Comments on: Racist Bloomberg Businessweek Cover of Blacks, Latinos Rolling in Money Angers Many

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:25:32 +0000

I think you’re wrong. “Doubting Thomas” isn’t innocent. The idea that the subprime crisis was perpetrated by Black and Latino families’ “taking” mortgages they “knew they couldn’t afford” is a line pushed by white supremacist groups (check out SPLC.org). I’ve gotten hundreds of emails on this theme and spare my readers most of the comments we receive—which are overtly bigoted and not as clever as Doubting Thomas’ tries to be.

People interested in equity and fairness owe nothing to bigots; “common courtesy” only emboldens haters who take kindness as a sign of weakness. You should educate yourself so you aren’t manipulated by people like this; again, check out SPLC.org.

I do not believe that racism is born of ignorance. It’s purposeful and intentional, and when you trace the racist writings and speeches back to their origins, you’ll find that it’s always tied to power and money. I refuse to be a tool of bigots and people who cultivate bigotry for their gain. People can and do change—in my opinion, THAT’S when you should express kindness, empathy and love. Before that epiphany, however, I think it’s exceptionally important to call them as you see them. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Mind Your Manners

Mind Your Manners — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:01:09 +0000

Luke, I agree that Bloomberg’s cover is completely and unapologectically offensive, no matter how you look at it. However, I think you are putting too much emotion into your response to Doubting Thomas. While I also think his comment displays some ignorance on the subject, I do not think he posted it to be mean-spirited or with the intent of offending more people. If you think about it, racism is born in ignorance and it flourishes in an environment of mean-spiritness. Calling someone names like ignoramus, Pollyanna, stupid and foolish does not help educate people on the history behind why this magazine cover is hurtful, nor does it illustrate the value of not being being judgemental when your reply is judgemental and seemingly filled with venom. I realize that you are emotional regarding this totally inappropriate magazine cover, but you could have pointed out in a plainspoken manner to Doubting Thomas that he should get the facts first without resorting to name-calling. Your message loses its effectiveness in your overly-emotional response.

By: Charity Dell

Charity Dell — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:09:46 +0000

Although you may PERSONALLY be “color blind”–and may simply see people as just “people”–the problem lies in the fact that racism and discrimination is SYSTEMIC and PERVASIVE in many aspects of American life. “Color” and “race” are the AMERICAN CASTE SYSTEM,
and those who tend to craft policies in employment,
education, business & commerce, etc. tend to ENFORCE THE CASTE SYSTEM through a myriad of ways, including
MEDIA STEREOTYPING that portrays people of color as
something OTHER than responsible, upright, hard-working, frugal, etc.

Most (if not ALL!) of the socio-economic disparities
that you identified are rooted in the continuing
SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION against poor whites, people of color and women for over 200 years in this country.
You can observe the same phenomena in LATIN AMERICA
and the CARIBBEAN–for the most part, a small, “blanco
elite” in these countries controls government, commerce and education for MILLIONS of people of Indigenous, African and mixed descent.

The “all-white management team” decided to create
a magazine cover and they just didn’t CARE what
anyone else thought.

By: EBH

EBH — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:24:41 +0000

I saw this story in another media outlet and promptly tossed my Bloomberg renewal notice in the trash!

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:22:57 +0000

Really? Then you made a bad choice. There’s no room here for foolish opinions. Your choice of article to comment on was foolish as well.

There’s NO defense for this cover. It’s an amazing, astonishing, bewildering choice of a cover for a publication—especially one that’s headquartered in New York City. The fact that you chose to use THIS article to spout your completely incorrect “opinion” tells me that our CAPTCHA may not be difficult enough. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Doubting Thomas

Doubting Thomas — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:05:54 +0000

Wow, not the type of response I would suspect from a publication touting “diversity”. Isn’t there room for a divergent opinion in your publication? Or is diversity only defined by people who share your point of view?

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:58:08 +0000

You "suspect" because you're ignorant. Use your web search and read up on it before you spout off on this website. Blacks, Latinos and/or women were far more likely to be sold inappropriate subprime loans than white people. Hundreds of millions of dollars in fines were levied by the federal government against many banks for just this reason! It was overt racism—and grand theft. Your Pollyanna comments about being "color blind" and not blaming color or race are total hogwash. And before any ignoramuses email me about being nice, remember this: There ARE such things as stupid questions. You have the right to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. The more plainspoken we are, the more clarity our society will attain. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Doubting Thomas

Doubting Thomas — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:15:30 +0000

I suspect that the rate of sub-prime loans made to minorities has a lot more to do with credit score than racism, which is implied in this column. I agree the Bloomberg cover is regrettable, but I suspect it was not some manufactured stab at minorities cooked up by the all-white management team. We need to get a lot better at becoming “color blind” as a nation, and not always blaming color or race, but also considering objective measures to explain disparities that may occur due differing levels of socio-enonomic background and education.

By: mikki

mikki — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:52:31 +0000

Not surprised! White America is so defensive now with the reality of diversity. Obama is president, many U.S citizens are of mixed race, but what is so ironic is that white males still rule the business and political arenas. It literally frightened me to see the pictures of the “top management!” Reminiscent of photos of the SS! Racism and mysogyny are alive and well!

By: D Sanders

D Sanders — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:17:35 +0000

There seems to be a growing backlash on the part of many white men who may be feeling threatened by the changing demographics that promised to impact the power they have enjoyed for generations. I expect more of this. White men are still the ones running companies regardless to the new face of the workforce.