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We know she’s a shiny celebrity object, and that shiny objects keep the online world spinning, but there was never a chance that she would be the catalyst for a true national conversation about race.Īll we have learned from the exhaustive coverage is that the debate on the main stage, whether Roseanne Barr is racist, is the easiest one to have – and the least important. We’re not trying to pick on the Times, or the thoughtful contributions of its opinion writers, but Barr is a comedian and sitcom actress whose tweet came as a surprise to almost nobody. Blow, Roxane Gay – there may have been others. Here are some of the headlines from the New York Times over the past few days: “Celebrities, activists, and Barr react to ‘Roseanne’ news” “Roseanne Barr, back on Twitter, has more to say” “White House says Trump is not defending Barr” “Barr unleashes new tweetstorm hours after firing.” And that’s not counting the multiple Times op-eds on the subject from Lindy West, Bret Stephens, Charles M. We won’t repeat the tweet here, or weigh in on it, because it would just add to the noise – and there’s a lot of noise. But this week’s media focus on Roseanne Barr and her tweet about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett is good example of just how broken the national dialogue has become – especially when it comes to race. It’s one of the biggest reasons why Donald Trump, resident of reality TV, is now Donald J. America is a celebrity-obsessed country, and that’s not news.