"what the problem is" is racism

One of the important things to understand about "isms" and racism in particular is that it refers to abuse of power.

Anglos (and males and Christians in this country) have had the "power" for centuries and it has been used to subjugate women, racial minorities, children and those of other cultures and beliefs. Racial minorities have had it the worse: enslaved, murdered and ignored. It is the abuse of power to these degrees which are crimes to humanity and which must be corrected by racial, sexual and political sensitivity. That sensitivity and awareness is leading us to action and to positive changes. Power will eventually be gained by those willing and able and, given enough resources to reasonably share, fairness will eventually prevail.

In the meantime we can applaud the arts for being honest and continuing a dialogue that, while not politically correct, is making us more aware and equal and allows us to respect this process of humanizing.

I believe that Martin Lawrence is too self-centered and overwhelmed by his "power", diminished by his own success, his potential less realized. His movies and performances will continue to "improve" as he matures and I look forward to that while continuing to appreciate his honesty.

Okay, look: I just saw this movie today, and all I gotta say is that it is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. I mean, first of all, it wasn't that funny. Second, I think Lawrence went way over the top. Almost every single joke had to do with racism. See, Martin always has a bit of racism in his films, and it's always a little funny. But he kept repeating the same things. You know what was really racist? How every single person in the jury was black! Well, I'm overreacting here, obviously, but I still havent gotten over the shock.

The only funny joke I remember was, "Earl, this ain't turnin' me on!" Haha, that was hilarious.

"I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, then save me, Superman!" -Homer Simpson

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This movie's point was pretty much the character of Lawrence being ignorant and stating how stupid it really was to act so ridiculously by destroying a man's career like that.

That said, I enjoyed the revenge he got on Lawrence's character, but there were still many humorous moments. I can see why stereotypes are used, racial profiling is bigger on the Arabs at the moment but when the hell will people stop rationalizing it saying ridiculous things like "it makes me feel safe." How can it make a person feel safe??? Violent acts in our country have never been the act of one race! Nor were they in the Sept 11 attack.

What's a result of racial profiling? More of that race picking on the "white folks." And then we complain about it if it appears in a film. Well... until we tell people in our media and the rest of our society to not single out race/religion, that's what we're gonna get. We stereotyped ourselves.

I agree, and I'm unbiased. I am not black or white. When my mother got pregnant she was sleeping with a black man and a white man and their sperm mixed. My upper half is white and my lower half is black. Kittens smell nothing like cabbage. Amen to that!

I havn't seen the movie, but i'll get back with you when I see it. There have been movies that use the race card for so many years. Movies that called Blacks Niggers and everything else. Look at Three the Hard Way, Silver Streak so on and so on. Before you cry reverse racisim. Take a look at these movies and e-me on what you think.

Thank U dumbsweater. You say it. How is any type of racism funny? But even if it could be, this wasn't. It got me frustrated and annoyed. I'm like, “Dame, give this guy a break". Maybe if they didn’t make Steve Zahn character so nice and likable and Martin Lawrence's character such racist and a bigoted, but they were. Martin Lawrence's character set up the same double-race-standard that has pledged black people for years. By saying it okay for a black to do something and not a white (like interracial dating), is the same as saying it is okay for a white person to do something and not a black (like getting into Harvard). Either way it is teaching society that when it comes to the rules and laws, we are different; but since it is the Black community that is the minority, this movie may act against them, not for them… all the while they sit in theaters laughing, thinking its funny. Well you would have to be black to laugh.

I thought the movie was offensive and incredibly stupid. Yes, I know its a comedy etc., etc., so don't bother with, "lighten up dude, its just a comedy". I don't mind jabs by black characters about white people. Eddie Murphy comes to mind as one black comedian who has pulled it off sucessfully, among others.

Not only was Lawrence's character a super-charged bigot, but he was also incredibly mean-spirited, profane, disrespectful, a law breaker and a bold-faced liar with no regard to the consequences his actions have on other people.
He was not the least bit likeable, and I really didn't care what happened to him becuase he was so mean-spirited.
What was really bad, is that on top of it all, he was not the least bit funny.

You can start off with his actions on the LAPD training grounds. Destroying the training facility, attacking the training instructor and destroying the patrol car? It might have worked if it was funny, but he just came across as being a undisciplined idiot. Then he cries how they kicked him out of the academy only because he was black? Give me a break!

His double standard regarding inter-racial dating was also apalling. Inter-racial dating is OK as long as its not a white guy and a black girl? But its ok for him to date a white girl? This scene also came off as incredibly mean spirited, and not funny in the least.

The scene where he said he would tell the truth to Zahn's girlfriend, of course that's until he found out that she was black. Then he lies and feigns the racial card again.

I was surprised that Zahn's character exhibited such self-control. I think many other people whould have not held up as well as he did, in having to deal with Martin's incredibly offensive and thoughtless character.

That's my two cents.


You gonna do somethin'? Or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?