You Can Mourn Dilbert But Let’s Not Forget Who Scott Adams Was
Dilbert creator Scott Adams died today at the age of 68. He leaves behind a history of 90s cartoon fame and Internet infamy brought on by multiple racism allegations.
Adams was dropped from multiple newspapers in 2023 after he made racist comments. Conservative voices are lamenting his death from prostate cancer. (Which he begged President Trump to help with treatment, and received.) However, a lot more people on social media are making sure that people do not wash away the worst parts of his legacy.
The Vice President wrote, “ Scott Adams was a true American original, and a great ally to the President of the United States and the entire administration. My prayers go to Scott and all of you who loved him. We lost 1 of the good ones but will never forget him.” Pleasantries on the way out for controversial men when they pass away is standard operating procedure on the Internet. Especially in our current day and age.
But, tons of people on social media remember the racism allegations, and the actual comments that came out of Adams keyboard. He was unrepentant in his criticisms of Black Americans and other minority groups on his social media platforms. Especially after he was removed from his seat as cartoonist at The Washington Post.
Scott Adams’s ethos in his own words
“I would say, you know, 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. Just get the f*** away. Okay?. Wherever you have to go, just get away,” Adams previously said. “There’s no fixing this? This can’t be fixed. All right, this can’t be fixed. You just have to escape. So that’s what I did.
“So, I think it makes no sense whatsoever, as a white citizen of America, to try to help Black citizens anymore. It doesn’t make sense, it is no longer a rational impulse,” he argued. “And so, I’m gonna back off from being helpful to Black America, because it doesn’t seem like it pays off. Like, I’ve been doing it all my life. And, the only outcome is, I get called a racist. That’s the only outcome. It makes no sense to help black Americans. If you’re white, that’s it, it’s over, don’t even…”
The legacy of Scott Adams
These frankly despicable comments are nothing in the face of his Holocaust denial back in 2006 and likening women to “children and the mentally handicapped” in 2011. So, After his mask off moment that year, he delved deep into anti diversity and inclusion efforts and railing against critical race theory on social media. In the current administration, that placed him among many allies. However his pleas to Donald Trump would not yield the results of being able to stave off this illness.
Over the last year and change, it has become a hot topic to discuss how the demise of people who are racist, sexist, or merely controversial should be treated. There is no one here advocating for a celebration in these moments. However, looking at Adams’ output from that controversial moment in 2006 onward, a lot of respondents on the Internet have made it their focus today to make sure that the record is straight on what the cartoonist really believed.
(featured image: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
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