"Dif'frent Stokes" Mixed Messages

I use to race home and watch this show. After syndication, this was on ALL the time. Loved it. Great messages. There was one episode where Mr. Drummond, a super rich New York cat, wanted to get his newly adopted Black kids Arnold and Willis into his prep school. The chancellor of the school gave them a test to enter. To which they failed. Then as a sign of how unfair that test was, Willis and Arnold gave HIM a test on the streets. To which he failed. The message, it's an unfair test if you were raised in a specific social strata. As a kid, I was with the kids (obviously). That snobby White Chancellor just got school'd! But that message was incredibly stupid. Why? The Chancellor wasn't trying to get into a school in Harlem. While the message I got when I was young and naive was that everyone deserves to attend any school they want. The real message was regardless of merit or capacity of environment due to social upbringing, everyone is entitled. Ouch. But I do like that it wasn't bashing the low hanging fruit of Ronald Reagan-ism. God forbid the rich White guy has a beef with that. The other underlying message was...
...people who inherit money will have time to judge others who have prejudices. While nobel, this is the problem with liberal cities. Inherited wealth doesn't understand grit. In fact, the writers of this show never thought to include a scene where they address Drummond's privilege. He knows he's privileged. He doesn't accept that others may...MAY have grown up in the trenches. Working class and military men aren't prejudiced in that sense. Mr. Drummond only had his housekeeper who was Black and the mother of Willis and Arnold whom he loved a lot who unexpectedly died. I still enjoy the show, since most of what they address is still an issue today. Blacks and Whites are trying so hard to see each others' point of view, but constantly fall under the pressure of society. A White guy patronizes a Black, his pals tell him to be suspicious of them. Black guy patronizes a White, his pals tell him he's an uncle Tom traitor.

The show is riddled with White guilt. Willis seems to be the only one who truly sees the divide. Though, in the show he's seen as a stubborn tough-ish kid from Harlem who won't bend.

The greatest tragedy in this all is the true story behind the three kids. Gary Coleman fell and died. Todd Bridges did time in jail. Dana Plato overdosed on drugs. And this is the platform to which they hang their morals. Hey, they meant well.