Started watching #kobraKai - Less than 3 minutes in and Johnny's character is throwing racist comments at his Latino neighbor. Is there a point to this? Because the "Racist white guy who eventually reforms" is a really tired trope I don't care to invest my limited TV time in
Finished 1st #kobraKai episode. Johnny is an angry white guy spouting racist one liners at a teenage Hispanic neighbor (Miguel) who for some reason doesn't tell him to kick rocks or cuss him out. Then this same kid accepts help from this old racist because ? Plot convenience?
#kobraKai isn't TERRIBLE but the lone Hispanic and African American (the nurse) characters in the 1st episode are repeatedly yelled at and disparaged. I guess I'm supposed to stick with Johnny until he learns the error of his ways? Maybe EP2 is better
I'm getting a whole Bad News Bears vibe from #CobraKai Episode 2. I guess Johnny is gonna help the nerdy kids learn to fight and throw off all the 'woke' sensitive BS that this generation has subscribed to right?
Since I'm keeping score - Johnny is racist, refers to weak people as women and lady parts and chastises a kid he bullied with racist talk for correcting his sexist lectures. C'mon ya'll I want to like #CobraKai but this shtick was worn out in the 90's - I won't learn to love him
I'm on @CobraKaiSeries episode 2, the racist one liners from Johnny Lawrence count is at 3.
1. Calling Miguel an 'immigrant' pejoratively
2. Calling Miguel "Menudo"
3. Calling Miguel an "Illegal"
Again, the 'racist white guy who learns' trope is tired
Even more annoying is this idea that White characters repeatedly say racist things to Asian and Latino characters with little or no response. Non-Black minorities are consistently written to be passive in the face of overt racism, not sure that's even remotely accurate
In a sign of vague progress #CobraKai does have the new millennium "Asian Man as love interest / rival" which is finally an American push back against the desexualization of Asian men in Hollywood - It's actually become pretty common ex:
Kyler on #CobraKai now joins

Brad - Spiderman Far From Home
Reggie - Riverdale
Kenji - Camp Cretaceous

As the "Asian Man as romantic Rival / love interest" it's probably one of the few racially progressive things about @CobraKaiSeries - I'll give it a few more episodes

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More from @DrJasonJohnson

30 Oct
Go out and vote everybody #Vote started my drop of early ballot journey 👍🏾
The one reason to take off your mask? Licking the envelope with your vote #MaytheVoteBeWithYou #VOTE
Get your friends absentee ballots to the polls if you can!!!
Read 4 tweets
20 Oct
I had my first experience like this a few weeks ago. It was.... Jarring
In the years since Trump got into office there have been tons of podcasts, think pieces & threads by black people talking about how this presidency has exposed white people whom they considered to be 'friends' as latent bigots or at least tolerant of Trump's bigotry.
I had NEVER had this experience. My white friends are politically engaged and while some may be conservatives or Republicans I had never had the experience of their politics causing me to re-evaluate the relationship. Until last week....
Read 12 tweets
15 Oct
There's been a name trending on twitter today that I'm not going to amplify but (name) highlights something about how sports news is presented & sports analysts are hired. AfAms face discrimination in hiring & promotion in sports journalism like many other professions
For MANY decades, local sports were dominated by white men, in print and on television and Black people were lucky to get jobs as play by play announcers during games.... IF they were former beloved athletes of that team. That has changed slightly in the last 30 years or so
While @NABJSports and @NABJ have fought to open opportunities for black men and women at the local sports coverage level, national opportunities are still few and far between and reflect a certain hiring pattern that's impossible to miss ......
Read 8 tweets
15 Oct
Standing in line to get my ballot.... I can't describe to you just how much more practical this is for some people than same day voting. Line is 100% African American as far as I can tell mostly older folks
I requested my ballot online and in my state you can get your ballot EMAILED to you. Print it out and take it back. For some reason the BOE (which I've called a good 4-5 times since my application) had me listed as mail in. I don't trust it'll arrive on time OR that l I'll see it
So I'm standing in line. Do I worry about #covid? Yes but we're outdoors and no closer than you get to people in a grocery store. You do what you gotta do 🤷🏾‍♂️
Read 9 tweets
13 Oct
If the nominees are simply allowed to lie during hearings, even when the lie is easily proven with documents, recordings or witnesses, then what is the point? #SCOTUShearings
If #BidenHarris2020 somehow manage to get into the White House despite a concerted effort by Republicans to thwart the popular will they will have to start a generations long battle to shore up the constitution when it comes to voting rights and SCOTUS
Trump has exposed the constitution as nothing more than a gentleman's agreement between rich white guys, that isn't worth the paper it's written on when faced with a criminal who just doesn't care about tradition or decorum. It needs to be re-booted for the 21st century
Read 6 tweets
9 Oct
The foiled terrorist attack on #GretchenWhitmer is another example of what's left of our justice system still working despite the best attempts of Trump. He is a terrorist sympathizer and has been for years. He cares nothing for Democracy, but that's not what this thread is about
The co-opting of comic book hemes, names and titles is one of the more disturbing recent trends in America and it's not addressed enough as one of the ways the Alt-Right recruits and targets young disaffected white, Asian and Latino men (Afam men are rarely Alt-Right recruits)
Right Wing groups have been using the gaming world to recruit angry white men for years. It's been covered, and most online systems like Playstation and XBox have done little to stop it, because frankly it's hard to censor
npr.org/2018/11/05/660…
Read 10 tweets

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