Because she’s one of the easiest women of color to nominate without having to fight allegations that she was ONLY nominated for being non-white. Being really, really good at what you do simply gives the Academy cover if the real reason for nominating you was to avoid another controversy over the slate of nominees.

I used this as a response to another participant in the ongoing conversation, but I feel it needs to be shared at the top level, because really, this is about as good as takes on this issue get:

You know what, I had two or three paragraphs typed here about how being from the South was not the same thing as being a racist who pines for a return to the way things were...But I’m just going to steal Aaron Sorkin’s admittedly excellent take on the issue and call it a day:

I cannot be the only person from the South who is sick to death of getting lumped in with the shit kickers who haven’t got two of anything (pennies, brain cells, cans of beer left in the fridge, etc) to rub together. I mean, let’s stop for a second and consider the fact that I’ve got an old boss, who’s from upstate…

Which might matter, if well visits were the only thing that was relevant to the current conversation. Strangely, though, insurance is actually about when you get sick, rather than when you’re well.

How do you pay for health care right now? If the answer is “I have a large bank balance and can afford to pay for my medical needs out of pocket”, you don’t really belong in this conversation. Regardless of what happens, you’ll be unaffected. If the answer is “I have no health coverage, because I’m healthy and take…