By Hipolito Navarrete, Managing Editor/Publisher
There is only so much that can be said about feeling of powerlessness that has been sparked by an identity crisis sparked by a change of demographic in the US, especially when it has been publicly re-infected. After finally heading out to watch “Ghostbusters: Answering the Call,” I am now more than ever scratching my head and wondering, what in the world is so disturbing about seeing women as leads, especially after seeing that most of the protagonists from the original films were included? Although it seems senseless, it makes sense to those that are speaking to their ilk. Those racists that attacked Leslie Jones, the African American actress who plays Patty Tolan, the NYC Metro toll booth worker and local historian, for whatever reason were making a point that they are willing to attack openly fictitious characters that do not fit their limited perspective and experience.
The film is funny and as accurate as it can be considering it’s a work of fiction. None of the women are slouches, they are terrific in their roles and the production went out of their way to get the types of consultants that would make a university research lab envious. So, why the hate? Why the attacks on women and especially the one woman of color, the black woman. I won’t try to explain that, because I can’t. What is obvious is that there are plenty of folks that agree with those racists. Here is a solution, go watch the film. If you are a fan of the original film, who left Ernie Hudson off the poster, then you will find this film who is Executive Produced by none other than Dan Akroyd and Produced by Ghostbusters (1984) director Ivan Reitman.
The only way to explain Milo Yiannopoulos’ idiotic racist rant and the support of his fans to attack an actress doing her job, is that the current political climate has emboldened the racists to start screaming their hate. However, as with most situations like the one we are living at this moment, these moments pass, and the difference this time, is that we have documentation, wether in social media or other artifacts that will give us evidence of those that would try and destroy the greatest experiment in the world.
We have folks defending the racist blogger as if he deserved the opportunity to attack a black woman whose success in the public sphere makes it an appropriate target for racist outbursts. The racist calvary is acting out because they are losing the grip of a nation they have managed to wound because of greed and lack of accountability. The revolution is being televised….
