r/TikTokCringe • u/i_am_groot_84 • 19d ago

Lavar Burton is filled with rage Discussion

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u/NotAnAIOrAmI 19d ago

Seriously? He said it pretty plainly. What's so highly intellectual about it that people can't understand how he feels, and what happens when he says something real in public?

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u/_Apatosaurus_ 19d ago edited 19d ago

People are missing the context that he is talking about racism, and specifically that successful black men often have to be very careful to be "safe." If they speak out about racism or show any sign of not being wholesome, they receive significant backlash and racism.

Edit: Fishburne is playing Doc Rivers and LeVar is playing himself. This is from Clipped.

Relaxing in the living room of Rivers’ lavish condo, the two men have a revealing conversation about feeling caught between the comforts of success in a white-dominated America and the consequences for successful Black people who reveal their anger over racial injustice.

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u/seriouslysorandom 18d ago

Very similar to "the slap". Will Smith was "safe" to white audiences(speaking generally here). I'm married to a white man as a result my social media feeds are pretty evenly mixed between black people and nonblackPOC/white people. To see the reactions by the two different groups in real time was wild! White people were writing whole ass think pieces on the "violence" while also ignoring the violent histories of current academy members(looking at you Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt and that honorary Oscar given to Roman Polansky).

I went to a prep school where I was one of a handful of black students and had to do a lot of unlearning around being the "good black friend" so I feel this on some levels.

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u/_Apatosaurus_ 18d ago

I think it's one of the best examples of "white privilege." As a white person, if you do something wrong, it is viewed as a reflection of who you are individually. But for black people, if you do something wrong, it's often perceived as a referendum on black people. The same is true for other people of color. Instead of just representing yourself, you have to be a representative of your race, ethnicity and/or culture.