'Mad Men,' Its Women and the Scary Black Guy

I also raised an eyebrow at these current scenes. To show history we have to show all aspects, the negative, and the positive,which there were plenty. First of all there were African American agencies during that time period doing damn good work. Vince Cullers, Reynold Ruffins, Archie Boston to name a few. I think this could be a good opportunity and platform to talk about race, but I miss the creative thinking of Don Draper. The reason I was drawn to the show in the first place. I like how it draws one the think, and the acting and writing is superb.

Showing a black man as a mugger is that any more racist than every commerical for home burgery safety systems only show a white intruder. It doesn't matter which way you show it someone will play the race card. Blacks do commit crimes weather you admit it or not. As do whites.

I've had the misfortune to be mugged several times. Perhaps, one too many in a lifetime but urban life, despite it relative safety, has its downside, too. One had a gun; the other a knife (which he used leaving a long white scar that continues to provoke peoples curiosity) and the last, a bottle of ketchup. No kidding. Anyhow, the gist of all this flashback is they were all white. All men. All average in appearance: they didn't LOOK as if they harbored any ill intentions toward their fellow men. So the appearance of this black male gun-wielding mugger says more about the writers and the casting director than it does about wielding creative license in a period piece. It's a stereotype, mindlessly trotted out. What makes it particularly repellent is that it is so readily accepted and so rarely disputed. Though I'm glad the actor received a paycheck, this particular scene should have been questioned.

I have no nostalgia for the race inequalities of the 1960s.