It's too bad people are offended, but this is a legitimate point. As someone pointed out, this isn't new. We have talked about the short life expectancy of Black characters on Lost. As for the characters themselves, Eko was a drug dealer, Rose is a strong, spiritual older woman, Michael is a father who abandoned his kid, and Walt is the fatherless child being raised by his grandmother. All of these are stereotypes of Blacks prevalent in media.

I think this is about more than being written off and it shouldn't be discussed in that context. It is HOW he was written off. If he ended up with Walt, he wouldn't have a legitimate complaint. However, the result ended up with another Black stereotype. Coincidence? Maybe. But maybe the writers went there because that's all they know about Black men.

Last year, there was actually an entire advertising campaign celebrating Black fathers, because they are seldom seen in the media. It's a problem that is broader than Lost and HP has every right to bring it up.