‘Go the heck away,’ Scott Adams cartooned, “from Black People.”
Scott Adams’ racist podcast statements and subsequent defense of them led to the removal of his popular comic strip “Dilbert” from many publications.
“If almost half of all Blacks are not cool with White people – according to this survey, not to me – that’s a hate group,” Adams stated in his “Coffee with Scott Adams” video, alluding to a Rasmussen poll published this week. The statement “That’s a hate group, and I don’t want anything to do with them”
He went on to state that he had moved to an area with “a very low Black population” because “based on the present way things are going, the greatest counsel I can give to White people is to stay the heck away from Black people.”
Adams’s survey included the following two inquiries: First, do you think that “It’s Acceptable to be white,” Second, do you think “Black people can be racist, too?” is a statement you may agree or disagree with. Adams concludes that 47% of Black respondents had a negative answer to the first question since 26% replied “no” and 21% stated they weren’t sure.
Adams also brought up CNN presenter Don Lemon, who has been into trouble for his remarks towards Black communities in the past. Adams referenced a statement made by Lemon in which he reported encountering “issues” he had never encountered before when living in a predominately White area.
Adams remarked, “I’m going to back off from being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t appear to pay off.” “The worst thing that could happen is that people start accusing me of being racist. As a White person, it would be counterproductive to assist Black Americans. This is now finished. You should not even bother attempting it.”
In talking about racism in schools and other concerns, he added, “I’m not saying we should start a war or anything – we should simply walk away.”
Deadline reported that in response, some newspapers said they would no longer publish the long-running comic strip “Dilbert.”
Michigan’s MLive Media stated in an open letter that the racist cartoon will be removed from its eight newspapers and online as soon as possible because the firm would not “waste our money supporting purveyors.”
The firm stated its main website reading, “The ideals we stand for as a company, as community members, and as an employer of a diverse workforce necessitate that we take fast and unequivocal action against that kind of bigotry and stereotyping.”
“Adams is free to have whatever opinions he likes, but our business will not be associated with him. We’re on the lookout for a new cartoon to replace “Dilbert” and expect to have one in the papers shortly.”
Vice President of Content at MLive Media Group John Hiner urged readers to “spare yourselves the poison” and not watch the original vlog or research Adams’s statements.
The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported that Advance Publications, the corporation that publishes both the Plain Dealer and many other newspapers in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, was planning to remove the Dilbert comic strip from its print and online editions.
Adams then moved to Twitter to address the diverse coverage and reactions to the news. Adams emphasized when one reader called his remarks “heartbreaking” “That’s why it’s important to hear it in its natural environment. In your opinion, that is.”
Last year, 77 newspapers canceled “Dilbert,” a huge loss for the comedian. Lee Enterprises, a self-described “leading distributor of local news,” said that it will no longer be publishing the comic as part of a wider reduction in the number of comic strips it distributes.