What happens when the channel that spawned the Jersey Shore tries to tackle race issues?
It fails horribly.
MTV's new web series "Decoded" has received rave reviews for boldly tackling racial issues and topics that others are afraid to talk about. The show has garnered a large fan base of people who believe the host, Franchesca Ramsey, is delivering poignant and reliable information with a fun and comedic style. However, the show really fosters an environment of misinformation, censorship, and racism. Through this show, Ramsey delivers her own form of racism and discrimination while using her skin color to get away with things other people could not.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Ramsey stated, “I think it’s a lot more impactful if [viewers] understand that this is just not my opinion. It’s important to understand you can’t remove the historical context of racially charged stereotypes or slurs as much as we like to pretend that we can.” What the host either doesn't realize or chooses to ignore is that she is using her platform to actively discriminate against white people. Ramsey is that type of activist who thinks being a person of color makes her an expert on social issues and gives her the right to discriminate against others in retaliation for racial issues that were last relevant over half a century ago. In her video "5 Things You Should Know About Racism," the only photo and example of actual racism is that of segregated water fountains. The image is clearly taken from a time that no longer exists. Her opinions are based on issues that are no longer relevant, but she speaks as if she suffers from Jim Crow laws.
To fully understand what makes Francesca Ramsey a terrible social commentator and racist, it's best to break down the content in her poorly opinionated videos.
In "5 Things You Should Know About Racism," Ramsey makes the audacious assertion that black people cannot be racist. She "explains" that the dictionary definition of racism is wrong because, "Well, it's just the dictionary." With this sentence, Ramsey apparently decided that the dictionary definition of a word is not valid if it does not conform to what she wants to believe. She blatantly ignores facts because they do not conform to the narrative she is trying to create. Ramsey insists that racism is based on power, and because black people are not in a position of power, when they perform an act of racial discrimination that would otherwise be defined as racism, it is instead "racial prejudice." This is ironic because according to the Oxford dictionary, racism is defined as "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior." But evidently, she does not need to worry about that because words mean whatever she wants them to mean.
Changing the meaning of racism was a clever way to exclude herself from what she categorizes as racist. She now has given herself free reign to openly discriminate against white people with impunity. In her video, Ramsey plays a character with a sniveling voice and a blonde wig who whines that people think everything she does is racist.
This character is supposed to be a white person. This type of caricature would be offensive to white people, had Ramsey not previously changed the definition of the word to exclude white people as victims of racism. Now imagine if Ramsey were white. Imagine if she had decided to put on a wig and imitate a black person. There would be serious backlash and criticism for her portrayal. However, because of Ramsey's race, she is allowed to get away with something another race could not. That sounds like an unfair opportunity based on the color of one's skin, does it not?
In another video called "13 Things White People Take for Granted," Ramsey confuses practicality with racism. Besides the fact that this video is blatantly targeting another race, it is just plain wrong on most of its points. One point complains that bandages only come in tan or white colors.
Well, Franchesca, you did it. You caught the evil racist Band-Aid company—despite the fact that a simple Google search will reveal that bandages come in a variety of colors and styles. Ramsey did not bother to do any research on these topics. Bandages are light colors because it makes it easy to see if the wound is bleeding or if the bandage is dirty. Instead, Ramsey apparently looked for the first white thing on her desk and decided it was racist. She looks for racism where there is none and acts like she is exposing some serious injustice.
"This is the darkest I can find."
Well, you did not look very hard then.
Decoded is a toxic series. It feeds off perpetuating white guilt and tries to play up Ramsey's victim complex to an absurd degree. She relies on her skin color to criticize an entire group of people for types of discrimination she has not faced and they did not commit. She has consistently targeted white people because she knows that they are easy targets. If one tries to refute her infantile arguments, she can always fall back on whatever definition of racism she has chosen that week.
For those of you who support Ramsey, I encourage you to test yourselves with whether or not you are racist. To do so, please refer to GradeAUnderA's brilliant racism test:
