I find it hard to believe that no one said anything nasty or offensive. Even Roger. Suddenly, the casual racism that we've seen from everyone went away?

Harry Crane's concern over his TV clients was pretty offensive. And it was painfully clear that nobody had any idea what to say to the black secretaries - Joan's pathetic attempt at a hug was embarrassing.

Pete, I loved in this ep. His one redeeming quality all along has been his anti-racism, and I liked seeing him genuinely sad and angry while everyone else was mostly worried about how they were going to get home.

I find it hard to believe that no one said anything nasty or offensive. Even Roger. Suddenly, the casual racism that we've seen from everyone went away?

I think the casual racism is evident in the way Harry and Henry both kept referring to how "they" will burn down the city. I think upper middle class New Yorkers of the era would certainly have a lot of ingrained racism, but they'd also distance themselves from the overt racism happening in the south during the Civil Rights era.

I don't think they're particularly enlightened or cognizant of their white privilege, but it would have been extremely uncool for Manhattan sophisticates to be overtly racist.

Incidentally, as I recall from reading histories of the show, Sesame Street was based on the West 80s in the late sixties. It was a particularly vibrant mix of cultures and classes and pretty open.

Huh, I always thought Sesame Street was in the Bronx.

I thought it was Brooklyn!

So either the UWS or Alphabet City. [link]

I think the casual racism is evident in the way Harry and Henry both kept referring to how "they" will burn down the city. I think upper middle class New Yorkers of the era would certainly have a lot of ingrained racism, but they'd also distance themselves from the overt racism happening in the south during the Civil Rights era.

I agree. Also, when Pete is calling you out for being an insensitive ass, that should be a signal that you're being pretty awful.

Mayor Lindsay's walk through Harlem.

I know James Brown is widely credited with keeping Boston from having a riot, by putting on a free show that night that was aired on PBS.

OK, I don't have a lot of sympathy for (or even interest in, to a large degree) Don, but that "what if someone shoots Henry" was painful.

I know James Brown is widely credited with keeping Boston from having a riot, by putting on a free show that night that was aired on PBS.

Thanks to archivists, the concert (or at least some of it) is online! [link]

"what if someone shoots Henry" was painful.

It really was. Don's reply, though, my god.