 |
| Ken Fisher |
We are all aware, I'm sure, of how P.C. can fly in the face of reality. Were it to be enforced 100 percent, we would no longer see the old cowboys and Indians movies. The old Charlie Chan franchise has probably not recovered since a cable channel planned a "marathon" of movies. One of the issues was that non-Chinese people were playing the roles of the heroes. In the same way, many of your basic white guys put on Indian accoutrements to be extras in the old war-whoop movies. Hollywood probably holds breath and pleads for us to give a pass to the older stuff.
I have viewed a couple of the old "Amos 'n' Andy" episodes and I actually think they portray black people in a better light than a lot of the hip-hop-ish stuff today. Don Imus did what I saw as a parody of hip-hop culture, and the P.C. explosion was viral. You knew the writing was on the wall right away - that's how these things go. Imus did make a mistake: he drew college student-athletes into his ad-libbing one morning. Actually it was a co-host that drew him into it. Hip-hop culture/lingo is ripe for parody or even criticism. The movie "Undercover Brother" was loved by many as parody without any intent of prejudice.
A fresh dust-up
Let's move to the present and the subject of Ken Fisher. Now, this is a textbook example, one in a long progression of how P.C. outrage develops a life of its own. You have probably seen plugs for Fisher's investment services as you scan the day's news. He's one of these people who'll be happy to take your money and invest it. I don't have the stomach for it.
Fisher has been dinged because of a comment made with intention of levity at a conference. He used an analogy. Uh-oh, be careful with your analogies. There was no intent of anything going public from this conference of investment people. But someone feigned outrage and that's all it takes. I say "feigned" because I'm certain this individual was not personally offended. Maybe it's someone wanting to take some wind from Fisher's sails.
Fisher manages billions of dollars. He steers lots of money into stocks. That's great as long as stocks keep going up. It's not my cup of tea. He said something which if heard around a water cooler would be considered normal patter. He compared the process of wooing a client to a man seeking amorous attention from a female. OK we're talking about "hitting on" a girl. Let's make it more earthy and imagine a bar setting. In the pre-digital era, men pursued females in this manner, very often around alcohol.
Men pursued females? To this day, isn't that how it happens? Surely you won't suggest that gender equality has made totally obsolete the model of men hitting on women. It's hardly ever the other way around, and in situations where it is, it might open the door for slut-shaming. There, I have now made a statement that exposes me to outrage.
Except that, can you really argue that my assertions are untrue? Men pursue women and they learn to become hardened by rejection. Women don't experience anything like that on a personal level. Maybe men become better salespeople because they are more prepared to deal with rejection. Fisher's language got more earthy than I would care for. He used the expression "getting into a woman's pants." I don't like the expression, not because I'm holier than thou, I just don't like it. Aesthetics.
I cannot speak as the voice of experience on courting! I have not gotten close to having a special or social relationship with a particular female. I learned long ago that if I even broached the possibility, I get laughed at. It is a reality I have come to live with. So I cannot speak from true experience when it comes to assessing Fisher's remarks and the odd little firestorm that resulted. Once the P.C. alarm gets sounded, yes like a flashing light, it easily takes on a life of its own. That much I know.
All it takes is a spark
I had my own relevant experience with outrage here in Morris MN, when I was in the corporate media. I learned that no matter what defense you mount, once the alarm bell sounds it cannot be muffled. I ran a photo in the Morris Sun Tribune sports section, a photo taken at the state cross country meet. The photo was taken by the coach. I am certain that the coach thought the photo was not only proper, it was amusing and maybe even charming. It showed two young kids on opposite sides of a spirit banner. The banner proclaimed "Morris Area cross country, like a bat out of hell."
And you know what? "Hell" wasn't even spelled out in full - hyphens were used. I'm not sure that even matters. I'm not sure the word "hell" is even profane if used in this context.
Critics of my work needed to realize that I plowed through an awful lot of material on a given day, thus I wasn't going to get too focused on any one thing. And even if I did, I would not have cried "foul" on this photo. And just like those people around the water cooler, 99 percent of us would think nothing of the photo, were it not for a P.C. siren going off.
So an aggrieved parent took umbrage and wrote a little letter to the editor that might be described as incendiary. It was highly personal, directed at me.
Just think: "Like a bat out of h--." Doesn't that leave you speechless? Most likely it doesn't, just like a young male rambling about "getting into a woman's pants" would be no big deal, would probably prompt a smile or two. Oh come on, you know.
We understand roles
Again, would even the most ardent feminists argue against the notion that we still live in a culture where men are pursuers and women are the pursued? You can't argue with that, can you? So if you don't, how do you reconcile this reality with one of your main tenets: that men and women ought to be seen as totally on the same plane, no stereotypes? Well of course the two genders have differences.
Fisher was making light of how men from time immemorial have pursued women like they are a coveted quarry. There's no revelation there. The guy who "revealed" Fisher's comment to the world, as if he was opening the curtain on a disgusting individual, would probably be amused if he heard the statement in question around the water cooler. So we have the real world, the reasonable world, versus a detached reality where the P.C. alarm bell can ruin people.
Don Imus showed some questionable judgment, in bringing in student athletes with his parody, but was it prima facie disgusting? A meme took over that it was. Imus was forced out of his morning time slot on MSNBC. That paved the way for Joe Scarborough. Scarborough later talked very respectfully about Imus. Imus established the model for what Scarborough took over, according to Scarborough. No dissing of the man. But at the height of the P.C. firestorm, there was no room for Imus to breathe. (Remember his fellow panelist who did such a fine impression of Ray Nagin, the New Orleans mayor?)
Cool your jets
Fisher is a normal heterosexual male and not a sexist. How on earth would this be sexist? The language is irreverent and a little raw, yes.
Oh, I should end my anecdote about the cross country picture, with how a school board friend of mine reacted. She actually felt there was cause to be offended by the photo. I considered her a pretty sage person and capable of knowing better. She bought into the alarm bell suggestion - in the letter to the editor - that we ought to summon outrage. I assume certain kids or kids with their parents made the spirit banner. If it was so offensive, was any consideration given to suspensions or any other special punishment? Well of course not.
If people could put aside the dust storm of outrage, caused by one bitter parent, they'd know better. Well, they know better anyway but had to act concerned. And from my standpoint, it put me on the defensive. The letter writer was my family dentist. He wasn't any more.
 |
| Amos 'n' Andy |
The joke-teller's initials were R.L. It was a school-related event or fete but I'm not certain trying to remember the specifics.
People my age, when we were young, observed lots of non-P.C. stuff. We let it be like water off a duck's back.
Oh, remember the "Wa Tan Ye" girls from the musical "The Music Man?"
I wouldn't personally use the expression "get in a woman's pants" but I'm not going to condemn someone over it. Men talk about sex. Yes, and the Pope is Catholic.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment