Kevin starts out the series as a meek introvert but later they change his character to be borderline mentally challenged. Kelly got a character change as well as the series progressed
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Is Michael Scott a racist?
- Thread starter BossAttack
- Start date
Kevin starts out the series as a meek introvert but later they change his character to be borderline mentally challenged. Kelly got a character change as well as the series progressed
People too afraid to admit just how much bigotry there is in society so they fudge the definitions to make it seem like it's not that bad.
Seriously.
It reads like "he's racist, but he's not a racist!" kind of mental gymnastics people trip over themselves using to criticize Michael without actually vilifying him.
Just call a spade a spade, people.
Everyone looks for an excuse as to why they or someone they like is not racist, I guess people would rather be stupid than racist instead of just not being racist lol
God forbid people should have to admit wrongdoing
Yep. I think Michael's reasoning was he just had a "hunch" about Kevin or something like that.
We later find out that Kevin can do his work. Only if it involves pie.
You know it's possible to become not racist, right? Like you can have shitty opinions and beliefs, but learn and grow out of them. So yeah, if somebody has ignorant opinions and beliefs (like Michael Scott), they're racist. They can learn how not to be racist, though.
My wife's parents are Korean, and before she dated me, they had lots of shitty opinions about black people, because they're from Korea and have only been exposed to media and the news about black people. Getting to know me has allowed them to rethink those beliefs that might come from a homogeneous country.
Maybe you should be more concerned with how much racism there is in the world rather than trying to redefine it so it doesn't make people feel icky.
lmao...I remember that scene now. hahahahahaha
Stereotyping a race is very the definition of believing that other races are inferior hence it fits in the true definition of racism perfectly. Stereotypes literally implies that non whites are 2 dimensional people with no depth to their cultures and traditions. That only whites can be more a couple of things compared to Asians, Indians, Middle Easterners etc. Michael not only shows that he truly believes stereotypes are true, he never really attempts to reconcile his behavior when other characters in the show that make it obvious he was out of line.
So if I say that Germans are punctual people, which is a stereotype, does that mean I believe that Germans are inferior?
But you know these disingenuous 'just asking questions' shitheads won't listen.
Edit: Couldn't have timed this post any better.
Can we let this thread coin the term "loveable racist"? Cause that's what I am reading over the last some odd pages.
OP
OP
I really enjoyed the way you ignored almost every other reply to your posts and then ignored the entirety of GameAddict's post all to construct a disingenuous strawman.
Bravo.
how did this thread hit 10 pages?
scott is written to be a really stupid/ignorant character, nothing more, nothing less. any racist remarks in show is just a showcase of that. he's not actually racist though.
scott is written to be a really stupid/ignorant character, nothing more, nothing less. any racist remarks in show is just a showcase of that. he's not actually racist though.
Why not? They were clearly deliberately not okay at the time too.
Or is that not allowed now?
These two posts sum up this issue best. If you can't recognize it in a TV show, then so much for being a helpful real life ally.
It reached 10 pages because we have to explain to people like you what racism is.
Yep. He is a freaking idiot but there was no malicious intent here at all. He truly wanted to pay for their education and stupidly thought he would be rich by the time they graduated.
This thread is a fascinating case study in which (presumably mostly white) people refuse to hold white people to any amount of responsibility or accountability when it comes to prejudicial beliefs about other people.
Michael Scott is definitely a racist. Also, a funny character.
If he was a real person, he'd undoubtedly be characterized as racist and his antics would be less funny because they're actually happening in real life.
Michael Scott is definitely a racist. Also, a funny character.
If he was a real person, he'd undoubtedly be characterized as racist and his antics would be less funny because they're actually happening in real life.
Apparently if you say "I'm not racist..." and follow it by a stream of blatant racism, it makes you not racist.
Apparently if you have a black friend, you can't possibly be racist.
And then these posters wonder why the thread has gone on for so long.
If being racist is thinking other races are inferior, he's definitely not.
If being racist is stereotyping other races, he definitely is.
He is not maleficent, nor dumb for that matter, he's just extremely ignorant and lacking of self-awareness, but that doesn't change the end result.
Actually, those two traits are probably the most common among racists, so that would actually make him a prime example of one.
If being racist is stereotyping other races, he definitely is.
He is not maleficent, nor dumb for that matter, he's just extremely ignorant and lacking of self-awareness, but that doesn't change the end result.
Actually, those two traits are probably the most common among racists, so that would actually make him a prime example of one.
We've reached this point because the segments of society that are convinced that we've become "too PC" have responded by pushing the narrative that calling someone out for their racist behavior is somehow just as bad as being actually racist.
People in this thread talk about how Michael Scott grew and developed as the series went on (something I don't necessarily agree with, but whatever), how is that supposed to happen in real life, when dealing with real actual humans and not fictional characters, unless this behavior is called out for what it is?
Yep, he's a racist. He's racist in much the same way lots of white people are. They don't think they are racist but they are ignorant. I know lots of people like this. They don't mean to harm anyone, they never say overtly racist things, they don't consider themselves racist, but they say some really stupid shit.
Reducing racism is admirable but that's too haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard.
Let's just redefine racism so we can pretend it's been eradicated, that way everybody wins.
Well, except for the women, minorities and foreigners that continue to be discriminated against but nobody cares about them anyway.
In real life, the antics would have been over by season one because Michael/Dunder Mifflin would have been hit with a damn lawsuit lol. I appreciate the show for what it is, and I enjoy Michael as a character but it's fascinating what's obviously racist and unacceptable behavior to me, is being described as at best harmless or at worst just unmaliciously ignorant by others.
Two Americas indeed.
First of all Germans are not a race, and secondly even positive stereotypes are harmful. Read about how Asians are considered to be "ideal" immigrants in the US, and how expectation are actually hurting the Asian community in an unexpected ways. Third of all it seems you are grasping straws here, and if you are truly interested in learning about the significance of racism you would be researching on your own and reading books about the issue.
Here is something that some people might be offended here about it: Michael Scott reflects how white straight behave in America to a large degree. It's dialed up 10x worse then reality for sure, but the internal reasoning and logic of how Michael behaves is real. It might be actually why the show is so popular. It resonant with people who witness a less offensive behavior like Michael's in their lives. It's funny. But what's really concerning is that a lot of posters in this thread seem to be dismissive, and ignorant about the issue of race and how much impact it has on minorities.
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Don't start on season 1 -- start with season 2 and go back to 1 only if you make your way through the first few seasons.
By saying this you're going to hurt their feelings. We can't have that!
It's pretty crazy. He has at least one blatantly racist moment with nearly every single minority cast member.
That's what makes the start of the show so much better, he's a racist buffoon that everyone hates the guts off.
Making him a competent manager by accident in later seasons was really ill advised.
Remember the time he made a commercial for Dunder Mifflin and he had Stanley playing the role of a convict in an orange jumpsuit picking up trash on the side of a road?
Remember the time Jo gave Darryl a promotion and Michael asked him if Jo had owed his family something for a past injustice, when all Darryl did was present a good idea and he did it right in front of Michael?
Remember when Michael told Oscar his Mexicaness is what defined him and unironically agreed with the Oscar's sarcastic suggestion that he ride into his welcome back party on a donkey?
Remember when he told Karen she was "very exotic looking" and asked if her father was a GI five seconds after meeting her?
I could keep going. But no, he's not racist.
This was apparent from the moment this thread started. I saw several people muddy the water and pretend Michael is not a racist. Then people start arguing what racism even means and that's where I drew the same conclusions. White people are offended when they are pointed out as being racist. But the sole reason people point it out is so that people can learn from it and stop, but end up as being offended and defend themselves. This is sooooooooo common and people need to recognize that you are not evil for being a racist. All people hold weird prejudices about certain group of people. It might how they were raised, or who they were socialized with, but we are all guilty of prejudice at some point in our lives. The best thing is to recognize when we are racist, or when we apply our prejudices. Learn from that situation and understand it so that we don't do it again. That's the ideal outcome, and the outcome that I hope white people in this thread need to understand.
I'm not sure but I think this is also another side to white privilege.
I mean, if you look at a thread about reverse racism people peeps (predominantly white) will kick up a shit storm.
Yet white peoples will defend other whypipos racist remarks and behaviors to the hilt.
Then you have Parks and Rec, where Leslie starts off as kind of a clueless Michael Scott clone (without the racism... I think, I don't remember much about the Blandanowitz year) but grows into the character, and everyone else in the entire county other than the main characters is basically racist and/or backwards. Like all those paintings in city hall.
So yeah, I think it's ok to laugh at ignorance as long as that's clearly the point and people aren't holding it up as some gold standard non ironically.
So yeah, I think it's ok to laugh at ignorance as long as that's clearly the point and people aren't holding it up as some gold standard non ironically.
Michael Scott is literally everything you can throw at him. Racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
But what the show did so good was betray him as a lovable idiot despite all that. He's a damn man child. He simply doesn't get that 99% of the shit he says is offensive even when being yelled at for it. But then there are the rare tiny moments he shuts it down and acts "normal" and you can see that he is a good guy and even great at his job. He just believes he HAS to be this way because he doesn't want to be the big mean boss that no one likes. In one of the episodes they made it clear Michael was a lonely kid growing up with little to no friends. As someone posted earlier, it's as if he learned everything from TV shows and movies.
But what the show did so good was betray him as a lovable idiot despite all that. He's a damn man child. He simply doesn't get that 99% of the shit he says is offensive even when being yelled at for it. But then there are the rare tiny moments he shuts it down and acts "normal" and you can see that he is a good guy and even great at his job. He just believes he HAS to be this way because he doesn't want to be the big mean boss that no one likes. In one of the episodes they made it clear Michael was a lonely kid growing up with little to no friends. As someone posted earlier, it's as if he learned everything from TV shows and movies.
Remember this?
I thought/hoped it was meant to be some Office inspired joke but everyone except for the Asian woman was way too into so nope...
Ignorant and probably, yeah.
I thought/hoped it was meant to be some Office inspired joke but everyone except for the Asian woman was way too into so nope...
Ignorant and probably, yeah.
It's almost as if Sony, is full of shit. I am sure no one expected Sony to admit he didn't know what he was talking about.
Yeah but that guy is saying racist shit ALL THE TIME, like whenever there is a possibility to say something racist he's going to jump at the occasion.
At this point there's no meaningful distinction
if you have a continuing history and show no intention of correction even after being shown evidence multiple times , you're not just "being" something, you are something.
all he'd have to do is try, and stick to it for his own sake, but he can't do even that. it would be outside of his satisfaction and at a cost too high for comfort. so he's just a helpless, hapless, "lovable", incidental racist who is happy being that way for the most part, because it's the easiest thing to do with the least effort.
I think I remember Leslie having a couple jokes about where Tom was "really" from in season 1.
Yeah but she cut that shit pretty quickly and the show was still in the "what if the Office happened in the public sector" phase.
Leslie circa season 7 wouldn't pull that shit, while Michael Scott season 8 certainly would.
Once or twice? Maybe.
A 40 year old man over the span of 6-7 years saying the same kind of thing. You racist.