Recently, I was reading a post about the Top 15 John Wayne movies in honor of his centennial birthday. I grew up on John Wayne movies and have always loved his patriotism and said as much in the comment section. Another commenter replied that John Wayne was the “most racist actor/filmakers of all time.” Let’s take a closer look at John Wayne.
The commenter’s exact post was:
John Wayne may be iconic in american film and culture (and granted the western would be incomplete without his contributions); but off the screen (and sometimes on it) he was one of the most racist actor/filmakers of all time. A patriot in the most minimal, and narrow view.
When asked to elaborate, the commenter replied:
Well there is his infamous playboy interview in which he states he believes in white-supremacy; and further states that blacks should be isolated until they become educated enough to participate in society. His rants on Native Americans and how they were “savages,” are well known; and during the Vietnam war there were numerous interviews and accounts of him making racist remarks against the Vietnamese. In terms of him being a racist on screen…well most westerns in those days were not kind to the Native Americans. Simply his on screen persona did not match his real life personality a bit. He had a ferocious temper that often came out negatively in interviews (his response to the question of everything being black or white “why the hell not!”); and he was a draft dodger in WWII, choosing to pursue his acting career.
However, I have to disagree with the commenter on several points.
First, I think that John Wayne’s on screen persona did match his real life personality (from what I’ve read about him. I’ve never met the guy). Both on and off the screen, Wayne was a tough, gritty guy that told you frankly how it was without sparing any thoughts for your feelings. A very candid man, he was unwavering in his beliefs regardless of whether than conflicted with yours. And he never, ever backed down from a fight — even that of lung cancer (which he beat) and stomach cancer (which he did not).
Secondly, he was not a draft dodger. He received a 3-A deferment for dependency reasons, as did most men who had more than two children. Records indicated that he never personally filed for a deferment claim. I assume it was Republic Pictures that filed for the deferment because they needed their money maker, their leading man, at home.
True, he could have enlisted or appealed the deferment. I don’t know why he didn’t. And everything I’ve read says that he regretted not doing so. But not serving does not mean he didn’t answer America’s call. He was a stanch supporter of the war efforts — both WWII and Vietnam. Not only did his films serve as inspiration to the fighting men and women, he toured with the USO, as did many other entertainers who did not serve. Wayne was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service to America on May 26, 1979.
As for his comments, I ask you to remember that he lived in a different era. Things were different in that time — nobody was politically correct. Everybody said things back then that were socially acceptable that would not be uttered today.
I’ll freely admit that he is known for his remarks being controversial. In fact, I think he did that on purpose to stir up issues. When asked about the reaction to the infamous 1971 Playboy interview, he said, “I must have said some things a lot of people have been thinking, but were afraid to express.”
I was not able to find a copy of the interview (I don’t have back issues of Playboy just laying around). I was, however, able to read excerpts in the book John Wayne: American. Although they were contentious, I personally didn’t find them offensive. I don’t necessarily agree with some of them, but I think he was just expressing his opinion. I think the remarks are open to interpretation. If you’re looking for a fight, then you could find one.
Likewise, I could find no references to Wayne calling Native Americans savages. He did call them selfish in the Playboy interview, but that’s a matter of opinion, not racism.
Regarding his comments for the Vietnamese, he was a strong supporter of the American solider and at the time the Vietnamese were the enemy. I’m not saying it’s right, but I know I’m not above calling my enemies a few nasty names (or even my husband when he’s made me mad).
As for racism in his movies, let’s not confuse fantasy with reality. Just because you play a racist in a movie — not that I can remember him doing so, but I haven’t seen every movie he did — doesn’t mean you are one. Regarding Native Americans in his movies, I think that John Wayne movies often had the best portrayals of them — strong leaders just trying to protect their families and lands. Often in these movies, his role was that of the liaison between the settlers and indians.
Besides it’s a movie. I’m not upset by the portrayal of women in his movies. Granted if my husband ever tried to spanked me or tar and feathered me like Wayne’s character did Maureen O’Hara’s in McLintock, I knock him into next week. But I still love that movie and think that scene is hilarious. O’Hara apparently wasn’t appalled either, the Irish actress had this to say about Wayne:
To the People of the world, John Wayne is not just an actor and a very fine actor. John Wayne is the United States of America. He is what they believe it to be. He is what they hope it to be. And he is what they hope it will always be.
Did Wayne have a temper? Both on and off screen from what I heard. I also understand he had some pretty old fashion theories about women, at least by today’s standard. By the way, all three of his wives were Hispanic. Was John Wayne perfect? By no means. But I dare you to find me someone that is. I take my heroes just like I take my friends — the good with the bad. Nobody’s perfect. And what John Wayne did well, he did very, very well.
John Wayne remains an American patriot — albeit a flawed one — in my book.
(McLintock photo courtesy of jwaynefan.com)
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Napping at Red Lights 
I think it’s naive to say that the Duke wasn’t a racist. Was he a product of his time? Absolutely. But the times were changing in the 1950’s, and he didn’t embrace what was happening. What cause did he have to be a hard man like his onscreen persona? He was rewarded generously for his movies and public appearances. He himself didn’t finish college due to his own reckless behavior regarding his football scholarship, yet he makes statements about black people not being responsible.
I know many black people with far more education than the Duke. I am comortable in recognizing him a man with flaws, and I believe he himself would acknowledge that he was a racist. In the end, I can live with that, knowing that John Wayne was a man who knew what he was about, and unapologetic about his position.
Chancey, I’d agree that Wayne was a product of his time. I don’t think we can judge him by today’s standards/culture.
Hitler was a product of his time too. Maybe we should be easy on him. Everybody knows how the Jews were in Germany around that time… sucking the last drops of blood from the “Fatherland” and all. While were at it why not forgive Bernie Madoff too he was just a product of his time too… sucking the last drops of blood from his business partners and all…
I see you did not give a response to his comments concerning African Americans.
This article lacks intelligence, integrity and grammar. Anyone who says he believes in white supremacy is a racist. Is Birth of a Nation not a racist film but merely a “product of its time”?
How can you say that calling Native Americans “selfish” is “not racism”. If Wayne
was for white supremacy that was racist regardless of whether it was a “product of
the time”. In fact, white supremacism was not widely admired even in 1971.
Actually, the people commenting here obviously have no clue what it was like to be living back in John Wayne’s era. My guess is these people were either not even born when John Wayne’s movies were at the theater. One person even says “I know black people with a better education than the duke.” Well, what about back in the 60’s? Black folks certainly have it better now than back then.
The “white supremacy” issues mostly revolve around his belief that in overall American society that white people were better educated, more intelligent because of this, and made better decisions with their life due to these simple things. Of course, it isn’t politically correct to say so… the man was probably right. Even now most tests show that african american communities pale in comparison in test scores and education than white americans do. Blame it on poverty, blame it on race, I’m sure a little of both can come into play. But the Duke wasn’t about giving people positions of power just to fill a quota…something that was coming into play in the 70’s, and something that republicans constantly are battling with. “Everyone is equal, except for minorities who should get a helping hand.” is something he obviously didn’t agree with and he’s not racist for doing so. He repeatedly stated that when roles called for a black man, that’s who should go there… not looking for roles just to put black people in. Has anyone seen the remake of the Honeymooners? I hope not. But that’s the result of this kind of thinking. The movie sucked, and for good reason.
Everyone is equal under the law, except for whites now who only can be purveyors of “hate crime” while crimes against whites cannot be deemed “hate crime” unless that white individual is gay….well, almost. That hasn’t passed…yet.
But with modern-day liberals and history revisionists, people have a skewed view on history. Take Matt’s comment’s, for instance. He wants to ask “Is Birth of a Nation not a racist film but merely a > product of its time< ”? Well, yes Matt. It is.
The civil war ended in 1865. 1915 is merely 50 years later. The children of veterans of the confederate army and the memories of their childhood created the minds that came up with movies and movements that weren’t so great by today’s standards. Back then, however, these people were popular. There was a propaganda campaign in the south that went on for generations after the civil war ended. Today, you’ll still find some elderly folks that harbor negative feelings toward “yankees”.
I think the whole global warming thing is overblown, but what if… just what if… 90 years from now your great grandchildren are calling US “earth destroyers” for driving cars and using power that polluted the earths atmopshere that led to a worldwide famine and collapse that killed 2 Billion people in 2037? They got a picture of great grandpa next to his Ford Mustang and say “Look at this jerk. They knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway.” While you, in this life, had a cool car ..got the babes…and worked hard for your family after settling down… now you’re a demon from hell for destroying the earth by doing something no different than millions of others did.
Do not revise history to today’s standards, one must think above that and understand the overall feelings of society back in the original era. Could anyone find folks that opposed the atomic bomb blowing up Hiroshima back in 1945 that were not Japanese? You can find them all over the place today. I wish we had a time machine so these people could be called “traitors” and beaten on the streets of America to understand historical context.
Even in John Wayne’s time there were Black people better educated than the man himself….who actually never finished school himself.
Well said Bill.
Bill,
Not only are your analogies bad, they are downright ludicrous. Briefly:
Product of his time: nonsense. If that were true, then you’d have to explain why someone like Marlon Brando would speak out against your beloved “Duke” just after he made the comments. If he were a product of his time, there would be no dissent. I could see if Wayne was making these comments in say, 1854, but 1971!? Furthermore, if we go by product of his time reasoning, we could say the Hitler was just a product of his time and environment since anti-semitism was rampant at the time in Europe. Granted, that would be extreme, but you see the slippery slope it leads to. I get your point about not judging people by the standards of our time, but Wayne’s comments are racist by any standard.
Your comparison with the global warming thing is laughable. Never mind the “overblown: comment. Your imaginary guy with the mustang isn’t spewing hatred about the earth the way that Wayne did about African and Native Americans. Although you do bring up another point with it, inadverdently, that goes against Wayne. The idea of images and iconography. Wayne’s films were imagistic in nature and he carried that image in everyday life, for better or worse. That he would use that icon status to then say things that only support the view of the times portrayed in his films, i.e. the 1800’s, shows that he was not a product of his time, but was, instead, either extremely backwards thinking, or had a hard time distinguishing the fantasy of his films with the reality of life in the 20th century. Either way, there’s no defending his comments.
The stuff about the Japanese and being called traitors: maybe. We also have people today who oppose the war in Iraq and are called traitors. Does this mean we should keep quiet?
Birth of a Nation: yankees? Really? You think THAT’S what’s offensive about that movie? I don’t think you’ve watched it, then. And by the way, it was considered racist when it was made as well. Take a film history class some time and you’ll find out that the controversy over that film isn’t a recent thing. And by the way, I am dead against censoring it in any way, but let’s not pretend it’s just a “product of it’s time.”
Your little backhanded comments about white people being discriminated against are an indication of your own issues with race.
As for the general comments about Wayne not being racist, but merely expressing his opinion, that’s rich. That’s exactly what racism is! An opinion. So how does that not make it racist!? That’s the most circular argument I’ve ever heard.
Gerry and Bill,
Thank you so much for your thought provoking comments. I give you both high marks. I often wish that people would read more, think more, write more, and talk less. I enjoyed both of your comments.
The Duke was David Duke!!!!
Nazi! David Duke is a Nazi wolf.
“Actually, the people commenting here obviously have no clue what it was like to be living back in John Wayne’s era. ”
“But the Duke wasn’t about giving people positions of power just to fill a quota…something that was coming into play in the 70’s, and something that republicans constantly are battling with. “Everyone is equal, except for minorities who should get a helping hand.” is something he obviously didn’t agree with and he’s not racist for doing so.”
That’s very interesting Mr. Jenkins.
You, “the Duke” and the Republicans you refer to – have a negative view to affirmative action or giving “a helping hand to minorities” . From my own experiences I can tell you that racism is alive and well. The playing field is leveled against minorities then as well as today. I will concede that things have improved significantly since then.
Affirmative action has helped many of us to break some of the barriers set against i.e. to level the playing field. These sentiments were expressed not too long ago by none other than former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of state- Colin Powell
By the time John wayne made his statements in 1971 America had begun to see the struggle against racism in public ways such as:
-the Montgomery Bus Boycott(1955-1956) in Alabama;
-legal victories such as the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case that overturned the legal doctrine of “separate but equal”.
-passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in employment practices and public accommodations
-passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that restored voting rights to minorities
-passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 that banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.
-public speeches by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King
-“sit-ins” such as the Greensboro sit-in (1960) in North Carolina;
-public mass gatherings like the famous march on Washington in 1963 where Dr. King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech and the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama.
-the assassination of Dr. King in 1968 – an event that provoked widespread discussion on racial issues in America.
…..where was John Wayne when all of this was taking place ? … this was his era Mr. Jenkins.
How is it that after all these events and the soul-searching that followed -one can think that nothing is wrong with a belief in “white supremacy” in 1971.
I respect the right of persons to their own opinion but in the eyes of many, particularly minorities he was racist.
Remember…in addition to what you say in the media- the little things you do as a celebrity often live on after you. The racial insults you hurl at the janitor, the porter,the waiter who served you will be remembered by these people and passed on to others in their community.
John Wayne was a racist. So glad he died of cancer.
I THINK IS’S SAD WHEN THESE CELEBRITIES WHO ARE FAMOUS BECAUSE OF THEIR FANS EXCLUDE ETHNIC GROUPS WHO HAVE WATCHED THEIR FILMS,POSSIBLY EVEN LOVED THEIR FILMS,AND IN MR WAYNE’S CASE EVEN BLACK COMEDIANS HAVE SHOWN THEIR RESPECT FOR THIS WESTERN ICON BY IMITATING THE DUKE.IT MAKES US FEEL STUPID FOR EVEN BOTHERING TO TUNE IN TO THOSE CLASSIC WESTERNS.BLACKS ,NATIVE AMERICANS AND ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS OF RACES HAVE LONG LOVED THE DUKE BELIEVING HE WAS SOME KIND OF ON SCREEN HERO.I ONCE DID.
I have no idea if John Wayne was a racist but he was pretty well dispicable in many other areas. Just read the article on Gary Cooper who was in fact the same on screen and off and the role that John Wayne tried to play in getting his film High Noon stopped during the blacklisting days. I would also recommend reading the posts that follow the article to learn more about Wayne’s draft dodging days which is from the same John M. that has much of the postings in the article. This is not just any John but a proffessional documentary writer in NYC who has spent 20 years interviewing everyone from back then and runs the ICONS radio show also hosted by Stephen Bogart (son of Humphrey Bogart). So if you want the truth about John Wayne, look to this proffesional documentary writer for the answers.
http://filmjournal.net/john/2007/02/08/letter-from-america/
http://www.iconsradio.com/about.htm
Judging people “their time” is a cop out in my opinion. The same was said of Lincoln, when as early as 1786, organizations had been founded to protest the practice of slavery in the United States. For instance, the Pennsylvania Abolition society, whose members included Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and the Marquis de Lafayette, was one of the many abolitionist groups that assisted fugitive slaves in their attempts to find freedom in the Free States. The most famous of them all is John Brown who was hanged for seizing “the government arsenal at Harper’s Ferry,Virginia, in the hope of igniting a general uprising of slaves” in 1859 Native Americans such as the Ottawa Indians, Seminoles, and Shinnecocks also joined the movement to freedom. Of course, there were many African American themselves who persevered and risked persecution for this cause. Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and William Still are just few of the African Americans who led the road to freedom. Other important people in American history who were Abolitionists include Thaddeus Stevens, Alan Pinkerton, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and William Lloyd Garrison.
To excuse racism and hatred by judging him “in his time” is to disregard the many who were righteous in “his time”.
There is quite a bit of disinformation concerning John Wayne, above.
First, he injured himself diving into the surf, sort of showing off for the girlfriend that would become his first wife. He had the integrity to go to USC and tell them that he did not think it would be honest to continue in school on a Football Scholarship when he could no longer play football. He resigned from USA and went back to the movie studio where he had worked the previous summer as a prop boy.
When WW II broke out, Wayne already had 4 kids and that old football injury but still went all the way to the White House (he didn’t exactly like FDR) trying to get into the Marines. He was told he was too old, had a wife and 4 kids, his old injury, and to stay in Hollywood and make some good war films for the folks at home.
Third, no Westerns did more than those Wayne starred in after 1939, were more faithful to the Indian, treating him with dignity and respect, even as an enemy. In fact, those were among the first films employing real indians to play indians, when so many films portrayed indians with white actors.
Wayne always loved the soldiers….the people who fought and defended this country. He had no problem going to Vietnam to visit with the troops, minus his hair piece. He was, after all, ‘one of the guys’ in real life. What you saw on screen was the Duke off screen.
If there is any judgement of the man, according to the company he keeps, John Wayne was in good company. Ward Bond, John Ford, and so many of the actors he worked with, along with their families. They were a huge, extended family off screen and many setteled in Newport Beach, where Wayne lived for many years.
Personally, I’m sick to death of the ‘racist’ this and ‘racist’ that whining from the black when they are, by far, the most blatatnly racist people in this country. They whine at any suggestion that they need to clean up their own act. Black activist came to Los Angeles to drive black talk radio host, Larry Elder, from his morning talk spot, the highest rated in Los Angeles, because he dared to suggest the same thing that Bill Cosby has been saying. Stop blaming the white man for all of your problems and look in the mirror.
Wayne was right. If so many want to live like savages (the highest murder rate in this nation is black-on-black killings), then they should be locked up till they learn to act like civilized people. That statement is NOT a blanket condemnation of blacks. It applies to, sadly, the majority of blacks; those who drop out of school, gang bang, make generation after generation of bastard babies they can’t support, live on welfare all their lives, and, basically, are leeches on society.
If the truth is ‘racist’, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Here we go again the poor white man complaining about how blacks are whiners because
1.Millions of blacks died in the middle passage
2.We were slaves in a brutal system that was the worst treatment of a people in forced servitude in the history of the world
3. After slavery we were reviled, discriminated against just because we were black
4. Blacks were hanged for crimes they did not commit
5. We were denied equal opportunity for 100 years after slavery and still denied equal justice today.
6. Black men are killed by the police on a regular basis before they are even arrested for a crime
7. Blacks are fifty percent more likely to be turned down for a job or a promotion just because they are black
8. Inspite of so called affirmative action and goverment assistance black poverty is still the highest in the nation.
9. That whites for all of their bitching about how bad things are for them in the country still retain and control the overwhelming share of wealth and power when most of them did not work or are even deserving of it. Only received it because of the color of ther skin and discrimination against non whites
10. Whites have had affirmative action since he beginning, now they are pissed because others want a piece of the american dream,
Hey maybe now you have a sense of why blacks whine a lot, if half the bull that has happened to blacks happened to whites they would be whiners too. And if you don’t like it why don’t you go back to Europe where you came from.
I will not lie the blacks have had it rough, but everyone seems to think that we should keep babying them because of it. Not to mention it was not like the whites went to Africa ran into the jungles and started exporting people to be slaves you did that to yourselves. What you fail to realize is that when a slaver went to Africa other tribes would offer up there prisoners for a price to that slaver. As far as whites who had it rough look at the history of the Irish, and you don’t see us bitching.
Im impressed of how John Wayne can be visualzed by so many people of being a racist or not. I actually wanted to find out if he was a racist or not because i wanted to watch some of his movies. If i found out that he was a complete racist then i would not even dare watching his movies. At end i found out he was sort of a racist but not completely for the fact that his wives were hispanic. So maybe for the fact that times back then were different which generated different perspectives could be the answer to his behavior towards colored people. So am gonna give John Wayne a chance up until I find out more about him.
Good call, Jonathan. I’m always amazed at people who want to say: “Sure, there was racism before, but it’s gone now. Let’s all forgive and forget about it.” The simple fact is that racism in each and every direction is alive and well in America. Sure, one can oppose affirmative action without necessarily having racist motives, but anybody who claims that the tables are now completely even is deluding themselves, dangerously naive, or both.
Bill Jenkins’ statement that blacks cannot be prosecuted for hate crimes is absolutely false – read any set of statistics and you’ll find that hate crimes committed against whites ARE prosecuted, just as hate crimes against blacks are prosecuted. (Interestingly, it’s often assumed by demagogues that Christians do not receive protection under the law, but – surprise! – hate crimes against Christians are prosecuted just as any other hate crime.)
I don’t have enough information to condemn or excuse John Wayne, but it’s more important to get ourselves on the right track today.
John Wayne and James Stewart were both extremely racist.
I wonder how many of the right wing nuts who posted here would say it is okay that Christ was crucified because that was a product of the times.
“If he were a product of his time, there would be no dissent.” – So no one can dissent in order for someone to be product of their time?? Okaaaaay… The Duke was great and black culture has fallen so far from what it was. liberals destroyed the black family by replacing the father with a welfare state. “right wing nuts ” : Yeah, as we know – anyone who disagrees with a bleeding heart liberal is a nut. SO open minded and tolerant aren’t we?
Mark, do you have anything to back up your statement that Jimmy Stewart was racist? He is one of my all time favorite actors and I would hate to believe that’s true.
Yes. Read Donald Dewey’s excellent 1996 biography where it says:
NBC producer Hal Kanter was shocked when Stewart insisted on firing black actor Hal Williams from The Jimmy Stewart Show. Kanter recalled, “One day somebody comes running into my office and says you better get down and see Jimmy, he is absolutely furious. I go down to his dressing room, and he’s really hot. The problem was he had just found out that we were casting Hal Williams and he related that to a script for a show in which there was a cop lashing into the professor character. ‘Blacks are bossing white people all over the country,’ he says to me angrily, ‘and now we’re going to have the same damn thing on prime time television? A black is going to be lecturing me with millions of people watching? No way. I get casting approval and Williams is out.’ I couldn’t believe it. Aside from everything else, he’d screwed up the shows, because Williams had been hired to play an FBI agent on another episode. But his anger about the thing was frightening. He acted chagrined when I told him about the mix up he’d made, but both of us knew that he’d let one cat out of the bag that he would have preferred not to. He didn’t have an easy relationship with blacks even as fictional characters.” Others had seen the cat at least in the bag for some time. Director John Ford had picked on Stewart’s Achilles heel during the filming of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Readers of interviews over the years may have been struck by everything from his descriptions of the antics of “dusky” housekeepers before World War II, to his complaints during the 1960s and 1970s that motion pictures had fallen under the influence of special interest audiences, among them “teenagers and colored people.” Beverly Hills friend Leonard Gershe recalled, “I don’t think there’s any question that Jimmy was uncomfortable with black people. But I wouldn’t lay it all on Indiana, either. This is Beverly Hills, USA. It is possible to go to dinner parties for years and, except for maybe Gregory Peck’s home, never run into a black person, even the rich ones like Sidney Poitier and Quincy Jones. When you consider that Jimmy has spent almost his entire life in either Indiana or Beverly Hills, and is of a certain generation, you’re not talking about someone who figures to be particularly sensitive to race. Like a lot of people with his kind of mentality, any kind of militancy, like the civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s, made him very uneasy, were just another threat to the way he was used to living, like admitting women to Princeton.”
Stewart’s problems with black people are also described in the more recent biographies by Michael Munn and Marc Eliot.
Gents and ladies… Don’t even bother to read “Mark” comments… His real name is Evan Peacock, a teenager from Hilton/New York, whom for some reason has a profound dislike against white actors from Hollywood’s golden era. He’s very active on the IMDb forums under different nicknames, many of which have got banned because of excessive abuse. He’s newest nickname is “EdwardCarter”, which he uses to unmercifully attack the veteran actors. He also uses the nickname “sponge417”, which is his “mild” persona (He still tries to demean the actors, but he holds back the insults to a near to civilized level so he won’t have his “mild” nickname banned by IMDb’s staff, although he is known to fabricate evidences to support his claims). When he feels he wants to go for more violent attacks (usually when people disbelieve or mock his claims) he switches to his “agressive” nickname. He’s obviously a very sick and immature kid, but fortunately on the internet (different of the real world) a nut case like this one can be simply ignored.
FACT: James Stewart was a racist, anti-semite, Vietnam hawk, McCarthyite and far right-wing Republican.
Even Henry Fonda admitted Stewart was just as racist as his father Alex before him.
Just read what Woody Strode, John Ford, Lucille Gipson, Leonard Gershe and many others had to say about the racist.
Just read this:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QwQDhT3HIeEC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=jimmy-stewart+racist&source=web&ots=jAnEZCVFe6&sig=yB7Bq-ydYb8an7dinXRyr9coDII&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA185-IA11,M1
You have said nothing to suggest Stewart wasn’t just as racist as his friend John Wayne.
I don’t think that “Mark”AKA sponge417 AKA Evan J. Peacock is really the mere 17 year old kid he pretends be but even if he is so what? All the baloney he says about John Wayne and James Stewart is solely motivated by some sick kind of kicks he gets from smearing their names. You’d be better off hearing out other comments that pass negative judgment on Wayne and Stewart than to listen to anything this “Mark” has to say. He always gets himself banned from IMDb and wiki because nobody can stand his abusive crap. Enter the following names in a search engine and go where the links take you and find out for yourself what a complete jerk this guy is: HarveyCarter, EdwardCarter, Sponge417. “Mark” and the rest of his nicknames ain’t worth anyone’s time of day.
Oh, yeah, forgot to add that I was around when John Wayne and James Stewart were still alive and working. When Hollywood started getting in step with the times, so did Wayne and Stewart. Well, I mean they tried. John Wayne got along with that guy who played the cook in The Cowboys both on an off the set. “Mark” claims Woody Strode said Stewart was racist but that’s a total lie because Strode said Stewart was a nice guy. Anyway it doesn’t do anyone any good to have this negative attitude about the generations that precede our own. Like another poster said, we think WE are SO “enlightened” right now that we can point a finger at our dads and grandad’s generations and say “we are SO much better than they were” but someday future generations will probably be just as judgemental of us today. It’s really hypocritical for people like “Mark” to do that, You’d think from the judgemental way he always writes that he’s perfect like God or something.
I agree with you that for the era he lived in, a lot of people did and said stupid things, but saying “nobody was politically correct…Everybody said things back then that were socially acceptable that would not be uttered today.” is completely false and biased. Only the people who thought that way said those things, just like today, only the people who think that way say those things.
These comments make me sick. So what if John Wayne said all this stuff about blackies!!! Truth is… they need to clean up their act anyways!!! They are stinky blackies!!!! I’m sick of smelling them!!!! If John Wayne was such a racist… why did he have hot Latina wives??? Why did this hunk of a white man attract such dusky beauties??? Why was he able to seduce them time and time again??? I’m getting tired of all this “white man is the devil” nonsense. You have to understand that (in the case of blacks and Native Americans at least), we took them out of their savage lands and gave them opportunities they never had before.
Actually you were the ones who were taken from the caucaus mountains where we found you running around on all fours…..go to the library it might change your train of thought…..
Actually Woody Strode said that James Stewart was just as racist as his KKK father Alex before him. You just read Michael Munn’s biography of Stewart. I’m glad the racist cunts Wayne and Stewart are dead.
I believe John Wayne was a realist.Everything he said was true.I understand the truth hurts.
These comments are hilarious, hillbillies run amuck on the internet. I laughed at the “article”, she mentioned every racist charge against Wayne and went into detail about it..except him believing in white supremacy and his comments about blacks..I wonder why. No wonder she likes John Wayne so much. Sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt this Klan meeting, you guys may continue.
The truth is that Wayne died screaming in agony from CANCER, ha ha ha!
Although he should have died in 1964.
what about that public enemy song?
I dont know to believe john wayne was a racist. In all of his movies and interviews he did not seem racist against black people. But maybe he was just hiding it.
Just read the draft dodging McCarthyite coward’s infamous Playboy interview.
Very well said! Agree on all points.
Hey, “Mark” dude…
What goes around comes around, some folks say. You
are so proud of being a non-racist, 21st-century sort
of guy, but then you laugh at people who get cancer
and wish agony upon them? Say what you like about
John Wayne; he gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure
with his movies. What has YOUR sorry, nebbish a$$
contributed to society?
Tell you what. I’m not a very nice guy either (but at least I ADMIT it.)
AND, I don’t like hypocritical, inflated-self-esteem a$$ clowns
(like yourself.) So here is my wish (spoken to fate, the
universe, or whatever entities my be…)
May you get cancer in both your eyes, and the doctor has
to remove them to save your pathetic life. And then I
hope I get to meet you, so I can poke you with a stick, trip you,
smack you and laugh while you fumble, grope, inffectually curse at
me, and finally collapse in a heap of frustrated, blubbering jelly.
So May it Be..!
So glad that talentless darft dodging racist McCarthyite coward John Wayne died screaming in agony from CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER.
Though it should have been in 1964, not 1979.
as far as john wayne is concerned, if he isn’t racist than there is no way that Malcom X or Elijah Muhammed are. Am i right?
and you call us whiners. Really. Prove it.
2751 people died in the 9/11 attacks and we say we’ll never forget. We lost anything upwards of 600 million to segregation, setller as well as coporate colonialism in africa, and slavery in cuba, america, haiti, australia, ireland, england, brazil, puerto rico and you all say get over it.
Get over yourselves
I’ve never owned a slave.. what do they go for these days? wait, that kinda illegal here in the good ol’ USA.. and has been for Almost 150 years… so I think maybe it’s time to get past the whole “my grandpa owned your grandpa” schtick since noone reading this has either A: Owned a slave, B: been a slave or C: had contact with immediate family or friends who had BEEN slaves.. this is simply a non-issue in this era which people will not let go.. face it folks, there is no 40 acres and there ain’t no mule and if there were it would’ve been owed to people who have been dust for a century not YOU! When someone needs a crutch to fall back on to support racism, they resort to slavery. There are plenty of examples of modern racism rampant in society today that this one can be lain to rest.. and in case you haven’t noticed, racism can run in ANY direction.. ask any black panther who wore a “F*&K WHITEY” button..
I have read a few things on here about white on black racism. whats funny is that this one guy states that “we were slaves” really???? YOU WHERE A SLAVE???? wow if you live in America i bet your old owners are payin big time now. oh thats right your family was a slave some time ago. one of you please tell me the name of your grandad or granmom that was a slave, please. and i, a little “rich white boy” will tell you the names of MY FAMILY THAT IS ON RECORD AS SLAVES. the african culture was not and has not been the only slaves in the world. this has gotten very old. you now have the same oppurtinity that i have. we have a black president elect now. if you want to continue to play the racist card, especially about a dead man (BY THE WAY THE PERSON THAT SAID HE IS GLAD THAT HE DIED OF CANCER, I HOPE YOU NEVER HAVE TO LOOK THAT IN THE FACE, BECAUSE YOU WILL SHRIVEL AND DIE YOU WORHTLESS PUKE) Then you sirs and mams are racist in your own selves for seeking such things out. get a life.
John Wayne was an alcoholic who smoked over 100 cigarettes a day. He deserved to get cancer.
Hmm, while i enjoy John Wayne’s films, he as a person was a very flawed individual, It can be difficult to accept that our ‘heroes’ had disappointing views, so I understand why you’ve defended him so much. It was easy to be a product of the times back then, but there were many people such as Orson Welles, who staged a version of Macbeth with a cast made up entirely of African Americans, in 1936, or Myrna Loy, who, challenging MGM bosses in the 1930s, said “Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a court house carrying a briefcase?”, that I admire far more, who flew in the face of racism, despite the fact that it was much more socially acceptable.
Or even someone with a more notorious reputation, like Frank Sinatra, who battled racism his entire life.
Review of “The Very Good Years”: Like the time when he took on a school hall full of 5,000 angry students and parents protesting against racial integration in Gary, Indiana. ‘No other major recording star of the period laid his reputation on the line in such a fashion.’
It’s those who were able to step out of their environment and have the courage and foresight to do what was right, that I truly respect, when all is said and done.
First off, I can’t believe that I have to explain something SOOOO simple to you people. Some people are racist, that is a fact, period. John Wayne is not among them, PERIOD. He just thought that black people (they are considered people now, right?) were dumb, violent and inferior to white people (or just “people”). There is a difference, if you can’t see that, then you are probably black, indian (“injun”) or liberal (“commie”), or possibly a black liberal, an indian liberal, or a black indian, or possibly a jew.
Now as for the comment of Mel (short for “Child Mel-ester”) above:
“no Westerns did more than those Wayne starred in after 1939, were more faithful to the Indian, treating him with dignity and respect, even as an enemy.”
I agree completely, the Indian (“Injun Jo”) that you write about was quite dignified and portrayed as such. Quite fitting since he IS the one Indian on record as not drinking the blood of children for “powah”.
The poignant questions posed by Whitby (a clever transformation of “WHITeBoY”), “if John Wayne was such a racist… why did he have hot Latina wives??? Why did this hunk of a white man attract such dusky beauties???,” demand answers. Indeed, why? Because he wasn’t RACIST, that’s why. I proved that above, so read it again if you must. I do take issue with the second question, though. Everyone knows that Mexicans… (I think that WHITeBoY meant to say Mexican, rather than using the antiquated and derogatory term ‘Latina’)… everyone knows that Mexicans are tawny rather than ‘dusky’. John Wayne would never have lain with a ‘dusky’ woman. As any non-communist will tell you that is ri-DICK-ulous, even thinking so is a dishonor to the Patriot.
As for James “Jimmy ‘Gay’ Boy” Stewart he disliked blacks for a different reason, he had a close encounter of the worst kind with one. He found a black guy’s penis in his wife’s anal sphincter, luckily it was there only because of a tragic ladder accident. Had it been a purposeful act the black man would have been automatically hung while having his genitals fed to him. Lucky for him he was only shot. The major problem this caused “Jimmy Gay Boy” is that from that point forward his tongue was far too small to stimulate the misses during anilingus. Can you imagine licking your wife’s corn hole for 20 minutes without her getting “there”? A travesty, truly.
For most of you this has all been common sense, so I am sorry to waste your time. But for the other “people” reading this, I hope you now understand what a burden it is for us to provide for you by ‘working’ (look it up!) at our ‘jobs’ (that too!) and at the same time be questioned about issues like these that are probably a little too complex for you.
Please address any further inquiries or requests for individual teaching to the swarthy president elect, I will be busy.
So glad John Wayne got CANCER!
James Stewart was a racist too.
I think John Wayne was prejudiced against blacks in particular. Yet on the audio commentary of THE COWBOYS, he and Roscoe Lee Brown got along very well. I think instead of blacks or other liberals comdemning Wayne, perhaps it would have been better to reach out to him, like Jimmy Carter did in 1976. After that, many felt that some of Wayne’s views were changing. He and Woddy Strode nearly got into a fight on MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALLANCE. Also on this particular shoot, John Ford was abusing Wayne a little bit in regards to how great Woddy was compared to Wayne. In the biography I read, JOHN WAYNE AMERICAN, by Randy RObergt and James Olson, it is mentioned that Ford had to protect Wayne from Strode after an incident in which Wayne nearly injured Strode,
He was a flawed man, but I would say to people he was not as racist as Muhammed Ali, who I heard was quoted as saying any black person with a white person should be hung. Also to the person who mentions that he could not have been racist because he had some Latino wives. I have my prejudices to against blacks sometimes, yet my ex wife is black, and most of my girl friends have been black. Just because I may have sexual relations with some one, does not make me a totally non predudiced guy. We all carry such feelings inside of us. However, we should be able to rationalize our feelings, and recognize that we carry negative thoughts. While we carry these negative thoughts, we may even be able to love or like someone from that group.
John Wayne was to the right, a conservative American who was scared of change, though he was optimistic about the US. He did disavow the JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, saying they were crazy. He was foremost, an actor, whose image really got a boost from John Ford and Howard Hawks. I also met someone (he was white) who said he met John Wayne when he was a kid, and how nice John Wayne was to himand some other kids for the hour or so they spent with him.
I have yet to meet a single person in my life who was not a racist.
This is just amazing. It was a pretty good article, and whiners take over. (“Go back to Europe” is astonishingly stupid.) Here’s a point: The word “slave” is based on the word “Slav”. That’s right, Slavic people were slaves at various times. Blacks being slaves in America was not a first by any means. America abolished the practice before many other countries, and some still have it today. So, drop the “I’m a victim because of history” crap.
My quibble with the article is that the allegations against John Wayne in the original quoted post did not have evidence. More like, “John Wayne was this, said that and the other thing”, but did not offer proper citations and the opportunity to examine the context of the statements.
Short quotes often do not give indication of context or attitude. Did JW say something out of sarcasm and was taken as a serious statement? Was he joking? Were there numerous quotes giving a pattern of his beliefs? Did his lifestyle reflect these negative charges?
No, it’s much easier to prove his patriotism. While I’m at it, I’ll share my own recent articles on Duke: http://xrl.in/1fcr and at http://xrl.in/1fcs
Both John Wayne and James Stewart were huge racists.
Well, hallo from St.Petersburg, Russia!
I am not sure where the problems can be… Whatever Mr.Wayne said or did, does not matter so much. He was a great actor, one of the greatest, in fact, and that’s that. A lot of celebrities have expressed dubious sentiments on more than just one occasions, but that does not make then less great. Judge people by what they DO.
Charles S.Chaplin was far from perfect. In his private life he was, actually, a true scoundrel. Does that make him a poor actor? Does Robert Burns’s alcoholism make him a poor poet? Should I remind you that ALL great discoveries throughout the human history have so far been motivated by sheer greed?
John Wayne’s movies will remain on the screen long after we all are gone and forgotten. Think about it — that just might give you some perspective.
Oh, and please do not doubt… I really am a Russian, live in St.Petersburg (have done so since I was born back in 1955), and English is a language I learned — in part, in order to be able to watch American movies.
Best luck!
– Igor
I don’t think young people today care about westerns.
“..that’s a matter of opinion, not racism.”
Don’t whitewash please!
“I believe in white supremacy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people…The academic community has developed certain tests that determine whether the blacks are sufficiently equipped scholastically. ….I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or ten generations ago these people were slaves. …. I wish they’d tell me where in the world they have it better than right here in America.”(May 1971 [[Playboy]] interview with Richard Warren Lewis)
YOU are DELUDED!
Wayne was a racist just like his friend James Stewart.
john wayne was a racist for sure. most white people still are specially if you defend other racist and do nothing when they make racist comments. do some real research next time.
What I want to know is, why does it matter if he is a racist? So is Jesse Jackson, and Denzel Washington, despite being a registered republican, has been sited making racist remarks. It’s fact of life and to trash someone for it is absurd. To be unaccepting of someone because they are unaccepting themselves, is just a bad and makes you just as much a bigot. Things are very much black and white and they will continue to be, as long as we do things like, Hey.. look at our first black president or this man was shot by a cop because he was black, when in all actuality there is no racial aspect that truly affected the situation other than, this man was black and this man was white. This does get in to greater issues though, such as poverty and ratios of different ethnicities per income segment, but it’s much too complicated for this blog. The only other thing I’ll say is, if we want to make a major stepping stone in eliminating some racial tension, there should be no putting up with any of the gangster thug life nonsense. Purposely giving yourself an image that implies you’re into criminal behavior or activity only opens the doorway for serious issues. And that is something both blacks and white are guilty of. I see and deal with it on a regular basis. When we can learn that we don’t have to be accepting of all or everything, and become selective and apply moral distinction, then the issues of racism deminish, and not because it is ignored. Just because it’s not a focal point or way of life. People need to be somewhat alike otherwise you have nothing to connect with. Supporting each others differences is needed, but realizing similarities is even more important. So to get people to be more alike in ways that they connect can do bigger things then their differences. As long as we keep telling people and pushing them to see what sets them apart, then there will continue to be issues. It’s just my outlook.
My white uncle and grandpa are married to Vietnamese women and they are as racist as can be.
Racism is perceiving individuals to be a certain way, even when not knowing a thing about that person. Like assuming a caucasian with a southern or country accent is ignorant, ill bred, backwards, or illiterate. Racism or stereotyping is just plain wrong.
Racism is holding certain opinions. Seems like John Wayne was racist.
He probably was racist, but he was in good company back in the day. Does that make it okay? No. I strikes me that people forget that his movies were fiction and parts that he played. Granted, he played them very well and I am a huge John Wayne fan. I think there was an appreciation in most of his movies for Native Americans; I don’t know if that was his influence or someone else’s. But they guy in the movies wasn’t necessarily the same guy in his real person in real life. But they again, it is the characters that he play of which I am a fan, not the actor outside of the movie.
Racism is arrogant, ignorant and unacceptable. But John Wayne movies are enjoyable and have some tidbits of wisdom as well. I enjoy them but also remember that they are fiction.
The man has been dead for sooooo long, who cares about what he thought, who cares about him anymore, leave the dead man alone already ( YAWN )
Both John Wayne and James Stewart were racist Nazis.
Amazingly ignorant comments! Just spite and hate, and no evidence. If anyone of those clowns has the intelligence to read an actual book, they’d find the truth about John Wayne. Sure, call James Stewart a racist as well. Agonizingly stupid people.
Yeah, he was a racist. So fuck him. And every single one of his fans.
So tough, right? But died screaming from the pain of cancer. Good. The world was better off with he and his racist fans planted in the ground. Hopefully they’ll join him soon.
I’m glad he died of cancer.
Though it should ahve been in 1964, not 1979.
As someone who knew Duke well (my family lived next door to the Waynes for more than three decades and I maintained a close, personal friendship with him until his death) I find the majority of comments posted here unbelieveably hateful, very flawed and extremely sad. Publicly, Duke was an actor. Privately, he was an exceptionally good person; loving father and husband, and wonderful friend. I feel sorry for those of you who speak of someone you obviously know nothing about.
I don’t know why people think that just because a racist white guy marries a non-white that that proves he isn’t racist. I mean he probably thought women were inferior too, but that didn’t stop him from getting biblical with them. Although there are the gay rumours…
First,all of you haters are no better than the bigots of today,Jesse Jackson,rev. Al Sharpton,the new black panthers.All spewing racist remarks to any guilt-ridden white person that listens so they feel better when they sleep.Lets not forget Marion barry,re-elected after being busted for smoking crack and other drug offenses,not once,but three times!I won’t defend the “Duke” on everything he has said,don’t need too.He said what he thought,just like all the”Black,negro,colored”or whatever they call themselves do today.Change the rules whenever the mood strikes you.These are the people not comfortable in their own skin,not me.You find black people never take the blame for anything,black on black crime,the white controlled government is the reason for it.White on black crime is a hate crime.Black on white crime is dismissed as an every day crime no biggee.Close your eyes if you want to,the rest of us will take note who stands up and who folds.Racist,not before,but thank you for making me one.Push too hard and like the”Duke” your going to get a chair across your head.
Randy, your comments are consistent with biographies and interviews with Duke’s friends. I’m glad you chimed in here to settle this hateful rabble.
Melvin, put down the crack pipe and back away from the keyboard.
ishok got out of rehab too soon.
Friend of Duke, I doubt you’re a friend of his and your comments aren’t exactly about him…but I can’t argue with what you stated, either.
You folks who can’t deal with the reality of what institutionalized racism is and the way racial types are reintroduced in this culture need to get real. One of my favorite actors, for example, was Boris Karloff, but it would be stupid of me to argue that he wasn’t embracing race stereotypes when he did crap like “The Mask of Fu Manchu”. When people do things like that, they’re wrong, and I don’t care what period they lived in. It is always possible to step away from patterns of racial or class imposed ignorance. It’s not a matter of guilt, and damn those of you who keep re-stating this silly argument. It’s a matter of standing up for what is right, and admitting when mistakes have been made, not only being able to call out the other guy’s, but being able to admit to one’s own short sightedness. That’s all that’s being asked of you John Wayne cultists, and you can’t do it out of some blind hero worship. What a cop out.
John Wayne was a racist, and so is “Friend of Duke who referred to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as “the new Black Panthers”, whom, by the way, were never a racist organization, although it takes a big chunk of racial arrogance to make that declaration. As a black man who is often mistaken for white, I’ve long been used to how a lot of white folks will run their mouths about people of color when they’re not aware any of us are in the room. This experience hhas taught me that there are still lots of white people who make statements like “Friend of Duke”s, people who rarely have had to know anything about what they’re talking about- due to the very real presence of racist patterns in many white people’s thinking about black history or culture. As for Jackson and Sharpton have a lot of problems, but they’re not bigots. When more white folks want to take responsibility for real racist war criminals like Cheney and yes, Obama, whose politics are the only kind of “black” politics most white U.S.ers can live with because he accepts the violent, Eurocentric dismissal of the rights of people in the so-called third world- when more white folks want to take responsibility for imperial politics, they’ll have lots to say about Sharpton or Jackson I’ll want to hear.
As for John Wayne’s deferment during the Second World War, a lot of other people had three children, and they served. Some of their children served. So face it: John Wayne was a loudmouth, flag waving CHICKEN HAWK PHONY!
Michael Hureaux, you are so full of your own ideology that you conveniently ignore all of the truths that people have stated. John Wayne was a racist, but you offer no proof. He was a racist because YOU SAID SO??? Meanwhile, you disbelieve anything against the professional racists like Sharpton and Jesse “What Love Child?” Jackson despite overwhelming evidence. Pinheads like you should not be allowed to use the computer.
john wayne was a racist, no surprise, so was henry ford and walt disney.
but there is no excuse for it, saying “they are all a product of their time” does not excuse the views or the actions. it makes you understand WHY they may be the way they are, but it does not excuse the fact that they are.
people put all these guys on a pedestal, and try to make their achievements look like it was so great that their personal views do not matter.
if one wants to keep pretending that these types of people are so great, then maybe one should send out a bunch of memos to those in hollywood to make it mandatory to keep personal views and opinions personal, and to just do the job that makes you famous.
in the end, there is no excuse as to why people find it excusable that people like wayne were racist.
and his comments were offensive. if you are not one of the minorities the hateful comments were directed at, then you really are not entitled to an opinion on what is offensive to that group, as its not directed at you.
if you are white, you can watch these movies and never have to worry if the very movies you enjoy and the people in them, were against your race…but when you are a minority sometimes you are stuck having to think that, because what minority really wants to support a movie that has people who hate their race in it?
“Always Right” is dead wrong. Why don’t you pinheads ever show some evidence? Probably because, guess what, it’s dead wrong, there is no evidence that John Wayne was a racist. We keep giving you something that says otherwise, you keep putting your head up your keesters.
lol, cowboy bob must really hate being wrong, you need to stop idolizing and accept the reality that he was a racist. get over it. people like you don’t even care if he was cause it doesn’t affect you so stop trying to protect the guy. stop putting these creeps on pedestals.
obviously cowboy you are wrong, and your use of name calling only serves to prove further that you are wrong. its a sign that you forfeit and have been defeated, wrong along and support your fellow racist, John Wayne.
I call ’em as I see ’em, Pinhead. Again, what do you have against evidence? Show me something out of the John Wayne biographies. And what evidence do you have that I am a racist, Never Right? Nope, you’re a typical hate mongering pinhead. Name calling? Yup. It’s also truth-telling.
lol, its impossible to take someone who name calls serioiusly so if you want to keep pretending he isnt racist to make yourself happy go ahead, and deny the truth. keep on name calling, it only shows how incapable you are of talking. i am not going to waste my time with someone who name calls just because he is wrong and feels he must make himself feel better about denying the truth. i will also not talk to someone who condones racism, if not is one himself.
have fun denying reality, its probably all you are good at anyways. meanwhile, i am going to enjoy my life.
oh yes, the horrible likes of you, gave me an excellent topic for my next blog post.
anyways i am done wasting my time with you, since you are too immature to debate let alone talk with. it is final,John Wayne is a racist, and anyone who uses common sense, could see that just by reading that comment. Only racists or those who condone racism would justify the comment he made.
Proof, Pinhead!
there are uneducated people in all races…not just the black race.there are 40 people in my department at work and out of 40 people 10 are african americans and the rest are white. those 10 african americans are more educated than the 30 whites.so lets stop bashing just one race when all races have their faults.
“Both on and off the screen, Wayne was a tough, gritty guy that told you frankly how it was without sparing any thoughts for your feelings. A very candid man, he was unwavering in his beliefs regardless of whether than conflicted with yours.”
Anybody can tell their feelings and frankly, John Wayne was a racist.
Your argument for him living in a different era and not being politically correct, is an bullshit argument. I can tell you right now, I am Native American and it hurts to hear racist comments against my people, NO MATTER what time period it came from. I am aware that some my people can be racist too, but I never would give them the excuse of “oh, they were from another era… they’re allowed to say those things without suffering the consequences.” So don’t you dare give “good ol'” John Wayne that lame excuse.
Just because John Wayne played a “hero” in the movies, doesn’t mean he’s was hero in real life.
here is John Wayne’s interview that you so conveniently did not show:
“Wayne: I believe in white supremecy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.
Lewis: Are you equiped to judge which blacks are irresponsible and which of their leaders are inexperienced?
Wayne: The academic community has developed certain tests that determine whether the blacks are sufficiently equipped scholastically. ….I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or ten generations ago these people were slaves. …. I wish they’d tell me where in the world they have it better than right here in America.
Lewis: Do you feel any empathy for (Indians)?”
Wayne: I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them ….. the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves. …. I’m quite sure that the concept of a Government-run reservation …. seems to be what the socialists are working for now — to have everyone cared for from cradle to grave ….. But you can’t whine and bellyache ’cause somebody else got a break and you didn’t, like those Indians are. We’ll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money.”
these are the words of a racist.
someone worthy of idolization: Clint Eastwood.
I am native american and proud of my culture and heritage. I grew up watching john wayne films. If john wayne was racist, whatever. everyone is entitled to their own opioion. He was a great action of his time. He embodied the spirit and strength of men of that time. Personal, I would have liked to meet him.
I am a Native also, but the difference between you and I is that I am not white washed. I would never watch anything with John Wayne. I can’t believe you would had wanted to a meet a man who clearly wouldn’t had liked you because of your ethnicity.
Wow, after the REAL racism that my parents faced (my mom from Louisiana, dad from Seattle) back in the 30s-70s and the number fights I had in elementary school for being called “nigger”, I just have to shake my head at folks here crying about racism in America today and trying to make John Wayne some evil Klansman because he saw what should’ve been a wake-up call for the Black Community.
Now look at us: 70%+ broken homes, crime up the ass and people like Sharpton and Jackson still rulin the roost. If a black is a Republican or Conservative they get ostracized. If a white liberal draws slave pictures of someone like Condoleeza Rice (who isn’t really from the far right of the GOP); the NAACP let’s it go unless enough people call em on it.
Such hypocrisy and such a huge step backwards.
We used to be seen as a tough people who fought to be part of the American experiment; now we’re a bunch of crybabies who can’t even take someone of another race knowing about our flaws. Hell white comedians are still afraid to joke about black people. It’s keeping us (not me) a community in its infancy. We embrace the left-wing of the Democratic Party that says, “Don’t you worry about the hard stuff in life…we’ll keep you safe.”, even though they really see us as perpetually inferior. At least John Wayne used the word, “UNTIL”, as in it has limits. Until we get our shit together, as a race, we’ll be second rate as best.
yeah he was definitely a racist. Unfortunately a lot of people at that time had very narrow minded views and thought very dualistically. There always has to be a villain. The feeling that this era of McCarthyism exudes is the deamonization of others and not compassion and understanding of others. It was easy to say I hate that fag, black, or commy, without really seeing it from their perspective and what they have to go through, or even becoming a friend of a person who may be like this. John Wayne epitomizes the understanding in this era of lets join together to hate and discriminate, instead of coming together to understand differences and bolster compassion, friendship, and tolerance with one another.
Since the subject of john wayne being racist has formed into an all out racism discussion war, I feel I need to speak some lines hot off of the mind. First of all, no matter if the person was a “product of time”(such a lame excuse),whether the actual term of slavery took place 150 yrs.ago,or simply whatever anyone believes about african-american people(since this is the only race that everyone seems to be focused on),IT IS STILL NOT RIGHT. I could bet my whole paycheck that all these people that are racist against african americans have none of their own personal expieriences as to why they have some sort of animosity towards african americans and puhlease, be original. I think if I hear the famous phrase “that’s the way I was raised” again, the phrase ” if I had a nickel…..” Will need to come in to play. (Sigh). I could really use the money.also I wanted to comment on the fact that where I’m from texas caucasian people seem to think that this is “their land” when infact it isn’t. Texas was a part of mexico before they start moving in and trying to tell people what to do is how I see it. And it’s like that with just about everything. And to whitby or whatever I think ytour comment was very racist indeed. This is not your land nor is it mine’s yo grandpa’s his grandpa’s or even my ancestors. It is GOD’s LAND and he put it here so that we can all live and get along with eachother not to drive people away or judge a person character by the color of their skin. So take that!! The fact that we have people like you(that is of no high autority what so ever and have the nerve to judge other human-beings like yourself) makes me furious to almost the verge of insanity. I can’t believe that people can still be racist during this time frame still. I could never be. If one dumbass person rubs me the wrong way, I can’t blame it on the whole entire race of people. Just take it one asshole at a time, cuz believe me there’s plenty of them to go around for a lifetime but will never be catagorized within one race of people. So with all this being said I dare someone to tell me a truthful story of why they don’t like a certain race because every person in that race wronged them in some kind of way. Remember, be original;)
John Wayne got the crap beat out of him by Gary Cooper in a real fight. All of Hollywood knew about it. He also was a spoiled rich guy and acted that way.
vixie21, saying that someone is a product of their times doesn’t imply that their racism is morally right, just that it’s understandable considering the circumstances. Not right, but understandable.
Secondly, some people are racist because they’ve repeatedly experienced bad encounters with people of another race. Is it right? No. But it happens. And, no, people don’t have to “be original” when explaining why they feel what they feel. Emotions and opinions aren’t a creativity contest, so get over yourself.
And finally, but most important of all, please, PLEASE don’t use religion as an argument. This isn’t “God’s land”. Not everyone believes in God and not everyone is religious, so stop it with that weak, annoying argument. Your argument isn’t somehow more morally strong just because you invoked religion.
” Some people are racist because they’ve repeatedly experienced bad encounters with people of another race…” HMMM I guess with that ‘logic’ all blacks should be racist against whites because I do not know of one black person who has not encountered hatred from others due to their skin color on a regular basis.
That logic is flawed…the truth is some people are not as strong as others, and resort to hate as an easy way to explain things
“I can’t believe that people can still be racist during this time frame still. I could never be.”
And, because it must be said: yeah right.
[…] back into this. He is a quintessential Western figure. He played gunslingers like nobody else since The Duke. His method was his own. It was dark and introspective. Beyond those cowboy westerns though he did, […]
“Secondly, some people are racist because they’ve repeatedly experienced bad encounters with people of another race.”
Not only is that wrong, it is also a morally unsound argument. You are excusing these people’s racism.
It is wrong, because a truly non racist person would never “become” racist because they experienced bad encounters with people of “another race”.
The truth about people who claim they “became” racists because of the bad experiences they had dealing with people of “other races”, is that these people were racists all along, period.
A racist believes all people from the same “race” have the same inherent behaviours, the same things they’re good and bad at.
For example, someone who loves people from the “black race” because he thinks they’re happy go lucky, who thinks any “black” person can sing, run and dance well is a racist, just like the guy who claims he became racist because he had bad encounters with people from “other races”.
The person who says they love East-Asians because they think they are so industrious and smart is a racist too, just like the person who say they hate Mexicans because they think they are dirty and take their jobs.
These people don’t see individuals, they only see “race”, and believe that “race” is not skin deep, but influences your behaviour etc.