Stop Comparing Racism with Political Opinions [Editorial]

The internet blew up yesterday after the news broke that ABC had cancelled the popular television show Roseanne after lead actress Roseanne Barr tweeted a blatantly racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, former aide to President Obama. The internet immediately took sides on this matter, some comparing what Barr said to The View. This is comparing apples to oranges.

Before I get into this I should insert a disclaimer here before I get called a bleeding heart liberal Millennial that doesn't know what she's talking about. Yes, I am a Millennial. However, I am not liberal. In fact, I am a registered Republican that considers herself a libertarian. I also minored in political science at Montclair, was the president of the Republican Club at Ocean County College, and worked on political campaigns since I was in 8th grade. I stood in line for over 4 hours in Washington DC for President Reagan's public viewing. This article is based on my personal opinion on this issue.

Barr tweeted out, "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj." Appropriately, ABC immediately canceled the show, putting the entire cast and crew out of jobs. Many people jumped to Barr's defense calling for the right to freedom of speech and calling for ABC to cancel The View based on political differences. However, comparing Barr's comments to the comments made on The View are very much different.

While I do not agree with 99.9% of what the ladies say on The View, there is no comparison to be made to the comments made by the hosts and what Barr said. Barr's tweet was purely racist and should not be tolerated. Just because you do not agree with someone politically and disagree with what they say does not mean they should be out of a job. Freedom of speech comes into play here. Politics have nothing to do with Barr's comments. A racist comment has nothing to do with politics.

Why wasn't Barr protected by freedom of speech? People confuse this idea by thinking it is a hall pass to allow you to say whatever it is you want without consequence. This is very much wrong. Legally, she is protected. However, that does not mean the company she works for cannot fire her for her statements. This goes way past political ideology. A racist statement is a racist statement and should not be defended.

Another point that has been brought up, is the cancellation of Tim Allen's show Last Man Standing. People have compared the two scenarios by saying the true reason Roseanne was canceled is the same reason Last Man Standing was canceled, both Allen and Barr are supporters of President Trump. Barr was hired by ABC with the company knowing full well where her political opinions were. They were very much aware she is a vocal supporter of President Trump. ABC would not have renewed her show and then cancel it in this manner if it had to do with her political alignment. Also, I am not saying that Allen's show was canceled because of his politics, he had a very hefty paycheck that ABC could no longer afford.

Please stop saying that today's society is over sensitive. Sensitivity has nothing to do with this. Barr's tweet was racist. You cannot call an African American an ape and align them with the Muslim Brotherhood and expect to get away with it. Her apologies have fallen on deaf ears and Ambien is not an excuse. She made her bed and now she must lie in it. She should not expect her cast members to defend her. What she said was purely wrong and now she has put many people out of work for blatant stupidity.

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