Saturday, April 23, 2011

I don't know Dilbert, you might have some issues.




I think I want to jump in on this Dilbert Keli Goff feud. (Well, not Dilbert, but his creator)

Seems Keli (and others) took umbrage with actress Gwyneth Paltrow saying that she worked her behind off to get where she is in Hollywood and her fame is not a result of nepotism and privilege. (Quick question for Keli: Are you getting paid over there at Huff Po?)

".... I know I'm going to sound like a suck up, but you're gorgeous, have a great career, two beautiful children, married to a big rock star. It all looks so effortless. You're well spoken. It just rubs people the wrong way. You look perfect.

[Paltrow]It's funny because I'm so not. Of course, some of it is luck. My parents had money and they sent me to a good school, but it's like, what do you choose to do with that? You can rely on that and not do anything with it or you can say, "How am I going to justify that good fortune? How am I going to say my parents didn't waste their money on me?" I just think I'm really all about hard work and I honestly feel like anyone can have or do what they want as long as they put their mind to it. "

Well Gyneth, you do work in Hollywood, and having the right connections certainly helps.
So I can see where Keli is coming from on this one.

"In an age in which America’s class-divide is greater than it’s ever been, our patience has simply waned for the George W. Bushes and Gwyneth Paltrows of the world — people who were born on third base and act like they hit a triple. America was founded on the idea that everyone has equal opportunity to carve out their piece of the American Dream, but increasingly that’s becoming less and less of a reality. And there’s something infuriating about listening to people born into the Dream — silver rattle in one hand, silver spoon in the other — lecture the rest of us on how easy it is to obtain — if we’re just willing to “work our asses off” like they do. "

OK, so Missy says she worked her pampered behind off to get where she is, and Keli disagrees. No problem so far, right? Just two women having a a public debate about class, privilege, and hard work.


But then Dilbert's creator decides to defend Missy by saying the following:





"It’s worth noting, in the interest of context, that Goff was born with a few advantages herself. She’s beautiful, smart, and apparently had the resources she needed to make it through NYU and go on to get her Master’s Degree at Columbia University. If you ask Goff what made her successful, would she credit her hard work and leave out her other obvious advantages? Or would she answer honestly and say, “I worked hard for what I’ve achieved, but it didn’t hurt that I’m a brilliant, smoking-hot African-American woman in 2011.” I’m just saying that people don’t generally talk about their advantages. To do so would be…wait for it…gloating. " [Source]




Of course, because we all know that if you are a "smoking -hot African American woman in 2011", A-merry-ca will give you sooooo much. Those are always "obvious advantages". I am trying to figure out which one gives you a larger advantage. Being black? Being beautiful? Being a woman? Or just being smart?



Here is the thing: If Keli has all of the above qualities, she should succeed, and it would be
a travesty if she did not. If Paltrow is a good actress, and A-merry-cans find her attractive, (I don't know why, but hey, to each his own.) she should -and did- succeed. But for her to deny that her connections gave her an advantage over other aspiring actresses in Hollywood is ludicrous.



It's probably why Goff took her on for denying the obvious.



But why the defense of her from Scott Adams? Who, by the way, has had some issues of his own, lately. (Can you say sockpuppet boys and girls?) I think it's Interesting. It leaves me to wonder: If it was a melanin challenged writer dropping her two cents (no pun intended, Keli) about Ms. Paltrow in the Huffington Post, would we have heard from Mr. Adams?



I think not.

































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