Cream in the Oreo – IOTW Report

Cream in the Oreo

Last night I received an email from PHenry.

-I am watching Dodger Cubs pregame on TBS and the white panelist, sitting between several black panelists, just said that he was the creme filling in this Oreo cookie.

Maybe I misheard it, as it’s sort of background noise.  But I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard.

Somebody easily offended heard it.  Tick, tick, tick BOOM.

I replied-

I thought the same exact thing!!! It doesn’t offend me, but doesn’t he know it’s going to offend SOMEONE?

Maybe he’s taking a stand.
Good for him.
Well, like expected, it exploded for the guy. And this Yahoo writer, Mark Townsend, is the exact type of noodnik that makes my stomach turn:

TBS studio host Casey Stern is catching heat for a poorly thought out and racially insensitive attempt at humor during the pregame show before Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Flanked by former Phillies greats Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins to his right, along with Gary Sheffield and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to his left, Stern welcomed viewers back to the show by joking “I’ve become the cream in the middle of an Oreo.”

Understandably, this forced a lot people to cringe given the very clear and visible racial overtones with Stern sitting between three African Americans and Martinez, who’s a native of the Dominican Republic.

Shortly after the joke made air, Stern took to Twitter to explain that he meant no ill will. He also states that he’s very close to his colleagues on and off camera, and that sometimes jokes between them awkwardly spill on to the show.

We have no reason to doubt any of what Stern says there, but a simple apology and I’ll do better next time may have served him better.

While it’s understood that live television lends itself to words slipping through that don’t necessarily reflect a person’s feelings or beliefs, there’s no taking those words back either. Once something like that makes air, there’s no explanation that justifies it. But there should at least be a willingness to take ownership of letting an unfortunate joke like this slip through the cracks.

The joke was in poor taste, but it doesn’t mean Stern is a bad person. If you’re not offended, that doesn’t make you a bad person either. But some people were offended, and we should all make a better effort to understand why that is. That’s reason enough not to let racially insensitive jokes in this forum get swept under the rug.

Stern fought back by posting something Pedro Martinez said a few nights before that didn’t seem to be on this Yahoo writer’s radar for some reason.

Selective outrage is worse than the supposed offenses of others.

I’m supposed to tolerate “White Men Can’t Jump” and not be able to say “Black Men Can’t Ski.”

Screw you.

39 Comments on Cream in the Oreo

  1. Wow, you guys pay that much attention to the pregame show that you picked that up. I like the heck out of playoff baseball and can even have the game on for all nine innings, but the pregame show is frequently missed. Maybe I should be watching it, they might bring up Trump or Sessions tonight.

    It sure seems like so many talking heads, media guys, and people in general just get giddy when they see an opportunity to be offended. Lots of thin skin out there. I’m usually not a Yankees fan, but for some reason I’m finding myself cheering for them this playoff season. If they beat Houston and then go on to beat LA (assuming they beat the Cubs) they will be the first team ever to beat 3, 100 wins teams in the same year. Go Yankees!

  2. A Gwinnett County GA councilman has to sit at home for a few days for jokingly referring to a black colleague as “the HNIC”. I can’t believe that is the extent of his punishment. What is funny is listening to the news readers wanting to explain HNIC without having the words.

  3. Go Dodgers! Let’s win the World Series for Vin Scully, Tommy Lasorda, Sandy Koufax and all the rest of the Dodger greats. It’s going to be a Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series with the Dodgers winning. At least that’s my prediction but then again anything can happen (and usually does) in baseball.

  4. Some in the media appear to be fixated on color and perceived offenses, they’ve forgotten we are all “just” people and in this case friends on and off the set.

    Get a life, social justice warriors.
    Stop creating division and controversy when there isn’t any.

  5. Why is it called the World Series? How many other countries participate?

    If anybody is triggered, butt hurt, or even victimized by my insensitive comment then my work is done for this thread. Gotcha!

  6. Why do people always explain and apologize?

    Others are looking to be offended. Forget them and move on. There are too many great people in the world for us to waste time with whiners.

  7. A few days ago, I was purchasing an item at a store and the sales representative was a young Black guy. He was polite, friendly, attentive, and really knew his product – all the things you want in salesperson. I was having a pretty good time talking to him, when he happened to mention that a lot of companies (not his, of course) tried to get customers roped into long-term contracts which were expensive and hard to get out of. I was just about to say, “No, I’m not gonna punch that tar baby”, when I snapped to who I was talking to, and bit my tongue. I have no idea how he might have reacted, or what thoughts might have gone through his head if he didn’t react (which is more likely since he was trying to make a sale), but I hate having to censor myself like that.

    It’s kind of ironic when you think about it, because the legend of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, like all of the Uncle Remus stories, comes from African-American folk tales, so making a reference to it is actually giving a nod to Black history, instead of being a derogatory thing. However, I’m pretty sure that in most cases it wouldn’t be seen that way, especially coming from a Honky.

    Political correctness is ruining this country. Nobody can take a joke anymore.

  8. A True story: Do I tell any other?
    Back in the sixties during the Columbia University/ Vietnam war riots/ mixed in with race riots; When the likes of H Rap Brown, Stokley Carmichael, Jerry Rubin, and their ilk were going their shit
    in New York.
    We were dispatched to HQ to pick up the duty captain and take him to Columbia at 116th B/Way where the “students” were organizing a massive protest/rally/riot. Whatever.
    I was driving. My partner was a black cop named MacJefferson Walker
    The Captain was a huge black man named William Turner. In full uniform he was an impressive looking guy; in reality he was known as a tough SOB but very well respected in the Department.
    Once in the car he directed me to take the West Side H/Way North to 125th Street and then approach Columbia from the North. There was tension in the air.
    Then Captain Turner said to Walker, Hey Mac this is an historical moment. Do you realize that we have a phucking Irish mick cop chauffeuring two phucking naggars to a race riot?
    I belly laughed the whole way to 116th Street. Those were better days. Today you can’t joke like that. Look at that Frederica Wilson? What a despicable cunt.

  9. Dodger fan since I was knee high to a grasshopper.
    My dear grandpa got me started.

    Koufax, Drysdale, Sutton, Wes Parker, Willie Davis, johnnie roseboro, Maury Wills.

    I used to live and die with the Dodgers.

    Busted in church. Put my AM transistor radio in my suit jacket pocket and snaked an ear piece up the sleeve to listen to the game. It worked well until the ear piece cord became unplugged and it went to full speaker.

    There was hell to pay from Dad.

  10. When is the Nabisco Co. going to apologize on behalf of this comment and tell their consumers in no way that their view reflects that comment? I will not be satisfied until I get an apology from Nabisco….

  11. Here’s what I don’t get:
    It takes both the cream and the cookie to make the Oreo, does it not? So, we can agree that people love the combination of the cream and the cookie, right? OK.
    So after this guy’s observation among his pals, why is this insensitive to the cookie but not the cream?!?! Shouldn’t the cream be just as offended, assuming any of this nonsense could possibly be offensive?!!
    Christ Almighty.

  12. Anybody remember this one? I do….

    1985. ALCS. KC Royals vs Toronto fucking Blue Jays

    Anywho, the Royals were down 3 games to 2 entering game 6 in Toronto. At one particular moment, the fucking Blue Jays were in the lead and of course the Canadian crowd was going ape shit because Canadians know shit all about baseball, (stick to lacrosse and curling). Anyways, the tv cameras were panning the crowd and showed some Canadian yahoo dancing around in the stands with a sign that read: You’re Not In Kansas Anymore Dorothy! An obvious reference to the Wizard of Oz. Of course, the dipshit Canadian had no clue that KC is in Missouri. I was in 6th grade…and it still bugs me today that the Canadian dink thought he was being clever.

  13. Bman, that’s as bad as the guy protesting big oil with a sign that read, “who needs oil, I take the bus”. That’s comparable to some of the things larrytheenlightenedliberal says.

  14. When my buddies (some black) and I hang out to relax and party a bit, we can become nothing but tongue and cheek and it’s all good !
    Point is Black and White people have gotten along for years, until Liberals decided to Teach us How to do It ! They just learned how to stop hiding from Blacks and they need to share their new secret !!!

  15. @PH ~ I remember the last World Series Koufax pitched in … 1966 … lost to a 20 year old kid named Jim Palmer … youngest pitcher to ever pitch a World Series shutout …. great times for a kid rooting for the Orioles

  16. Plantsman. You made my point but in a shitty sort of way. Real men don’t have a problem, black,white, vietnames, Chineese , what the fuck ever. Only liberal progressives want to prolong the issue.

  17. The Brooklyn Dodgers were originally named that because they were trolley dodgers back in the day when trolleys were everywhere in NYC. My son who is as a huge a Dodgers fan as I am didn’t know that till this year. Go Dodgers, let’s beat the damned Yankees. I’m not a huge Astros fan either, mainly because they’re in our division where the Seattle Manures play, the AL West.

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