Cancelled! Why Dilbert had to go

I went back through my social media history this morning and came across a dozen or more Dilbert comic strips I have posted over the years.

If you aren’t familiar with Dilbert, it’s an insightful, often hilarious syndicated comic strip that skewers corporate office life. It features Dilbert, an engineer, his co-worker Wally and the pointy-haired boss, among others.

Wally was my personal favorite because of his ability to goldbrick every day and get away with it while still drawing his salary. Oh, and he always has a coffee cup in his hand.

So, it hit me hard when a text over the weekend from a former co-worker at The Oklahoman delivered some devastating news.

The paper is cancelling Dilbert, and for all the right reasons.

Dilbert author Scott Adams revealed himself to be a racist with some horrific comments on his streaming video program, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” Here’s an article from the San Jose Mercury News reporting Adams’ comments. 

On the program, Adams cited the results of a poll of Black Americans on racial views, then calling Blacks a “hate group,” and recommending that white Americans segregate themselves.

“Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people,” Adams said.

He also bragged about spoofing the current sexual/racial identity discussion by claiming to “identify as Black” until now.

I hesitate to publicly call out anyone as a racist, but when someone like Scott Adams uses his platform to disparage an entire race of people, there’s not much doubt about his personal character.

However, Adams isn’t a first-time offender.  I’ve been troubled the past few months about other things Adams has posted, like constantly backing right-wing conspiracy theories.

If you search “Scott Adams” online today, you will find headline after headline about newspapers that are cancelling Dilbert.

Although, Adams attempted to defend himself in a more recent video presentation, he also said that “most of my income will be gone by next week” and that “my reputation for the rest of my life is destroyed.”

You brought this on yourself, Scott Adams. You had to know that racist comments like this would bring down your syndicated comic empire.

Obviously, Adams wanted to get out of the business of creating a daily comic strip. Maybe he will reinvent himself as a leader of a fine organization like the Oath Keepers.

But this isn’t 1950s America where white folks felt empowered to wear their racism on their sleeves. Our society today demands empathy and understanding for everyone.

I’m going to miss Dilbert and Wally. But it had to happen.