I think that one reason these tirades are so useful to the establishment is that they perpetuate racism by giving people a "screen image," or an Other, to project their embodied racism onto.
In other words, for a racist cat to watch this video and say "damn, he's fuckin racist!", and come to the conclusion "I'm definitely not racist, because I was offended by that!," racism becomes more muted in everyday interactions.
Of course, everything that we project onto the Other remains part of our subconscious, and if we really lose it, it's in our unconscious.
So, the important response to these "outbursts," I think, is that personal reflection is necessary on an individual level; not just for him, but for everyone.
And I think he actually makes that point well in his mostly profuse apology. Racism is EVERYWHERE, but in late capitalist society, it's in the collective unconscious, and it can slip up at the most surprising moments.
It takes some deep digging for folks to get past it, especially when they're rich and powerful. Us po-folks have it a little differently, though we still have our disputes because of our racialized condition...but those in power rarely come face-to-face with people of color, let's face it.
So, when those interactions happen, the shit hits the fan. I'm sure few black dudes have stepped up to him in his lifetime (personally, I don't know why it took so long), and he didn't know how to react, and something came deep within him. It seems to even have surprised him.
This calls for attention, as does the Mel situation (although anyone with the slightest bit of discernment knows that he was racist all along), because it's indicative of some tensions that need to be dealt with asap on a large scale.
So who's down with some alternative media to subvert racism?
Tony D
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