My Favorite Entertainers are People of Color!
The only explanation is: I must be racist.
While watching a TV show the other day, I began reflecting on the actors/actresses that I truly enjoy watching. Suddenly I realized that almost every single one of them are people of color!
I started asking myself, “What has caused me to really appreciate these people?” “Did these actors get heaped upon me by Hollywood in some attempt to force me to ‘love’ people of color?” A few other questions crossed my mind as well, until I came to the conclusion that the reason I love these people is because of just how incredible their performances are, the work that went into their portrayal of the characters, and the commitment they made to be the very best at what they do. It had nothing to do with the color of their skin.
Giancarlo Esposito: Gus Fring in the show “Breaking Bad” has got to be my favorite bad guy character of all time. Mr Esposito hit it out of the park with this character. Gus Fring is one of the most realistic and terrifying characters I’ve ever seen.
Danai Gurira: Michonne on “The Walking Dead”. Danai blew my mind with her portrayal of Michonne. The character is strong, but vulnerable when need be. Danai is a beautiful person and an incredible actor in my opinion.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Mr Eko on the series “Lost.” Adewale nailed the Mr Eko character in the series Lost. Mysterious, dangerous, but also merciful, this character is one of my favorites.
Adina Porter: Indra in the show “The 100”. Holy moly! Indra is, hands down, one of my favorite female characters of all time. She is terrifying. To mess with her would most likely be signing your death warrant. Adina did an incredible job portraying this character.
Christopher Judge: Teal’c of Chulak on the series “Stargate SG-1”. Teal’c was my favorite character in this series. Christopher captured every aspect that could be admired by another man in his portrayal of Teal’c. He was super strong, cared about his family more than anything, but also had a humbleness about him that allowed him to be vulnerable when need be.
Tim Russ: Tuvok on “Star Trek: Voyager.” I was always impressed with the way Tim portrayed Tuvok! The level of control over “emotions” he had throughout the entire series was phenomenal. Dare I say I like him better than Spock? I do!
Believe it or not, the list doesn’t end there! I could list at least 10 more of my favorite entertainers who are people of color, from Richard Pryor to Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha in The Walking Dead).
What would BLM say about me? I’m thinking they would most likely say I was overcompensating for some kind of “white guilt”. Or, they may say that these entertainers I truly enjoy watching are not really black/people of color.
You know, I’ve grown weary of the insane argument about race in our country. Have I known a few racists in my life? Oh yes! And, heaven forbid, a few of them were people of color who had no problem telling me they hated white people. But those people have been far and few between. Have I had dinner with people of color? Absolutely! I’ve visited African American churches where I was literally the only white guy in the congregation. In the military, an African American guy I befriended took me to a club in Anniston AL where I was the only white guy in the whole building. I’ve never had a better time or been treated better at a club. It was awesome. I don’t say any of this in a way to curry favor from anyone of color. No. I just say it because it’s a fact. One I’m proud of. My life has been better because of the people I’ve met and befriended along the way, regardless of their race.
I guess I’m weird because I choose to see people for who they are. If you are one of the rare white trash pieces of garbage throwing around the “N” word… I see you and I want nothing to do with you. By the same token, if you are a person of color who can only see my color and not see anything of worth in me than I want nothing to do with you either.
I’ve met people of all races, colors and religions in my lifetime and I’ve found that almost every single one of them were decent people who just wanted to live their lives and enjoy them. And yes, I’ve met a very small minority of them that were just not nice human beings.
You know what impresses me? People of any ethnicity who work hard, live decent lives, don’t play the victim, don’t teach their children to hate, and just want to be part of this incredible world we inhabit. I refuse to allow BLM, Antifa (who are all mostly white by the way) or any of the other groups out there trying to keep ethnicity as the focus to affect my opinion about someone. *I* choose who I’m going to be. I choose the way I’m going to get along with or not get along with someone, and I do that based on their character. If people of color gain my respect because of how hard they have worked to overcome heaven-knows-what to provide me with an incredible amount of entertainment value. My hat’s off to you. Thank you for doing what you do.
"People ...[of any ethnicity] ... who work hard, live decent lives, don’t play the victim, don’t teach their children to hate, and just want to be part of this incredible world we inhabit."
This is the key to unlock the door to the honest world, the real world, the world where we are what we are, not what someone else wants to believe we are. All that is needed is open eyes willing to, dare I say, discriminate between good and bad. Not every seed in this bag of nuts is edible. Choose wisely.
Good stuff, Rob. I like your blue collar writing style...no nonsense, down-to-earth and real. I gave up TV 32 years ago, and haven't watched a movie in many years because of hearing impairment. Therefore, I haven't seen any of the shows/movies that you mention. I'll take your word on the greatness of the performers that you mention. If you have never seen it, definitely watch ''Do the Right Thing,'' the movie that put Spike Lee on the map. Actually, I watched it several times, back in the day, and each time I saw and heard many things that I'd missed. Great actors of various ethnicities, great script, simple set, super dialogue with lots of ad libs, and an incredible commentary on race relations. It's from circa 1986. My favorite movie of all time. Black Lives Matter was created for one main purpose, imo. Like so many other social constructs that are concocted by the powers that should not be, BLM is there to pit people against each other. I've read, more than once, that one of the founders was a WEFFER, which is unsurprising. ( No, I haven't fact-checked that, ) Keep the populace at each others' throats, while robbing them blind and usurping all of their liberties and rights. It's a shame that so many fall for it.