Stephen Colbert is sorry — very sorry that he has not worked hard, had any talent, and a little luck to get him the fame, success, and money he has today. No, he has gotten where he is solely because he was born white and therefore is privileged.
To celebrate Martin Luther King Day, Colbert had DeRay Mckesson of the #BlackLivesMatter movement on his show Tuesday to help him understand his white privilege.
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Mckesson said that Americans are uncomfortable about “the legacy of racism in America.”
Colbert questioned him, asking why can’t we say “all lives matter” the way that Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) and many of the Republicans running for president have said.
“That’s such a distraction,” Mckesson replied. “If we knew all lives mattered we wouldn’t have to be out there in the street… you know the police have killed 26 people just in 2016, so we have so much work to do and that is a way to just avoid talking about the issue of police brutality. By getting people to talk about this notion that ‘all lives matter’, it’s just not true.”
The late night host went on to discuss white privilege and asked if the reason he had a show was because of his white privilege.
“It’s about role and it’s about access and what you can do is extend that privilege so that you can dismantle it,” the activist said. “You can use your resources to create space for people.”
At that point Colbert switched seats with the guest and allowed him to run the show and ask whatever questions he wanted.
The pair discussed what Colbert could do to dismantle white privilege. In the end Mckesson asked the late night host why white people are uncomfortable talking about race.
“I feel guilty for anyone who does not feel guilty for the things I have,” Colbert said. “That includes black people or anyone because I am so blessed that there’s always the fear that it will be taken from me.”
This is absolute crap, Colbert got where he was because he was talented, worked hard, and had a little bit of luck on his side. Are we acting like there have been no famous black stand up comedians or late night show hosts? Were they privileged or did they just appeal to people? What about all the white people who weren’t able to have shows, were they just not privileged enough or just not funny enough?
Does Michael Jordan wake up at night in a cold sweat worrying that he was too privileged and got to become a billionaire selling shoes and playing basketball — or was it because he had talent and some luck on his side?
And, now that Colbert has groveled and apologized for his white guilt, when will Mckesson apologize for the lies told by the #BlackLivesMatter movement? When will he say sorry for stirring hatred by saying blatant lies like “hands up, don’t shoot,” “Every 28 hours, a black person is murdered by police,” or that “Sandra Bland was already dead when her mugshot was taken.”
McKesson and #BlackLivesMatter don’t want a discussion on race in America. They want a guilt trip and that’s a walk most people besides Colbert shouldn’t take.
Watch the full clip below:
