Look, for the most part, I like Adam Carolla. He’s a smart, funny guy who’s led an interesting life and has carved out a unique niche for himself. He was also nice enough to let us interview him a while back. But sometimes I wish he’d just shut the f*ck up if he can’t express himself more eloquently and with a little more empathy, because some of the things he says makes me uncomfortable in the way that can be uncomfortable when someone you’re talking to starts randomly starts spouting ass-backwards sh*t, like that women aren’t funny men are funnier than women and stuff (hasn’t he ever heard of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Peretti, etc?). And now the Man Show alum and podcasting pioneer has taken it to another level.
In an interview podcast with former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom on his podcast, Carolla went there. After Newsom noted that “half of African Americans in the state of California, and roughly half of Latino families, have no access to a checking account or an ATM,” Carolla voiced some questions that probably should have been addressed, well, more eloquently and with a little more empathy.
“What’s wrong with them?” asked Carolla. “I want to know why those two groups don’t have access. Are they flawed?”
Newsom quickly attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere. “I don’t want to have a sociological debate,” he said.
“I want to know why [Blacks and Latinos] are struggling,” Carolla continued. “Do Asians have this problem? Why do so many [Blacks and Latinos]? Blacks have been here longer than we have. What about Asians–they were put in internment camps. Are they at the check cashing places?”
“Why are [these problems] concentrated in the African American community?” Newsom responded. “Look at the history. It’s naïve to suggest that those things don’t matter.”
“How about the Jews?” asked Carolla. “No problems in the past? Whose had it worse? Why are the Jews doing well? [...] Why do some groups do so much better? I’ll tell you why: They have a family who puts an emphasis on education.”
Did Adam Carolla just wonder aloud why blacks and Latinos can’t just be more like the Jews? Why yes, I think he just did. Here’s audio of the exchange…
UM, WELL, OKAY THEN DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT WHAT THE CAT TOLD THE HORSE?!?!
(Pretends to have to be somewhere else and walks uncomfortably away.)
(Via Gawker. Pic via Shutterstock)
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What are we going to do about grandpa?
It’s uncomfortable sure, but it’s an interesting (albeit loaded) question.
I know politics bore you, but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you – and your racist friend.
This is where the party ends.
TMBG was the first band I ever saw, when I was like 11 maybe….they were opening for Boyz 2 Men.
TMBG opening for Boyz 2 Men? When was that?
I don’t know. Maybe he’s doing the right questions in a wrong way. I’m from Mexico, and I was talking to a friend yesterday about customer service on different companies in here and how awful is pretty much in any company. We ended up thinking if the problem is not the service per se, but the culture we live in. Maybe there’s some reason behind the questions he made, but obviously is not the place nor the people to address that. And not in the way he did it.
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s doing the right questions in a wrong way.”
this is exactly it. he’s basically the least tactful person ever and it’s what gets him in trouble all of the time. the point he’s making usually isn’t offensive, he just doesn’t know how to say it in a way that doesn’t make him sound awful.
plus, the “women aren’t funny” thing was taken completely out of context. he’s explained it better before but he was asked point blank who was funnier, men or women? and he felt like he had to give an answer so he said “men”. he didn’t say “women aren’t funny” and he even made sure to note Tina Fey and a few others as prime examples of funny women. i also don’t think he’s wrong, i do think there are more funny men than women in the world. that doesn’t mean “women aren’t funny”
This. The problem is that everybody wants to be tactful, so now we’re all willing to let problems go unsolved because we’re a bunch of sensitive pussies.
What’s wrong with being tactful? There is nothing wrong with being able to communicate your thoughts accurately with words. It’s the difference between a criticism and a critique. Criticism aims to reduce a person to your level. A critique aims to raise them to your level.
I’m not saying this applies to you OFBCM, but I’m tired of the argument that we’re oversensitive pussies. It’s generally used by people without the respect to take the time to critique.
If Adam Corolla really gave a shit about answering this question then he would have taken the time to word it in a manner conducive to actual thought rather than knee-jerk calls of racism. I’m telling you, he knew the kind of reaction he would get and he didn’t care.
@Chick Magnet, there’s nothing wrong with tact. it’s what makes people take you seriously instead of just dismissing you as an idiot, which unfortunately many people do with Carolla.
@Lunchbox, on the other hand you don’t get it either. it’s a live show he’s doing, he doesn’t exactly have time to think about it and word it in a nice clean way that won’t offend anybody. it’s especially problematic for him because he has one of the quickest minds in the business that’s always moving and it lends itself to some of the best analogies i’ve ever heard and also gets him in a lot of trouble because he’ll speak before really processing what he’s going to say
It’s certainly an interesting question, one that I (Latina) and my Filipino husband frequently ponder and debate. But we minorities tend to chafe at the claim that I just need to be more Jewish and everything will be all better.
I’m Jewish and I can introduce you to plenty of poor, ignorant Jews.
I’m Jewish and I’m great at everything. I can teach you a thing or two.
Teach me, Hef!
His question is legitimate. Why do blacks and hispanics in Los Angeles have to use check cashing places (THAT was the original point brought up by our Lt. Governor Newsome). Gavin didn’t have an answer other than “there’s a lot of reasons” Adam tried to hold his feet to the fire to get an honest answer but seeing what a loaded question (not capable of being spun if made into a soundbite) he dodged it. It isn’t racist to ask why a large amount of two very different cultures don’t use banks and as such are preyed upon by check cashing joints. Google banks in los angeles, there are a shit-ton even in the less desirable parts. This wasn’t about predatory loans or anything of the sort, it was simply about check cashing.
If you can answer why whites in Ohio and Florida appear in the news so much doing stupid shit, then I think we can have a good discussion.
I was unaware there was a correlation between the two instances.
Or are you suggesting that due to the fact that there are complete fucktards out there in the world who are white we shouldn’t talk about minorities and check cashing institutions that prey on them?
This is why it’s pointless for white people to talk about race. You’ll get pilloried for expressing an opinion that doesn’t place all of the problems of black America on white America.
What’s the upside? Best to keep your mouth shut.
If he were a sociologist, no one would’ve made a peep. If he had ended his outburst with “These are the questions we need to be asking,” I think we’d be seeing different reactions.
You can talk about race, but not in a context where you are blaming an entire race for their own problems and calling them broken.
Exactly, Rhelgy.
Thank you for proving my point Rhelgy. Whites can accept 100% responsibility for the problems facing blacks and Latinos, or they can be racists.
So, Roman, you think the only options are “it’s all black people’s fault” or “it’s all white people’s fault”?
You definitely proved a point. Just not the one you intended.
you think the only options are “it’s all black people’s fault” or “it’s all white people’s fault”?
That kind of logic seems… *sunglasses* … black and white. YEEEAAAHHH!
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
When I said “you” I have no idea what race you are, but it’s evident now based on the defensiveness. I didn’t say anything about placing all the blame on whites or any other ethnic group. However, it is ignorant to ignore that many issues are by-products of past mistreatment. That’s just fucking history.
Latina and Philipino? Can my son call dibs on your future daughter?
dammit, wrong thread. Seriously though Metsy. Seriously.
You can talk about race, but not in a context where you are blaming an entire race for their own problems and calling them broken.
So minorities can say that whites cause a lot of their societal problems and thats ok.
If whites were to say that minorities cause a lot our societal problems, you would call them racists.
@Rhelgy
You said specifically that you can’t blame a race for their own problems. What else could that mean other than black people have no responsibility for the many problems facing their community?
Of course racism exists and accounts for many issues, but everything? In 2013, not even close.
And yes, I am being defensive. That is a rational response to your argument.
You don’t even bother to elaborate on the context, which would shed some light on what he was getting at. Regarding the women not funny thing, Carolla was asked, “Are men or women funnier?” He said men are funnier, but there are plenty of hilarious women and SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED TINA FEY and SARAH SILVERMAN by name.
His point in this case was to emphasize that black and latino cultures don’t focus on education and keeping families together. Not sure why he was trying to get a politician to agree to such a statement (goodbye, career).
Yeah, why can’t a black man get a checking account at a place like, say… Chase Bank
[wonkette.com]
Don’t bring facts into this.
Yes, I do wish people would stop claiming that Carolla has claimed that women aren’t funny. He said no such thing, and anyone who perpetuates that tale obviously never heard his original statement.
As for labeling him a racist due to this particular exchange, again, I can only assume the entire conversation was not heard, just the selected parts that allow one to make this racism case. He was trying to pin this politician against the wall and get him to stop spouting the party line simply out of fear of alienating his constituents. Heaven forbid someone actually try to address the root of these problems that affect some groups of individuals much more than others — to ignore such things and pretend things “just happen” that way is truly racist.
In fairness, he has repeatedly claimed that in general, women are not as funny as men on the whole. However, there are exceptions to the rule, in his mind, such as Tina Fey, etc. The whole exchange that originally got him in trouble was a “gotcha” type question from a reporter, but he has basically backed it up ever since.
If you go by shear statistics, roughly 51% of the nation is female. Females do not make up half the comedic population. Why is that? Are people keeping women off of open mike nights (honestly I don’t know)? I always thought that comedy is like selling drugs, if you got the good shit, people will find you. So to say that men are funnier than women (with some obvious exceptions) doesn’t really seem sexist to me, more like mildly observational.
And by the way, he specifically mentioned that he thinks Tina Fey is funny in his women in comedy speech. He just thinks men are funnier in average.
Strange how no one gets offended when someone says Jews tend to be funnier than Gentiles, for example.
Because we control the media, duh.
Anybody who thinks Gentiles are funnier than Jews is a racist and probably also supports the PLO.
Have to add: I just saw his last line. “[Asians and Jewish people] have a family who puts an emphasis on education.” Hey, asshole. So did my Latino parents. And I lucked out that not only did they emphasize education, they had the money to help me achieve my goals. (Not a lot of money, but you can’t deny it helps.)
Because he was clearly talking about every black and latino family ever. He in no way, shape, or form was addressing an actual problem in Los Angeles (and the country as a whole) but just one broad sweeping generalization).
Sigh. That broad sweeping generalization is what I found to be a problem.
Sigh. I take it you didn’t actually listen to the interview.
He’s not saying every single Latin person doesn’t care about education. Do you think Latino families, in general, focus on education as much as Asian families? Do you think that if they put more focus on education it would lead to a better station in life?
@Andrew T – Shut up you fucking racist. Life is much easier if you just read pull-quotes and don’t try to solve problems (or even acknowledge them).
I didn’t listen to the interview, I just read the transcript. That could be the problem. I’m not getting the context. However, my only point was that sometimes, emphasizing education isn’t enough. If the parents can’t afford application fees, school costs, etc., education might take a back seat.
Not going to defend him, nor I want to use the next example as a generalization, but I can tell you that when I lived in Nuevo Laredo, next to Texas, the most obnoxious people used to be boys and girls born from mexican parents on the other side of the border. They treated mexicans like shit, using derogative terms like “indio”, “naco” and such, like if the place they were born automatically changed their DNA. Obviously this doesn’t happen everywhere and to everyone, but you can see my point as I can see yours.
@Gen Fatassery I didn’t call a single person racist so don’t put words in my mouth.
@Metsy You absolutely did not. I did not mean to imply you did, it just so happened to be a reply to your thread. That was more of my take on white guilt when anyone points out a problem in a minority class from the Gawker elite.
Just wanted to be clear. I don’t think saying things like this makes anyone a racist. A little boneheaded? Maybe. Oversimplifying things? Perhaps. But I really don’t see anything racist in what he saw. Of course, I’m not Judge and Jury of All Things Racist, so…
Yes, he should definitely not be the messenger, he is clearly not articulate enough. However the message is solid, and there is a problem that needs to be worked on.
However, my only point was that sometimes, emphasizing education isn’t enough. If the parents can’t afford application fees, school costs, etc., education might take a back seat.
Another person that wants to ignore facts and stats. Take every kid in PUBLIC schools, where literally everything,…including lunch is provided. Now you break those kids down and look at race/test score ratio. As a whole, Blacks and Latinos ALWAYS score much much lower than Asian students. Why is that?? Is it because Asians are genetically superior to the other groups? Is it because Asians…some being in this country much less time than blacks and latinos….does the “system” work better for them??
Or is it as Carolla said that as a whole….Asian families are more likely to stay together, and emphasize education for their children?
If your comeback involves…”well I know several Mexican and Black families that push for education”…then you’re missing the point. Look at stats. Look at test scores, look at drop out rates. You will see that Carolla was 100% correct.
You’re right, Fartbunkel. I’m the exception rather than the rule. My only point in sharing was that it’s not as simple as just stating “copy them.” It’s a very complicated issue that should be explored, but blanket statement don’t help any.
Yeah Carolla, don’t ask legit questions. They make some people (read: white liberals) uncomfortable.
you forgot to add “guilty” in front of ‘White’.
/it’s ok, I’m from Seattle, I’m a professional in this arena.
Wow. I will only say that I have learned that quite a few commenters (General, MREJR) aren’t necessarily racist, but they FUCKING LOVE white people. “Bro those Jews that were killed in Europe? Same thing as systemic racism that has decimated an entire culture in America.” “Bro, this is a legit question. Why can’t those fucks just be more like the (white) Jews?”
As an educator, I have a soft spot for LBJ despite him being an asshole. He had a fantastic quote about our treatment of black people in America (paraphrasing): “Imagine our cultures were in a 100-yard dash. For the first 50 yards, one of them had their legs tied together. Then you cut the knot and expect them to catch up on their own?”
In other words, Peter North is a freak of nature.
as a mexican american I agree with him. Why are latinos struggling? Why are we so unorganized? most of them get there to work and send money back to mexico or el salvador or wherever, but they start living in crowded apartments, being messy, breaking some laws if they can get away with it, and it’s a cultural thing, this shit happens in mexico as well. It’s no excuse I fucking hate this about my culture and try my hardest to not be like this.
We need to talk about this, address these uncomfortable issues in order to collectively say “we need to get our shit together!” and be better persons and take all yer jerbs and white women!
This.
Mexico as a country could be a fucking HUGE industrial powerhouse If they could get their shit together. Sadly, corruption, both in the political and business areas are holding them back.
I don’t think it’s fair to equate the corruption in Mexico with the current status of Mexicans in the US. Like Andrew said, Mexico is rife with so much corruption that it seems unlikely that there will ever be real change, at least not for a few generations. Corruption has become an accepted part of doing business in Mexico. But I don’t think that corruption has ANYTHING to do with Mexicans here in the states.
@DaRooster: Actually, I think there is a relationship–in that a strong, open (i.e. less corrupt) Mexican economy would mean fewer people coming here, legally or illegally.
Well, OFBCM, I think people come here from Mexico because the US is generally better in every way, not just in terms of corruption.
No doubt, but what I’m getting at is that the corruption causes the shitty living conditions, which motivates people to come here if they can. And for the most part, illegals aren’t living the high life here either.
If corrupt government were enough to drive people away, you could land a plane on Lake Shore Blvd or K Street — it’s the low level of opportunity created by a lack of “rule of law” that I’m talking about.
And by the way, I’m as conservative as anybody here. Just not an asshole.
…and we can’t spell “their”…, and have bad grammar. But what do I know.
Make sure to listen to today’s podcast, he addresses this again in a very long winded rant, and I think he’s right.
His response on today’s podcast was brilliant and cutting and absolutely correct. I wish all these outlets who are trying to vilify him and twist his words would also be forced to post and respond to his rebuttal. Pussy attack media, avoiding real problems by attacking those who dare try to work towards real solutions and ask the hard questions.
you’re still fucking up his comments about women. carolla never said women aren’t funny, just that men are funnier than women. he also listed a bunch of women, including tina fey, that he thought were funnier than most men. you dont have to agree with him and you can think its a stupid comment but at least get it right before taking umbrage.
carolla’s also not wondering why blacks and latinos are doing as well as jews and asians. he has an answer. hes positing that there is not enough parental involvement in black and latino families and that the kids are getting screwed because the system is never going to make up for the lack of parenting.
not tactful but not racist or creepy. the creepiness is the cajun boy constantly posting about what a champion for minorities he is. always ready to point out a potentially un-PC comment from a quasi famous entertainer. great job cajun boy, you are a hero to the downtrodden and unrepresented! the cajun boy is the best white person ever!
He’s talking about accountability. As individuals and as a community. He’s just a little oafish about it. Also, I’m white, so take what I say about this with a grain of salt (on a bed of arugula with white truffle shavings ).
“‘He’s just asking questions, man!!” Isn’t that the Fox News slogan?
“He’s a smart, funny guy.” Smart? Meh.
Also a politician asking about a sociological problem (which Newsome did with his comment about blacks and hispanics using check cashing places) and then following that up with the statement “I don’t want to have a sociological debate” is not only cowardice, it is pandering to a portion of a community that is in need of help not just empty rhetoric.
Commentor rebellion!
Sadly, it’s a lot easier to complain about PC bullshit and hatchet jobs using an Internet pseudonym. We still can’t have a rational and honest race discussion in this country, whites are terrified of being labelled a racist.
Being white sucks, it’s so hard for me, ya know?
I agree with you, we can’t have an honest discussion about race but it’s because all races are touchy. If I mentioned white privilege to you I’m sure you’d react poorly.
No, I’d just dismiss it as the pseudo-intellectual grad school BS that it is.
The term “white privilege” might be grad schoolish, but the underlying concept that white men have it easier than everyone else in this country is undeniable. (Unless, as Louis C.K. notes, you’re an asshole.)
Here’s a take on it that puts it in plain English: Straight White Male is the Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
As a black man the main thing i know about jews overall is that they are supremly unified. tv makes jokes about being cheap but since i dont have any jewish friends i dont really know that to be a fact. i can see the unity everywhere i see jews its obvious and its beautiful. the main thing i know about asians from the asians ive known is that there was a over bearing demand on education. the asians i knew that were amrican raised and didnt take school as seriously were always in troubke at home according to them.
As a black man, when I talk with my friends the main thing that can empower us all is unity and education. I might not want Carolla or any white guy to be the one making this a public discussion, but I ain’t mad at’em.
I imagine black comedians (d.l hughley, Chris rock, etc) will defend his right to free speech. I wish all my black ppl become more unified, minority gun violence breaks my heart.
I don’t know if he has DL Hughley or Chris Rock on his side, but if he gets shit David Alan Grier will be right there to defend him.
I’m Jewish and the vast majority of Jews I know aren’t cheap. My grandfather grew up dirt poor and hated cheapness and the stereotype. He judged people who had money and didn’t spend it.
I think ALL gun violence should break your heart.
Boy this did not go the way Cajun Boy was expecting it to i bet.
But… but… but.. guys…evil rich white man talking about minorities. Seriously, I get it Cajun Boy, you don’t like Adam Carolla. However, rather than try to raise a white guilt infused posse, maybe you should just ignore him. I for one have no idea what Jeff Foxworthy says on his podcasts for the simple reason I don’t fucking care what he has to say.
I actually like Carolla. Did you not read the opening of my post? Stuff like this is delicate and he’s like the proverbial bull in a china shop.
I personally was referring to the fact that not a single commentor seems to agree with you that Carolla really said anything wrong.
Oh, sorry, Dissident…my comment was directed at Gen. Fatassery’s response to your original comment. My bad.
No problem. Though you might want to edit your bit about his “women aren’t funny” comment because you got that wrong.
Fixed.
What else can I get you to do?
I haven’t even listened to Carolla’s show in over a year ever since he started to turn it into the podcast equivalent of a right wing talk show. is he still doing that? politics and foreign policy are basically the two things I think he’s completely full of shit and uneducated on and yet it started to become the two things he would only talk about and he just sounded like a moron when he’d do it.
I switched over to the Dr. Drew & Carolla podcast when they launched it a couple months ago. It’s a little lighter on the political stuff, although predictably a little heavier on addiction talk.
I have a bigger problem with Dr. Drew than Carolla these days. As someone who listened to Loveline with the two of them as a teen, I was a big fan of Dr. Drew, but I feel like he has exploited the addiction problems of celebrities for his own personal gain. If you really want to help people, do you need to have a TV show where you put their problems on display? It makes me pretty uncomfortable.
Sure, that’s a good question. I think (THINK) the theory would be that if people are going to emulate dumbass celebrities anyway, maybe showing said dumbass celebrities getting real treatment will motivate other people?
This would still be relevant if Celebrity Rehab hadn’t been off the air for years now.
Man Caj, you really stepped in it, haha.
It’s amazing there’s so many comments without there even being badges to unlock. “You’ve just unlocked the David Duke badge! Keep it up!”
I say it was a legit question. It takes about 10 minutes to start a bank account at any bank or credit union. Why would people rather be ripped off at crappy check cashing places. I never understand it.
My guess is they think they’re being equally ripped off by a bank.
[shrugs shoulders]
Which then leads us back to the education argument. If you are taught that school (at least up through high school) is of the highest importance then you are able to do math. Once you realize that math isn’t scary, you can do rough calculations of interest rates and learn that the people stealing your money aren’t the banks (well, not in this instance) but rather the check cashing/payday loan people.
I think the language barrier plays a part in it. Also, there’s probably a lot of spanish-speaking associates at the check cashing places. Plus, have you ever noticed where they put check cashing places? Usually they’re in a strip mall near a ghetto part of town.
True but there is a Chase, a BofA, and a Union Bank all within 1.4 miles from Florence & Normandie Ave. Not exactly a cross-town bus ride to get to a bank.
I’ll go you one better: You can take your paycheck to Wally World and cash it for very modest fees, or get a loaded debit card and buy your food there.
But you can’t do that in LA, because Walmart bad. God forbid you allow construction of a huge business that will employ dozens/hundreds of uneducated people.
I don’t want to pay more than $3 for a tshirt. HOW DARE YOU NOT PAY THESE PEOPLE A LIVING WAGE!!!
I’ll post this again because you must have missed it. Here it is from a different source. Maybe black people don’t trust banks because banks don’t trust them?
[www.thelifefiles.com]
Yes I saw it. One time two years ago a racist teller called the cops and had an innocent man arrested for trying to cash his check. Do you honestly believe that this is why impoverished minorities use check cashing services? When you google search “innocent man arrested for cashing check” but block out all dates around the first couple of weeks in July 2011 you get zero results of non fraudulent instances. So you have shown what is apparently the one time this happened. Not exactly endemic of banks as a whole. So what exactly is your point?
Remember that scene from Boys N the Hood where Furious goes off about all the Liquor Stores and Gun stores in Compton?
This reminds me of that.
thats a great scene. and delivering the lecture beneath that insanely racist billboard? not very subtle those south central LA real estate developers. also, furious styles, great name.
Welcome to the free market. There are times when it really, really sucks ass.
I’ve worked at a check cashing place, and the overwhelming majority of customers are people who have messed up the legit banks accounts they do have. Sure, you’ve got some who don’t use banks at all because they’re paranoid or for whatever reason, but mostly its people running from and not owning up to previous mistakes at whatever financial institutions they have used.
And the point is spot on in the demographics as well. Even in whitebread Minnesota, if you judged local population by people that came into the store, you’d think it was Chicago, LA, NY, or other cities with large “minority” populations.
From personal experience, its an issue with education. Pretty much everyone who used the service regularly, whether white, black, pink, yellow, purple, whatever, its people who don’t give a shit about paying their dues and just takes the easiest path of avoidance.
Chase will open accounts for people with those problems. In exchange, they don’t give them checks, they cannot use their debit card when the amount in the account is less than $100 and they pay $15 a month service fee. Not magnanimous but certainly better than the alternative.
I don’t disagree with you. You want to come in and cash a big check because you don’t want the bank to hold it for a week, fine. Thats the same thing as a RAL from HR Block or something with a tax return. IF you consider having your money that much quicker worth the fee, thats up to you. But the people who would continue to come in week after week because they’re avoiding a couple overdraft fees….god that made me a cynical fuck after a while.
I know some of it is hiding from “being on the grid”. Quite often there’d be people who would be collecting state assistance checks from MN and another from IL or WI. You take those to a bank, reporting your SSN and that, you get caught pretty quick.
It’s weird. It’s almost like this is a complex issue or something.
Yeah, why can’t blacks just do exactly what the Jews did? It’s not like there was anything at all different about their experience here.
You know, aside from 250 years of slavery, 75 more years of segregation, and then throughout the 20th century a denial of basic citizenship rights like voting, rampant discrimination in everything from elementary education to college admissions to home mortgages and, yes, fucking bank loans.
Blacks were steered away from GI Bill benefits; Jews weren’t. Blacks were redlined out of most neighborhoods and couldn’t purchase homes, which are the #1 source of equity for most Americans; Jews (for the most part) weren’t. Blacks were denied access to most white collar jobs for much of the 20th century; Jews weren’t. Blacks were denied admission to most colleges until the 1960s; Jews weren’t.
Both groups were discriminated against in America, yes. But to pretend that they faced the same discrimination is laughable.
Roughly 11 million blacks died (murdered) during the 300ish years of slavery and “racial unrest”. Roughly 6 million Jews died (murdered) in the 11 years of the holocaust. I wouldn’t call the comparison laughable. If you want to extrapolate those numbers however the comparison does become so. However, the reason a man/woman in S. Central Los Angeles doesn’t have a checking account (the catalyst for the debate) has nothing to do with slavery in the 1600′s. You want to talk about unfair rates or being steered towards “ghetto” loans then you have an argument but otherwise bringing up slavery and the civil rights movement really doesn’t have anything to do with using a check cashing/payday loan service.
who’s pretending that jews and blacks faced the same discrimination? appreciate the history refresher but carolla’s point is the parental involvement (or lack thereof) typically found in various minorities.
pick apart the argument all you like, there’s a lot to pick at, but at least first understand what carolla’s point is.
Shit you not, on more than one occaision there was some young girl sending money to baby daddy in prision, yelling and cursing at her crotchspawn causing hell, and she’s the one that acts indignant when the 2 or 3 year old literally tells her to “fuck off”
General Fatassery: the Jews murdered in the Holocaust weren’t Americans. For the purposes of this debate — which American minorities have thrived and why — that’s irrelevant
Jaroslav: in the blocked quote in the post, Carolla points to Jews as a counterpoint and asks “who’s had it worse?” He’s the one making the comparison and its idiotic.
yes, agreed, getting into a who’s had it worse debate is idiotic. but the thrust of carolla’s rant is still essentially “where’s dad?”, not the ‘who’s been shit on more’ debate.
maybe he can call dan quayle for some back up.
Otto Man, you do realize that the Jews had to leave Europe right?
The Jews emmigrated from Europe to America became Americans all while they were being targeted by a country hellbent on exterminating them. Im not talking about “who had it worse” I’m saying that both have had it remarkably shitty. What sets them apart (in Carolla’s eyes) from other groups that have suffered in the past is the sense of family, community, and emphasis on education that he sees lacking in the black and hispanic communities
Yes, Gen. Fatassery. And do you realize that the total number of European Jews who emigrated to the U.S. under the displaced persons program after World War II was a whopping 68,000?
And when they got here, they faced the same conditions that other American Jews faced — no racial segregation in housing, no bar to their entrance to colleges, no separate schools, no formal system of discrimination by federal government agencies (like Social Security, for which 85% of blacks were ineligible until the mid-1950s), etc etc.
The Holocaust was an abomination. But it’s totally unrelated to this argument.
If the conversation is about “where’s dad?” then let’s look at incarceration statistics for the black male population and the Jewish male population in this country while we’re at it.
Last 2 things from me on that. Roosevelt tightened the immigration policies which then made it much more difficult (nearly impossible) for Jews to immigrate to America and this policy was in place until early 1944. Also if you kill 11 million, fewer will show up to your country.
As for incarceration, that is an interesting statistic. Because I have never seen the statistics for prison vs jail. Jail being where redneck assholes lock you up for being black and having a nice car while they “sort out” your paperwork. Prison being where you have actually committed a crime and serve legit time. If you have a link please share it. I would be interested in the percentage of population for both groups.
yeah the incarceration rate of blacks is something carolla might bring up for reasons why he supports legalization. because it gets in the way of fathers and parents raising kids which is what he sees as the main reason why certain minority groups seem stuck on the lower rungs of the socio economic ladder, whilst others have no problem climbing to the top.
but theres lots to pick apart in carolla’s thoughts. im not defending carolla’s thots en toto. far from it. its just people like the cajun boy who get all carried away with their crusade to pillory comedians for daring to cross some imaginary PC line, especially when they misinterpret and misrepresent the unPC thoughts to begin with. to me, the cajun boy comes across as a condescending creep, protesting more than a little too much. but hey, thats the cajun boy for you.
Yes, American refugee policies were fucked up and horribly racist. What does that have to do with the comparative success of American Jews and African Americans?
Feel free to Google it yourself, but the last figures I remember were that blacks formed 1 million out of the 2.3 million inmates in federal prisons. Yes, many got there on their own fault, but you can’t deny the role of mandatory minimums for crack vs. not for cocaine, etc etc.
Jaroslav, kindly shut the fuck up in your ongoing crusade against Cajun. We all get that you don’t like him. Move on.
Ok but then that becomes an argument of this group of criminals is being punished much more unfairly then that group. It seems to me the easiest way to avoid that mandatory minimum bullshit (which I agree it is) is to not sell drugs. Which goes back to his original point of families not placing an emphasis on education and family. He claims that there is a direct correlation between a lack of education, a lack of a complete family and a higher rate of criminal behavior. I tend to agree with him on that point.
*than
It’s not just selling drugs, it’s possessing them.
The type of cocaine that poor black people liked was criminalized in the 1980s to have much, much harsher penalties than the type of cocaine that rich white people liked. Same drug, different forms.
Like I said, that’s just an argument of one group of criminals being treated more unfairly than another. Now part of that is the whole “fuck black people” type of thinking but the other side of the coin is that middle class and wealthy people weren’t shooting each other over powdered cocaine whereas people who had crack rocks tended to be involved in a more violent pursuit. I myself think all drugs should be legalized and taxed by our government (revenue and a reduction crimes across the board YAY!!!) but he isn’t talking about those that have already failed. He wants to talk about the way to break the cycle, and it isn’t getting rid of mandatory minimums, it is to raise your fucking kids, make sure they go to school, and do their homework with them. These things are all very hard to do in single parent homes, but when the workload is shared between two people…
*”part of that thinking” referring to mandatory minimums
Carl – aw, thats so sweet of you. ok, i’ll no longer talk about how much the cajun boy sucks and how the cajun boy should stop writing terrible, unfunny, politically motivated garbage. you and the cajun boy have my word.
“just people like the cajun boy who get all carried away with their crusade to pillory comedians”
What the fuck are you talking about, Jackoff? Did you even bother to read what I wrote? I said I like Carolla, he just lacks the delicate touch discussing sensitive stuff like this requires, therefore I wish he would do a better job of either censoring himself a bit or approaching stuff like this with a little more empathy.
how did you know my real name is Jackoff???
As editor-in-chief of this fine establishment I have your IP address. Be on the lookout for a olive branch in the form of some gumbo to show up on your doorstep any day now.
As someone who listens to his podcast (because it’s entertaining), this is far from the first time he’s made this point. The only reason it got attention is because he was interviewing a high-profile politician and certain media outlets caught wind of his comments. But he’s said this exact thing before.
I agree with your sentiment, Cajun Boy – he raises solid questions but his tact level is around negative 500. Politically, I don’t agree with Carolla on very many things (since I’m a dirty hippie liberal), but he is actually a pretty smart guy, and he does bring up some valid, uncomfortable points sometimes.
And honestly, I don’t think he could care less about all of this hullabaloo. Because his podcast is independent, he is beholden to no one, so what can anyone really do to him? There’s no corporate big brother to slap him on the wrist.
The worst part about his politics is he insists he has more “liberal” opinions than conservative ones but spends 2/3 of his energy blasting liberals and giving hack conservative radio pundits platforms to spout their bullshit while Carolla agrees with them. If he would just sack up and admit that he’s a conservative or at the very least a libertarian than i could at least accept that he’s honest about it even if i think he’s an idiot when it comes to that stuff
Thank you for getting my point. And yeah, he obviously doesn’t give a shit if he pisses people off or not.
The problem with Carolla is the problem with any discussion of race: no one wants to have an honest discussion they want simple, easy answers.
Dr. Thomas Sowell addresses questions like this in his book “Ethnic America.” It was written over 30 years ago, but still a very good book.
Please don’t bring Sowell into this. That man has been whoring himself out to right-wing thinktanks for forty years now.
Otto, I wouldn’t expect you to be a fan of his. Read the book. It isn’t very political. Sowell is a brilliant mind. Bringing his name and an example of his work seems like a legitimate thing to bring into this discussion. Just one more thing we’ll agree to disagree on.
Oh, I’ve read the book.
If you think he’s brilliant and/or an independent thinker, I’d encourage you to read this review from the American Conservative:
[www.theamericanconservative.com]
He’s far from the hackiest person on the right, but he constructs his scholarship in partisan terms first and foremost.
I feel like I’m watching my parents fight right here.
No, not a fight at all. UU and I tend to agree to disagree on a lot of stuff, but civilly.
The things we agree on, though, watch out.
American Conservative, by the way, is a site I always enjoy reading, even if I rarely agree with their conclusions. They tend to construct their arguments clearly and fairly, and have no patience for the dipshits on their side. (Which is the way I feel about the aging hippie boomer fucktards on mine.) Daniel Larison is brilliant on foreign policy.
In that, it’s unlike Weekly Standard or most of National Review (Ponnuru and Salan are solid there, I’ve found). And David Frum is great, though he was apparently excommunicated from the GOP for his sanity.
I kid- i genuinely enjoy the level of discussion / debate both of you bring to the upproxx threads.
Thanks for the link Otto. I will read it. Everyone is going to have their critics, not everyone is going to agree with everything one says or does. I know I’m stating the obvious here.
And yes to civility. Otto, I’m glad there are things we agree on even though politics isn’t one of them. I smell a sit-com!
Don’t worry Chazz. Otto and I are not getting a divorce.
Great, now Chazz is going to be a stripper. THANKS ALOT U GUYS!
@Otto David Frum is a pretty sane guy, I didn’t realize he’d been kicked out of the good ole’ boys club. He’s probably too smart for the guys running it these days, anyway
Otto, TAC is definitely more “old school con” than “neo-con.”
Come on, he’s already a stripper with a name like that. “Chazz Goodtimes”?
I guess he might be the owner of a family-friendly eatery.
DaRooster, here’s one example:
[www.salon.com]
I can’t believe AEI booted Frum, but still hasn’t disowned Norm Ornstein for this:
[articles.washingtonpost.com]
Otto, TAC is definitely more “old school con” than “neo-con.”
Absolutely. Which is to say, in my opinion, they’re more “traditionalist” than “insane.”
you should probably listen to the whole interview. he was interviewing the former mayor of San Francisco who tried leaning on race as a crutch. He’s not saying that blacks or latinos are the problem, he’s asking, why of all people do they have the highest percentage of poverty. If you say the system is broken, and you’re the system (ie politician) why aren’t you doing something to fix it.
The problem isn’t the question or even how it’s asked. The problem is that Carolla wants a 10 word answer, if he wants an answer at all.
He’s curious about sociological issues the same way he’s curious about why an airplane yoke isn’t a whole steering wheel or why you’re not allowed to use your hands in soccer.
I think if our Lt. Governor would have engaged him in a debate Carolla would have let him talk. Granted I think it would be fairly difficult to convince him he was wrong (I don’t think he was). But to quote one of my earlier comments
“A politician asking about a sociological problem (which Newsome did with his comment about blacks and hispanics using check cashing places) and then following that up with the statement “I don’t want to have a sociological debate” is not only cowardice, it is pandering to a portion of a community that is in need of help not just empty rhetoric
I’m not going to argue that Newsom was pandering and Carolla called him on it, but I seriously doubt Carolla has thoughts on the subject. If it doesn’t include his money or cars or boxing he’s not really interested.
I think Newsom was more interested in promoting his book and trying not to say something that would get him in trouble. I like Newsom, but he sure sounded like a guy who was walking on eggshells during the interview so it didn’t ruin his likely campaign for governor.
if the questions make you feel uncomfortable then the true answers will really make you feel uncomfortable.
Quite a few laughs from some of the comments on this thread.
[www.pbs.org]
Good read, and fairly relevant.
I really like Carolla, but the criticism above isn’t off. He’s a bright and insightful guy with no filter. The problem with the lack of filter, and the lack of accountability (with his podcast set-up he literally answers to no one) is that he can go off the cuff and say some completely senseless shit like this ‘who had it worse’ thing.
Its too bad- when he goes off like this he gets pigeon-holed by a lot of people as this racist shock-jock meathead. The initial question was an interesting one but he can’t get out of his own way when he starts riffing on a potential answer.
OK…so….we’ve sold the whole race thing? Cool, let’s get back to the real question that matters – Britta vs. Annie.
TEAM ANNIE, SON!
No Britta vs. Annie
We should all come together.
Wait, are we really treating “Adam Corrolla is a massive racist” as breaking news? I can laugh at a lot of things he says but back when he had a radio show I had to rage quit more times than I could count when his thinly veiled racist comments would come out.
where is he being racist?
yeah Carolla isn’t a racist, much less a “massive” one
Black, Latino, Asian, Honky American. All I know is that I’m Canadian, and we got it GOOD son.
*organizes a Harlem Shake video*
Case in point:
[www.youtube.com]
Wow, Adam Carolla sure had a hard time concentrating when his co-host was speaking. Maybe he should go to a concentration camp. . .
To answer his question, institutionalized racism, a culture of violence and a society the continual emphasizes nepotism and wealth over merit is the answer.
That’s not much a difficult question to answer.
Well I do suppose Cajun Boy accomplished his goal of getting clicks. I would have liked the approach better if he had accurately written how it was Newson who first brought up the Hispanic and Blacks using Check Cashing Stores (I believe someone above hinted at that). Carolla was just using his words to form an argument that only the most ignorant would deny. Parenting matters.
…and as Mr. Carolla has predicted, instead of a story about why the black and Hispanic communities aren’t focused on the lack of parenting and how to solve that problem there is instead a story about Adam Carolla being racist. You might not like the dude, but he’s right most of the time,
I like the dude and I can tell you unequivocally that he is not “right most of the time”
i think his comments here were taken out of context as it happens a lot with him, but if it’s generally regarding anything that involves politics he’s wrong “most of the time”
Carolla said nothing wrong. He made Gavin Newsom look like the bullshitting, spin-doctoring politician that he is. It was Newsom…not Carolla that brought up blacks and latinos…while he was trying to claim that “the system” just doesnt work. Carolla’s point was simply…well the system works for a lot of people. Why is it that certain groups are given the “the system doesnt work” excuse…when other groups, working in the same system are doing just fine.
He tried to make Gavin Newsom actually answer a question…and Newsom just kept side stepping and spinning (I was gonna say shucking and jiving, but I don’t want to be called a racist).
Carolla’s comments were anything but racist. He made the correct point in saying that it actually IS racist to say that certain minorities (blacks and latinos) are not responsible for the problems in their own communities….because they just can’t get a fair shake.
He is 100% right. You see a Asian immigrant family with no checking account and go “what the fuck is wrong with those people”. You see a latino immigrant family with no checking account and go “man I feel sorry for them…whitey is really keeping them down”.
It seemed to me that Carolla was trying to call Newsom out for race-baiting. When he asks, “why these two groups” he was trying to point out that it isn’t just those two groups. Newsom focusing his statistics on blacks and hispanics was more racist as anything Carolla said. Poverty and education problems are universal and transcend race.
than anything. See, education issues.
Smart? He was a construction worker that got lucky by latching onto LoveLine and then that shitty Jimmy Kimmel show. He sucks.
it’s interesting that you would spin a guy who had no real post-high school education and came from nothing becoming successful through hard work and genuine radio talent into just being “lucky”
you’re an idiot.
Yeah, this whole subject is pretty much one giant bear trap, but I’m going to stick my foot by saying that I don’t think Adam was trying to be racist. Although his train of thought was definitely less eloquent, it reminded me a lot of questions and statements that Bill Cosby has had on several occasions. (He was criticized for them too.)
Goddamnit, Warming Glow. You need to play the ENTIRE, 15 minute segment Carolla had with Newsome. Carolla’s point was clear: Until their are stronger black and hispanic family units (ie NOT having out of wedlock black birth rate at 75%), poverty will continue to run rampant in these communities.
Now perhaps you think that belief is stupid as shit, but there was nothing racist about it.
And, who the hell is this author? Cajun Boy, in referring to most over-hyped bullshit of a story, that Carolla thinks men are on the average funnier than women, asks hasn’t Carolla heard of comedians like Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey?
Of course he has and these are women he has said he finds funny, alongside people like Lisa Lampanelli. Female comedians and actresses like Sara Silverman have appeared on his podcast.
Pisses me off that someone decided to post less than three minutes of what was a 15 minute conversation, not putting the discussion in context, and then declaring that Carolla took it to a whole new level and should just shut the fuck up sometimes.
This author is one cowardly pussy. First for not posting audio of the entire segment and secondly for taking what is a rational discussion about what leads to poverty and insinuating it is somehow crossing the line.
When I heard this segment on the podcast, I KNEW there would be those who would try to defame Carolla for what he said. I never would have thought the Warming Glow staff would be among them.
F’ing pathetic.
yeah when i said he should edit that part, he completely missed the main part he got wrong where Carolla specifically mentioned all of the women that Cajun Boy
shit, fucked that up
…specifically mentioned all of the women that Cajun Boy is asking if Carolla has ever heard of
off topic, but this site desperately needs an edit post function.
As kind of shitty as this post was, it was nothing compared to the out of context hatchet job that gawker did on this story. so props to Cajun Boy there.
I was always curious about this as well. It makes no sense to me. Jews were universally despised and still are(despite the weird fetish some conservatives have for supporting Israel while often still hating on jews) and Asians weren’t exactly respected either and yet they are doing far far better. Now I can understand that black people have been even more legally discriminated then others but this should have united them more, made them stick together even more then jews and use every opportunity to better themselves. I mean USA has a LOT of flaws but there is also an immense amount of opportunities and there are s many who aren’t using them but instead ditch their education, do drugs, get into stupid gangs and can’t have safe sex to save their lives. Oh well I guess I will never know