This is a personal feeling I've had for quite some time. What is segregation? It's not racism... it's making an effort to pick out differences between two different types of people. And that does, sometimes lead into race. And for the most part, I think that racism has deminished a good deal... though it's still rather rampant in a good number of places around the world. But that's a totally different topic. What I want to mention is how seemingly possitive affiliations, corporations, and such keep segregation around. While with good intention, I kind of feel it is a good deal counter productive.

Here's an example:

B.E.T. Black Entertainment Television. Saying, "Hey, this is a show for black people" is almost as bad as saying "Hey, this restroom is for white people." Why make that separate them at all? If segregation is to ever be overcome, shouldn't we be getting rid of any simblance of difference between us?

I didn't really even think about this much till I thought about this: http://www.365black.com/

It's a site for Mc Donald FOR black people. Why? What purpose does it serve? And is it worth drawing another line between black people and other races?

"Hey this is a show for black people" need not imply that it is exclusively for black people but rather that black people may like it. That may be a racist assumption but not necessarily segregationalistic. When and what manner did they say it?

Segregation is a term that implies the forced separation of things. i.e. forcibly separating people with certain traits from others, or discriminating against people with certain attributes.

Is the McDonald's website a form of segregation? Or is it merely a form of marketing to a specific target audience? Companies that do business with many diverse groups of people have the same billboard in different areas, but with different languages - is that a form of segregation? Is it inclusion? Or just plain business & marketing strictly with economic goals in mind? I think that the latter is the case.

B.E.T. - television for black people. WE TV - television for women. Is that segregation? Or marketing?

Another thing to consider is that disenfranchised groups like African Americans, women, members of the LGBT community, and so on, have been segregated, discriminated against, ignored, and marginalized. Having a television channel dedicated to programming produced for and by these groups is a form of empowerment, helps to increase the reach of the groups' culture, and normalize it in the eyes of the world at large.

When LOGO was founded in 2005, the first gay television network, it was a huge step forward for the LGBT community. I don't see that as segregation, but rather as empowerment.

I don't think that the things you specifically mentioned are forms of segregation, and am fairly certain that they're merely marketing to a target audience to increase viewership and thus revenue.

That's not to say that there aren't still a lot of issues involving race, discrimination, religious intolerance, immigration, the denial of human rights (*cough* same-sex marriage *cough*), and so on, but I think things are getting better as a whole.

I was actually going to make this point but I felt that some of you would think I was too argumentative so I just made the response that I did. Someone else having said this, I agree that this is worth noting and a valid point.

You know Lantis, I have a feeling, that someone brought up the idea for that site to some high up white man and the white man didn't want to look racist at work and said "Great idea! I love African-Americans!" The douche couldn't even find the balls to say 'black'

I think its dumb to have all these Black-This and Black-That stuff. Same for Hispanic stuff. God forbid someone says Mexican on TV. If there was a bunch of Chinese people on TV they wouldn't say "Asians" because that would be racist. *sigh*

Anyway...
While I think its dumb, I still feel that if someone has the desire to put out a "Black-This" then go for it. Be it for some sense of race pride (which I think is backwards racism which to me is the same) or for just the profit because he knows there's a consumer demographic to exploit, he should still be able to do it with out a unified resistance. If people will buy something, someone will sell it.

Hopefully, one day, people will just use some common sense and stop buying in to it. Then it will all go away.

White men can watch BET. Black dudes couldn't use that restroom.

Cultural inclusion bears a few similarities to prejudicial exclusion, but for the most part no cracka ever got lynched for watching Beyonce's booty jiggle.

i'd agree it's targeted marketing, and you could argue that it's a reminder of differences that can promote separation but everyone is different - how else do you find things about your interests and how else do you connect with people with the same interests?

isn't there like ... not even one but a few cooking channels? they're marketing towards people who like cooking and maybe those people don't want to also watch shopping and antiques roadshow and soap operas ... the idea of separating things is so it's accessible to those who are interested. if a channel is called black entertainment television it means black people are on the tv, not that only black people can watch it.

if you get rid of any differences between people then they aren't people any more - they're clones. though in the british culture these are known as scallys, and they're all horrible racist, homophobic, sexist, etc etc people. they kill people who are any different to them. seriously.

i would assume to make a less discriminatory society you need to promote difference - you know like, as a good thing.