Standing up for Roseanne Barr when she made some nutty comments wasn’t a popular stance. Rather than losing the program she created, I felt an apology was sufficient. My rationale is that people in the humor business must test boundaries to hold a mirror up to us. Sometimes the humor falls flat. Often it takes off-kilter people to have to view things differently. As Jay Leno often said, “this comedy thing isn’t so easy.” Still, we need George Carlins and Jerry Seinfelds to make us aware of ourselves in a humorous way.

Now we have Dilbert cartoon creator Scott Adams having his work dumped across the board. His sin, citing a Rasmussen Poll showing approximately half of the blacks unable to agree that it’s alright to be white. Adams took this to indicate racism. If every other black you meet views you negatively simply because of your skin color, that is the definition of rampant racism.

My first reaction is Adams is kidding us on the square. He went on to say you should stay away from blacks. The inference is an interaction with people unfavorably viewing you might end badly. Many whites, including myself, avoid interactions with blacks for fear of inadvertently saying something that could ruin their life. The situation is different t when traveling abroad. You must cut others’ slack and hope they do the same with you there.

If a poll instead showed half the whites could not agree that being black is alright, would that indicate racism? In today’s climate, I think most would agree it is racist. It would lead on CNN and MSNBC. “Half of the whites won’t say it’s alright to be black,” proving widespread white racism.” You know it’s true.

The formula is the same. Adams says 50% of a population (P) polled (in his case, blacks) won’t agree with the proposition. In his case, it’s 50%P=racism. In the latter case, 50%P (White)=racism. How is this different? How is Adams wrong? Has he held the mirror up to us?

Adams told us on what he based his statements, a poll. Some have said Rasmussen is right-wing or unreliable. Still, it’s included in the Real Clear Politics averages and ranked for accuracy like CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Your beef is with the poll, not Adams.

 To survive, we must give people, especially humorists, room to ply their trade here at home. You can’t be friends with someone you fear is looking to get you. Stay away from Blacks and anything relating to them is excellent advice. Sadly, Adams’ cancellation supports his advice to avoid anything Black.

If you can no longer find this blog, WordPress probably canceled me.