"Shades of Gray, Schmades of Gray....Some Things Are Simply Black and White..."

Racism, any reasonable person would be unable to dispute, is anethema.

At the same time, a persuasive case could be made that any "ism" risks being deplorable.

Sexism.

Alcoholism.

Pessimism.

Cynicism.

Kardashianism.

And, for my money, the most insidious of all the "isms".

More on that in a minute.

Tyler Perry has been very successful with his TBS sitcoms and "Madea" movies.

And in a country that, a mere fifty years ago, wouldn't have allowed Tyler Perry into the movie theater, let alone exhibit his movies, that's no small feat.

That said, let's allow, for the moment, that his portrayal of the more buffoonish characters in his work doesn't deserve to qualify as racism (although, I think we all know in that "walks a like a duck" lobe of our cortexes what's going on here).

At the very least, that work is saturated with the scent of stereotype.

From the overblown, overweight, Grandma boobs down to the kneecaps matriarch who seems to have only two speeds, arched eyebrow and bitchslap to the supporting cast of characters who's actions suggest they're doing their best to pretend they're offering up a hip, contemporary Huxtable clan when, in fact, their eyes betray the inevitable awareness that what would be revealed, with only a tiny bit of scratching, is, in fact, a hip, contemporary revival of Amos and Andy, Perry's whole "Madea" franchise plays out, in the end, as nothing more than a cash cow, appealing to that segment of the movie going audience who think Jackass 4 got robbed at the Oscars and "Citizen Kane" is the feature length film version of an episode of "House, M.D."

In fairness, it's a free country. And if Tyler Perry wants to fund his retirement by cranking out minstrel shows disguised as cutting edge comedy, dat's hiz bihness.

The thing is, though, a lot of people are under the impression that Perry exemplifies some of the best of what black writers, producers, directors, et al can accomplish in a culture that no longer requires, or even expects, separate water fountains, lunch counters or bathrooms, a culture filled with young people who, poignantly, probably don't even know who Rosa Parks was, let alone what it was she stood up (or sat down, as the case may be) to put an end to.

I can't help but think, though, as I watch some of that "best", that any belief that Tyler Perry is furthering any cause but his own is a misread.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I haven't seen the new Madea movie. I have seen the trailers.

Come to think of it, I probably have seen the movie.

Here's one very telling comment, though, made in a major news organization review I read.

When his movie's biggest running gag is a hotline for men called "1-800-Choke-Dat-Ho," it's time to start over.

In the spirit of reasonable doubt, I wouldn't be able to deliver a verdict as to Tyler Perry's racism.

Sexism?

Uh, yeah.

But, bet the hood, when it comes to the aforementioned "most insidious" of all the "isms"?

Opportunism?

Guilty as charged.