Ben Affleck: Male Douchebag

Regarding "Affleck ‘still grappling with terrible legacy’" (Thursday Celebrities, A2), actor Ben Affleck was apparently traumatized by the discovery that he had slave owning ancestors during the filming of an episode of the PBS genealogy series “Finding Your Roots”, so much so that he insisted the producers not include that information in the episode, nor ever make it public.  

Not content to leave well enough alone, when the cover-up was exposed, he went on to rationalize his involvement by offering a feeble apology that directed blame away from himself, and onto everyone else, offering some of the most precious qualifiers by a celebrity in recent memory: “I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story. We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors, and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are, as a nation, still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery.”

Except that Affleck didn't just have an "initial thought": he actively promoted a cover-up.  As to the "degree of interest in this story", it is more likely because we are, as a nation, fascinated when celebrity motormouths make hypocrites out of themselves.  Affleck is a legendary liberal scold, regularly reminding America of its shortcomings, but he did get one thing right: on the issue of slavery, we all deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors.  By saying this, I wonder if he realizes the terrible disservice he has done to his scores of friends who so enjoy getting on their high horse, and trying to convince us otherwise?

Pete Smith

Houston, TX