His comic strip “Dilbert” is world famous. But comments on his YouTube channel now cost artist Scott Adams countless jobs. Hundreds of newspapers are deleting his comic. Elon Musk is also getting involved in the debate.
The comic strip “Dilbert” has been appearing in US newspapers since 1993. The work, which satirically describes modern office culture, is one of the most successful strips of the last few decades. But that is over now. After accusations of racism against “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams, according to CNN, hundreds of newspapers and magazines, including well-known publications such as the “Washington Post”, “USA Today” and the “Los Angeles Times”, have canceled their subscription to the strip.
The reason for the mass departure from “Dilbert” is an appearance by Adams on his YouTube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams” in the middle of last week, from which numerous US media quoted. On the show, Adams, who had attracted attention in recent years due to increasing political radicalization, described black Americans as a “hate group”. He accused them of “not focusing on education,” implied that they used violence against “non-black citizens,” and urged whites to “stay the fuck away” from black people.
In his hate speech, Adams referred to a survey by the conservative opinion research institute Rasmussen Reports. In this study, 53 percent of black Americans agreed with the statement “it’s okay to be white”. 26 percent denied the statement, 21 percent were not sure. Adams said: “If almost half of all black people don’t agree with white people, that’s a hate group.” He didn’t want anything to do with them.
However, the poll’s statement – “It’s okay to be white” – was created as part of an online campaign by the far-right alt-right movement in the United States, according to the civil rights organization Anti-Defamation League. Then it was taken over by racists and gained great popularity as a far-right meme. It alludes to the right-wing extremist belief that criticism of whites or white power structures is equated with racism against whites.
Adam’s comments and the cancellation of his strip by numerous media outlets sparked controversy in the United States over the weekend. Tesla and Twitter boss Elon Musk also intervened in this. “The media is racist,” he tweeted. “For a long time the US media was racist against non-white people, now they are racist against whites and Asians,” he wrote. This also happened at “the elite colleges and high schools in America”. “Maybe they can try not to be racist.” Such accusations against US universities are part of the “cancel culture” debate that has been going on in the US for some time.
While many media classified Adams’ statements as racist and discriminatory, the cartoonist defended himself and even presented himself as a victim. He was hated and wanted to get rid of him, he said of the numerous layoffs by the media. He wanted to advise the public to “avoid hate,” he tweeted. The cancellation of his comic by the media is a sign that freedom of expression is being attacked in America. “Is it racist to avoid racists of the same race as yourself? Or is it only racist if the racists you avoid are white?” he wrote. On his YouTube show, he said: “You should avoid any group that doesn’t respect you, even if there are people within the group who are okay.”
The 65-year-old Adams had already attracted attention in recent years through controversial statements and conspiracy myths. For example, he welcomed Donald Trump’s candidacy in the 2016 US presidential election. He lamented the alleged persecution of Republicans and feared that all Republicans would be dead “within a year” after a Democratic election victory. He also claimed to see signs of Satanism in Trump’s successor Joe Biden’s campaign.
