People don't like to be offended. They're trained that to be offended means something is bad. It's a lot easier to be offended than it is to actually think or recognize something in ourselves we might not like, or which might challenge us. Far easier to scream that something is offensive.
This thread got me thinking of something awkward that happened during the rodeo here. An angus bull was next to be ridden and the announcer said something to the effect of, "This one's called Obama..." and then awkward pause while he realized what he'd actually said, and he says in a totally different tone, "well, you figure out why." Awkward silence in the stands, and then some redneck screams, "Yeah, you monkey!"
While I have no respect for the redneck, he illustrates that racism is still real, and very blatant. It's much easier to squawk offense at something on TV or something minor like a lack of certain racial minorities on TV than it is to turn to the idiot redneck and tell him off. I'll freely admit I didn't say anything to him either, and he was really close to me. Probably cowardice or too nice. It's much easier to talk about him here.
The same redneck was there on Sunday during the last day of the rodeo and asked me if I was taking pictures of cowboys in tight jeans. (For those who can't tell, he was casting aspersions upon my sexual orientation.) There was a part of me tempted to say, "Yes" just to make him angry. Instead, I just said I was working for the paper. Again, a weak (though truthful) response.
At the same time, look what we tolerate now that would not have been tolerated in the days of Archie Bunker: sex is much more explicit in movies and TV, and a lot more violence. We are more likely to tolerate a portrayal of a homosexual, even a positive portrayal. Anyone who has ever seen the movie Advise and Consent knows how the portrayal of that group used to be.
I won't say that these are all good developments, but remember that, at one time, an interracial kiss between two characters on Star Trek was pretty shocking stuff. Our culture continues to change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Archie Bunker was a product of its time. So was Leave it to Beaver. Neither program would be produced today. But, current shows would not have been produced then.
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