There's no doubt that Whoopie badly misunderstood many things about racism and the holocaust. She really needs to know and understand more, especially in the position she has. However..... This is the kind of reaction that got Al Franken out of the senate. Well meaning people with a poor understanding of the reality, get hoisted upon a petard not of their making. Okay, she has a flawed understanding of both racism, AND the holocaust. That really is a "teachable" moment. Understand their misconception and take the opportunity to educate/correct it. Instead, there is a tendency to "make an example of them", which mostly serves to make sure that people don't participate in these discussions, especially those that most have the need.
An ardent racist deserves everything that comes their way, but someone whose personal understand of racism comes from experiencing it a black women needs to be accommodated to understand that it's not just about the color of ones skin. Whoopie saw the holocaust as a "white on white" thing, not understanding that "whites" divide themselves into "races".
Look, "race" is a human construct intended to divide people, mostly for the purpose of certain peoples of gaining power. Not only is it not about white versus black, it can be about different countries in Asia, or different "tribes" in Africa. Saddam Hussein divided his country between two peoples of SLIGHTLY different religious beliefs. What Whoopie missed was that the Nazis created a "race" of "jews" and advanced that concept. They also created an "Aryan" race. By the way they treated communists and homosexuals similarly. We can discuss if that means the Nazis thought of them as a "race".
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