakland, Calif., took the initiative. He > attended last year's Yearly Kos and saw > the need for more diverse participation. So this > year he raised money online to help offset > conference expenses for a group he called the > Chicago 17. It included racial, regional and > gender diversity. Bernita Smith, an African American > blogger from Atlanta, is one of the > Chicago 17, and raised funds herself to attend the > conference. "I was completely surprised > -- shocked even. The political blogosphere isn't as > white as the people in this convention." > > It's hard to think of another movement that has > affected politics in such a short period of > time, and the blogging culture is an informal, > friendly community that has no one leader > or single issue -- except, perhaps, strong > opposition to the war in Iraq. Last year's > Blogads Reader Survey found that the median > political blog reader is a 43-year-old male > who has an annual family income of $80,000, and > judging by the number of middle-aged > men who attended one panel after the next here, it's > hard to argue with that. The four-day > gathering is something of a reunion, where folks > know each other not by their faces but by > their screen names. The dress code is casual and the > rule is BYOL -- bring your own > laptop. > > The vibe in this year's event, bloggers say, was > remarkably different from last year. Most > === message truncated ===
