TheLoop21.com

I completely agree with you. America loves this plot, which always features the same stereotypical and type- casted roles; the poor, misguided black boys and girls, a naive, well-intentioned white woman/man, always set in a decaying, impoverished, urban environment. The wise white one, portrayed as the heroin/hero who swoops into the hood and exposes the children to their greatest heights of academic and/or athletic potential, and conveniently goes back to his/her comfortable suburban home at the end of the day. Dangerous Minds is probably the most politically incorrect representation of of the white savior. Every negative stereotype of urban living is called to attention, including black apathy, evident in the scene of the grandmother who took her 2 boys out of high school, claiming "they didn't need school." The attitudes of many of the parents were the same. It placed blame and put weakness in the communities and families, instead of the structural problems of education disparity and racism. That urked me personally because every most or all black mothers want better for our children, (we get the most damn excited at high school graduations if you haven't noticed). All that aside- in real life, we can't ignore the important contribution that many of our white allies have made to improving our communities. Some do play into the stereotypical roles of the 'white knights' of America's ghettos, but in my opinion that could never overshadow the help they give. My question is, do you think all white folks reachin out to the black community are tryin to play that role? Can we acknowledge and accept their help with out making that assumption? Is any help good help, regardless?

I cant watch this movie....I hate the theme of "white saver" because they make our lives miserable and difficult, then once in a while their conscience kicks(because historically based on the way they treat us, they are remorseless psycopaths), and then they do something nice and seek to be glorified. Makes me resentful that they are at the root of our hardships and then seeks glory when they correct a problem they caused in the first place. This makes them feel so good....they have no clue that we are resentful.

As a white person, I find these comments kind of disturbing. When I watched the movie, I wasn't thinking "Oh, this is great! Only a white person would do such magnanimous acts of kindness!" or "Yes, only the whites can save the world!" or "What is wrong with black people that they can't help themselves?" What I saw was a the story of a family who had way more than they needed, and saw a person in need. Instead of passing by, instead of turning away, they took this boy in-regardless of his skin color-and made him part of their family.

What if we all did this? What if, regardless of race, we reached out to each other rather than holding on to old stereotypes and racisim, if we looked at each other as what we really are-human beings?

This was not a movie about "white guilt" whatever that is. This was a movie about a person with means taking pity on a person with less than nothing. Race was only involved because it happened to be a white family taking in a black boy.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

To "anonymous"--how many generations has it been since slavery was abolished? Were you alive during the race riots of the 60's? Listen, my friend, I understand that life is hard. I understand that being black is not the same as being white. But I also know that in America, nothing is respected more than hard work and an "I can do it" attitude. The story of America is written with the blood of people who, despite their hardships, overcame them to do something great. There is no "Great White Conspiracy" to hold the black man down. There is no ceiling beyond which you can rise. You have rights and freedoms that your ancestors paid dear blood to give you, so quit crying about how hard life is and get out there and do something.

You talk about being resentful. Should I, as a person of Germanic descent, blame the Moors and the Romans before them for subjugating my ancestors? Should I blame the French for all the war crimes that Napolean visited upon Germany? Should I blame the Roman Catholic Church for forcing my ancestors who believed Martin Luther to move to the New World to find religious freedom, forcing them to sell everything they had and leave the land they loved? WHEN DOES IT END?

My friend, I don't know you, I don't know what kind of life you have. And you don't know what kind of life I have either. What I can tell you is that you cannot allow yourself to be defined by what happened 200 years ago, 50 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Your worth is measured by a different standard--I believe that God gives us our worth, and nothing else defines me. I don't hold to my Germanic ancestory, my skin color, or even my country. I am, and you are, a child of God.

The way out of the mess we are in is for all of us to put aside all the previously mentioned "stinking thinking" and realize that we are responsible for our own choices, and we must choose to live honorably. That is what the movie "Blindside" was about for me--not about racial pity, or guilt--not about race at all. It is about doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do--regardless of the cost.

God Bless.