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onpatrol98

(1,989 posts)
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 12:48 AM Sep 2015

Nancy Lee Grahn Pulls an #AllLivesMatter in Wake of Viola Davis’ Historic Emmy Win

Nancy Lee Grahn Pulls an #AllLivesMatter in Wake of Viola Davis’ Historic Emmy Win

By: Kirsten West Savali
Posted: Sept. 22 2015 3:00 AM

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/09/nancy_lee_grahn_pulls_an_alllivesmatter_in_wake_of_viola_davis_historic.html

Miscellaneous-daytime-drama actress Nancy Lee Grahn wants the world to know that the Emmys are no place to discuss the marginalization of black actresses in Hollywood, because all women are discriminated against, and "dramatic" race talk distracts from the bigger picture.

As previously reported by The Root, Grahn made these ridiculously racist statements on Twitter in the wake of Viola Davis' historic win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. Davis became the first black actress to win the award and, in a powerful acceptance speech, paid homage to other black leading ladies paving the way, while also tackling the institutionalized racism that shapes and shades Hollywood.

"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," Davis said. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there."

Minutes after the speech, Grahn cried the whitest tears imaginable, ripped Davis' speech to shreds and attempted to center her whiteness in one of the blackest moments in Emmy history:

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/09/nancy_lee_grahn_pulls_an_alllivesmatter_in_wake_of_viola_davis_historic.html

48 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Nancy Lee Grahn Pulls an #AllLivesMatter in Wake of Viola Davis’ Historic Emmy Win (Original Post) onpatrol98 Sep 2015 OP
"Minutes after the speech, Grahn cried the whitest tears imaginable" Number23 Sep 2015 #1
Ha.... sheshe2 Sep 2015 #4
Just lurking about, as usual... M0rpheus Sep 2015 #27
MO, you look so debonair! sheshe2 Sep 2015 #28
Hard to believe... onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #36
You're a better one than I am. M0rpheus Sep 2015 #42
I did exactly that at your post... onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #30
Girl, that picture makes EVERYBODY laugh. Number23 Sep 2015 #34
How about this one, Number? onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #39
Black Twitter is NOT to be effed with Number23 Sep 2015 #41
This is perfect. nt betsuni Sep 2015 #43
Holy Shit! sheshe2 Sep 2015 #2
Did you read this bit??? Number23 Sep 2015 #3
You are so mean...mean, mean, mean! sheshe2 Sep 2015 #6
Sounds like SOME Bernie supporters..... PragmaticLiberal Sep 2015 #23
Well, at least Bernie actually did march... Chitown Kev Sep 2015 #25
Good point. PragmaticLiberal Sep 2015 #26
They tried all night... onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #31
Damn, I missed this thread ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2015 #48
What's her du name? gwheezie Sep 2015 #5
Inquiring minds want to know. Starry Messenger Sep 2015 #7
I don't know whether I was juror #1. #2, #3 or #6. TexasTowelie Sep 2015 #9
Par for the course these days. Number23 Sep 2015 #10
That alert proves why the jury system is a complete failure. If I was a mod and someone randys1 Sep 2015 #24
Is it our sense of humor that leaves a bit to be desired??? onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #35
It's funny, because that line about "what is his/her DU name?" has been a running joke for years. Starry Messenger Sep 2015 #38
So true!!! onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #40
You were just alerted for this post. murielm99 Sep 2015 #8
Yes indeed, wheezie Number23 Sep 2015 #11
Thanks jury gwheezie Sep 2015 #19
She's going to be sorry, for words that were from envy. delrem Sep 2015 #12
I've discussed this elsewhere JustAnotherGen Sep 2015 #13
I would have marched for those people gollygee Sep 2015 #16
What did Lena Dunham say?? I haven't watched a second of her shitty looking little show Number23 Sep 2015 #29
It's what she didn't say JustAnotherGen Sep 2015 #44
Not at all impressed with Lena Dunham... onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #32
Second response JustAnotherGen Sep 2015 #14
Oh my gollygee Sep 2015 #15
Snarf: Starry Messenger Sep 2015 #17
Well explained!!! onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #33
Geez...just Geez... Spazito Sep 2015 #18
Where's my Violin? lib87 Sep 2015 #20
her own show general hospital is horrible when it comes to POC JI7 Sep 2015 #21
Well zappaman Sep 2015 #22
The Emmy for the Shadiest Tweet Goes To… onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #37
Another white person taking their privilege for Grahnted. nt betsuni Sep 2015 #45
thread in GD related to this about how whites respond to white privilege JI7 Sep 2015 #46
Thank you for this... onpatrol98 Sep 2015 #47

M0rpheus

(885 posts)
27. Just lurking about, as usual...
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 09:36 PM
Sep 2015

I'm so frustrated with the things that have been going on here.
But nothing I have to say at the moment is going to add anything constructive to the conversation.

Sooo... I just read and shake my head and toss an occasional PM.

Most nights, I just read this "ish" looking just like:

Whiskey Included.

sheshe2

(83,138 posts)
28. MO, you look so debonair!
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 10:00 PM
Sep 2015

Ha! Love that gif~

I hear ya, this place is indeed frustrating. I have been posting on another site that is great. Some excellent conversations and insight. However, I love so many of the peeps here, I can't completely stay away.

Good to see you, MOrpheus.

onpatrol98

(1,989 posts)
36. Hard to believe...
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 11:26 PM
Sep 2015

I find it amazingly hard to believe we exist in the same political party...with the latest behavior.

Hosting the group these days feel like catch and release. The more we throw out, the more they lurk, alert, or literally attempt to control ANY dialogue that happens in the group. And, the air of superiority that accompanies that most mind boggling posts???

I once spent an afternoon trying to convince a DUer that I didn't have a special group of black leaders that I should be contacting to do something about crime in the black community.

He's still not convinced by the way. He couldn't come up with their names...but he's certain I know who they are. I guess it was just beyond him why I couldn't commit to doing my part. You know...taking up issues of crime with my black leaders. I get mad every time I think about that exchange...because you just don't expect an adult to believe AND be willing to say stuff like this.

M0rpheus

(885 posts)
42. You're a better one than I am.
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 11:58 PM
Sep 2015

I'd love to see that exchange. It sounds crazy!

I don't have a ton of posts, but I've spent many of them just trying to combat some truly stupid stuff. I'm mostly over it, though...

I remain a lurker because this place is actually a great news aggregator for me. And this forum, keeps me sane (mostly).

Past that, I've written off many people here this cycle as

because, as my grandmother used to tell me, "you can't fix stupid".

Number23

(24,544 posts)
41. Black Twitter is NOT to be effed with
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 11:56 PM
Sep 2015

Not only will they check your shit, but they will screen grab it for posterity and never let you forget your stupidity or how well you got your shit checked.

sheshe2

(83,138 posts)
2. Holy Shit!
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 01:17 AM
Sep 2015

Grahn eventually offered a half-assed nonapology, and when it wasn't immediately accepted, she propped herself up as a victim of an "ambush" by black people who were too "mean" to realize that she was sincere. After all, she's "spent [her] life advocating 4 equal rights 4 all human beings." In her liberal white world, any racial blindspots she has should be excused. It wasn't long before her self-imposed period of flimsy contrition disintegrated under the weight of black Twitter's pushback, and Grahn tweeted that she had been "betrayed by people [she] would have marched for."

Here's the thing: Grahn apologized for being misunderstood, not for the racist nature of her tweets. Apparently, mocking Davis' ceiling-shattering win and her road to get there was not the soap actress's intent, though all tweets point to the contrary. She just didn't want viewers to forget about the poor, marginalized white women who also have it rough, and Davis' one-minute speech threatened to minimize their suffering.


See how erasure works, how centering whiteness comes as natural to people like Grahn as breathing? It is instinctive.

Not once did she acknowledge that she was wrong and that black actresses have never had an advantage over white actresses. Never. She didn't apologize for diminishing the fact that roles for women of color in notoriously white Hollywood are scarce. Instead, she played the tiniest violin imaginable because Shonda Rhimes hasn't written a plum role for her, doubled down on her resentment that Davis dared to place her win in the turbulent historical context it deserves and repeatedly talked about how she's been "there for" black people for at least three decades.


Sorry about the bolding. I know, overdone. It stoppped me from saying what a piece of fucking asshole racist crap Grahn was saying. Ooop, guess I did it anyway.




Viola! You Rock!

Number23

(24,544 posts)
3. Did you read this bit???
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 01:25 AM
Sep 2015
Grahn eventually offered a half-assed nonapology, and when it wasn't immediately accepted, she propped herself up as a victim of an "ambush" by black people who were too "mean" to realize that she was sincere. After all, she's "spent [her] life advocating 4 equal rights 4 all human beings." In her liberal white world, any racial blindspots she has should be excused. It wasn't long before her self-imposed period of flimsy contrition disintegrated under the weight of black Twitter's pushback, and Grahn tweeted that she had been "betrayed by people (she) would have marched for."

Why are black people so MEAN???! She would have marched for us! She could have shown how much she luuuurrrves us and would have marched if only racism against black people still existed!!

sheshe2

(83,138 posts)
6. You are so mean...mean, mean, mean!
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 01:46 AM
Sep 2015

You are so uppity. I will add the ~ just in case.

Why are black people so MEAN???! She would have marched for us! She could have shown how much she luuuurrrves us and would have marched if only racism against black people still existed!!




|

Chitown Kev

(2,197 posts)
25. Well, at least Bernie actually did march...
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 04:29 PM
Sep 2015

hell, in any given city on many days black people are marching and protesting for all sorts of good reasons.

She could have "marched" with them if she wanted to.

onpatrol98

(1,989 posts)
31. They tried all night...
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 10:53 PM
Sep 2015

#BlackTwitter tried ALL NIGHT to get her to go bed and stop tweeting while clueless.

 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
48. Damn, I missed this thread ...
Tue Sep 29, 2015, 07:13 PM
Sep 2015

Is this:

After all, she's "spent life advocating 4 equal rights 4 all human beings."


And, this:

she had been "betrayed by people (she) would have marched for."


Is there a handbook on how to handle racial faux pas? I mean ... really, those two appear far to often to be organically derived.

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
7. Inquiring minds want to know.
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 02:36 AM
Sep 2015

Your post was alerted on, btw. Now they can't alert again for 24 hours from this 0-7, so small mercies.

On Tue Sep 22, 2015, 11:23 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

What's her du name?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1187&pid=27704

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Does this meme have no end?... It's an open-ended accusation that DU is so inundated with racists, our names just all meld into one big white supremacist slog. Please hide this OTT insult once and for all.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Sep 22, 2015, 11:33 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Boy, it must be hard to have such sad problems, like mashing the alert button on as many posts in the AA forum as possible. A walk in the sunshine is recommended, then trash the group. Problem solved! Signed--an AA group host.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This is just more targeting of POC at DU. Most emphatically, leave this alone! Please!
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I agree it's mildly rude, but it was a mildly rude party...the poster just brought the punch(line).

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

randys1

(16,286 posts)
24. That alert proves why the jury system is a complete failure. If I was a mod and someone
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 04:21 PM
Sep 2015

reported that to me, I would wait and watch that poster until I could find a reason to ban their RACIST ass

onpatrol98

(1,989 posts)
35. Is it our sense of humor that leaves a bit to be desired???
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 11:15 PM
Sep 2015

Quote:
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE

Explanation: I agree it's mildly rude, but it was a mildly rude party...the poster just brought the punch(line).

--------------------
Perhaps we're experiencing a cultural divide. Not everyone appreciates the rather...unique... humor offered in our group. I mean, I didn't think the post rude, but someone else thought it offensive enough to hide. Or, they thought alert stalking friends would be available for their daily AA ride through.

Or, is it a control thing...you know...aka Miss Millie
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-AFGJu44JthY42/the_color_purple_1985_mrs_millie_is_hysterical/

"You get away from me! Don't touch me!
Don't you know who I am?
I've always been good to you people!
Calm down.
I am Miss Millie! I'm the mayor's wife!
I've always been good to you people!
I've always gone out of my way for coloreds!
Miss Millie, what's the matter?
Those boys...
...tried to attack me.
No such a thing.
How could you leave me alone for so long?
What am I gonna do about the car?
Jack will drive you home, Miss Millie.
I can't ride in a car with some strange colored man.
I'll ask my sister Odessa to squeeze in.
That way I have more time with my children.
I don't know her either."

Some people don't handle not being able to control people very well...It's typically the same group that doesn't treat people very well, either.

P.S. By the way, Dana Ivey, played the hell out of that Miss Millie part. Who knew Gahn would attempt to imitate art in real life?

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
38. It's funny, because that line about "what is his/her DU name?" has been a running joke for years.
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 11:45 PM
Sep 2015

It was particularly apt in this instance. onpatrol98, if an OP was created with the Miss Millie scene, DU would explode from pique. I don't know if it is a cultural divide, or too close to the bone!

gwheezie

(3,580 posts)
19. Thanks jury
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 01:50 PM
Sep 2015

One other time I thought I was being funny and clever in a chat room and was kicked off, that'll never happen again.

JustAnotherGen

(31,631 posts)
13. I've discussed this elsewhere
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 04:12 AM
Sep 2015

But don't forget that just awful "Girls" writer/producer Lena Dunham also made an ass of herself. Her twitter or instagram was heavily edited.

In another discussion group - those of us who ID as Feminists need to be aware -

Womanism is real and it's what young black women in America adhere to. In this group - I think the next generation is lost. It's behavior like this - "I would have marched for those people" is why they won't march with white feminists.

This is a problem - and intersection must be at the root of the movement for paycheck fairness and our right to privacy and self determination.

More of Jane Fonda (whose daughter is black) demanding a response on support of an ERA and less of this faux feminist bullshit.

gollygee

(22,336 posts)
16. I would have marched for those people
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 08:36 AM
Sep 2015

was a horrible thing for her to say. "Those People" is something that should not be part of one's vocabulary. And if she would have marched, at some point it would have happened. If she hasn't gotten up on her feet and shown up, then it's reasonable to think she wouldn't. There have been plenty of opportunities, and lord knows there's lots of need. All the racial injustice that's been widely reported on, and she just thinks she "would have?" Would have if what? If things got bad enough? If things haven't been bad enough yet, how bad does it have to get?

I would point her and anyone else wondering how to show up to this: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org

Number23

(24,544 posts)
29. What did Lena Dunham say?? I haven't watched a second of her shitty looking little show
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 10:16 PM
Sep 2015

ever since she dismissed all of the questions re: why there were no poc on her show by saying something like "I don't give a f*ck."

F*ck her back. I've never watched even a single second of her shitty show and have never read anything she's said since. Did she say something in reference to Viola's Emmy win???

JustAnotherGen

(31,631 posts)
44. It's what she didn't say
Thu Sep 24, 2015, 04:04 AM
Sep 2015

Then had to edit.

Truthfully - I watched her show a few times when it first came on. I can't relate. I COULD relate to Big Love and the relationships between the wives.

She's not relatable and I don't agree with the slacker mentality and angst. Angst is for high school. Not for grown women well into their 20's. Maybe they've grown up? Who knows? Don't care.

JustAnotherGen

(31,631 posts)
14. Second response
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 04:38 AM
Sep 2015

NLG really screwed up. If its true sponsors are starting to get pissed - that's really bad for her.

Their shows are on the same network.

lib87

(535 posts)
20. Where's my Violin?
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 02:02 PM
Sep 2015

Ah, here we go

lol I shook my head again when one of her tweets in the midst of her dismissal of the struggle of Black women to get roles in Hollywood she wished 'shondra' would write her a role. No seriously.

Dense as a rock.

JI7

(89,151 posts)
21. her own show general hospital is horrible when it comes to POC
Wed Sep 23, 2015, 02:37 PM
Sep 2015

Not being given opportunities.

Most minorities they bring on never last long and never get much screen time. Even fans of the show have talked about this.

Yeah it sucks for white women also. Especially as they get older. But women of color are pretty much nonexistant compared to them.

i have usually found NLG to be good on issues so this is a case of someone who actually is liberal not getting it when it comes to race.

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