Is the Charles Ramsey YouTube video disrespectful?

[Atman]

I heard the story on the newz before I saw the video, which a friend had posted on FB. I thoroughly enjoyed the "Nobody got time for dat" video from a few months back, and I have to admit, the Charles Ramsey auto-tuned video was well done...but is there a bigger issue?

There was apparently another man, a non-English speaking Hispanic, who was part of the rescue of the three young women in Ohio. Have you heard a word from him? But Ramsey is now a cultural pop star. Lots of comments on the video about where did his teeth go, etc. WTF? The man helped to save three kidnapped women, and he's turned into a funny YouTube video, while Joe Scab ("liberal" MSNBC) says he shouldn't be treated as a hero just for doing what anyone should have done anyway...but apparently no one did.

Charles Ramsey said he didn't want reward money, he wanted it to go to the families. He got involved. And now he's a funny YouTube video. Do you really wonder why Americans don't like to get involved?



PS: I won't link to the video. It serves no purpose, except to make fun of a black man with a funny haircut and a few missing teeth. Could be you or me in a different space.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. he's a hero. most people know that. jerks make fun of everyone.s looks on the internet

[Politicalboi]

2. I think Ramsey said that

Hispanic man ran away, and didn't want to get involved.

[liberal N proud]

3. Better yet, what is Charles Ramsey view?

It is all about how it is received!

[msanthrope]

4. Charles Ramsay is no fool.

Caller: You need an ambulance or what? She needs everything, she's in a panic bro, she's been kidnapped so you know put yourself in her shoes.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57583276/cleveland-neighbor-charles-ramseys-911-call-for-missing-girls/

In a world of stupid, this is the smartest thing anyone could have expressed.

Yeah, the video is 'funny.' But that dude is no fool.

[Hoyt]

5. I enjoyed listening to the guy, and applaud him for getting involved.

Those that laugh at him -- other than just enjoying a man being real, and saying some funny stuff, after helping some people out while perhaps placing himself in danger -- are just Aholes.

[mainstreetonce]

6. I think Ramsey did give another man credit

But that man wasn't around when police got there.

[redqueen]

7. related

...
Ramsey is particularly striking in this regard, since, for a moment at least, he put the issue of race front and center himself. Describing the rescue of Amanda Berry and her fellow captives, he says, “I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway!”

The candid statement seems to catch the reporter off guard; he ends the interview shortly afterward. And it’s notable that among the many memorable things Ramsey said on camera, this one has gotten less meme-attention than most. Those who are simply having fun with the footage of Ramsey might pause for a second to actually listen to the man. He clearly knows a thing or two about the way racism prevents us from seeing each other as people.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/05/07/charles_ramsey_amanda_berry_rescuer_becomes_internet_meme_video.html
...

Probably posted elsewhere, but worth sharing again.

[Atman]

10. Thank you. Excellent link, with good insight.

[Gormy Cuss]

14. Saw Ramsey dissed here for injecting race into the story.

I wish that I could say it was a n00b troll, but it wasn't.

[redqueen]

16. I wish I could say I was surprised. nt

[Cha]

17. GC, You may like this Tweet from Patton Oswald.. I know I did..

In one of the top tweets about Ramsey, comedian Patton Oswalt wrote,

"Dear Charles Ramsey: I am not a little pretty white girl, but I totally want to run into your black arms. #hero."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/07/us/ohio-cleveland-ramsey/index.html

[Gormy Cuss]

19. Love it!

[Brickbat]

8. Autotuning and other videos are our culture's version of folk songs, I think. They transmit

information quickly and easily, are easy to remember because they're catchy, and can say a lot about our culture, both good and bad.

[Ian David]

11. What he said. n/t

[Ian David]

9. Never, ever, EVER read the comments on YouTube about anything-- EVER.

It makes the comments on the newspaper websites look like reasoned debate by comparison.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. comments are overwhelmingly positive in usually hateful sfgate forums

http://www.sfgate.com/news/articleComments/McDonald-s-reaching-out-to-Ohio-man-4496724.php

[Dorian Gray]

13. The majority of people

appreciate what he did for those women. We appreciate his honesty. We appreciate his humility. And we appreciate his no-nonsense approach to being interviewed.

That some ignorant assholes treat him as a minstrel show is abhorrent.

[Turborama]

15. There was a huge demand for them to do it and I think they did a really good job

Look at the top comments made a day ago under these videos (you have to right click on the video panel to copy the url). It looks like they mean it when they say they do requests...

And the comments in the video you are talking about are not making fun of him, he's a folk hero.

[Canuckistanian]

18. Sometimes....

It's best not to over-analyze things.