Comment about Race in America

The following is a response to my post at Black & White Blog, where I am a contributing author.

Sadie Says:
August 26th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
i dont have much to say on any race issue.. but all the time u hear about a white man callin a black man a nigger then everyone is in an uproar and the white man is seen by most as a rasist asshole but then if a black man calls that white man a honky or a cracker its ok because “we enslaved their people”… hmmm ok no one alive today enslaved “their people” and no im not saying slavery was right.. need to point that out before im called a rasist.. i just think that anytime something happens with more than one race involved it gets turned into a race issue. im tired of hearing it.. i personaly dont call black people niggers but how many black people call white people honkys or crackers? thats all i have to say i just needed to get that out.


Sadie,

Thank you for your comment.

First let me mention that I hate the N-Word. I don’t use it in my speech or in any of my posts – ever. It’s a deplorable word and I dislike its use in any format or for any reason. I do realize that your use of the word was not meant to be disrespectful. I just don’t like that word.

But to your point.

Yes, a White guy saying that to a Black man is a racist commentary. That does not immediately mean the White guy is racists as well, though it does cause reason to wonder.

A curse is used when a person is incapable of using any other term(s) that might convey the thoughts they have. The more limited the vocabulary (and therefore the intelligence) of an individual the more common the use of curses in place of an actual thought. And the purpose of a curse is to inflict rage and anger and hurt, nothing else.

In the American (and English in general to my knowledge) language there is no curse or term more derogatory, insulting, and painful than the N-word. It is defined as “the possibly single worst word in the English language”. There is no comparable or equivalent word for any other group, sex, or race. None.

So when a White uses this term they are not merely cursing the Black person, they are using the most vicious word in the language to inflict the most pain – solely on the basis of their race. Because they have no other word in their vocabulary to either win their discussion, or to express themselves. And that is key.

In the minds of those that use this word is the knowledge that this singular word is violent, degrading and painful to a specific race. That with one word they are insulting a person, their ancestors, their children, the entire race all at once. And there is no comeback, no reply that can top it or equal it.

By comparison a ‘cracker’ was a term created by the North to describe Southerners in a disparaging manner. Since at the time Whites were the only ones considered of worth the meaning only applied to Whites, but it was meant to describe a region. So you have a word created by Whites to describe Whites on a regional basis. Very similar in the manner that ‘yankee’ was used to describe Northerners, and I imagine had the South won the Civil War would hold the same meaning as cracker does today. It’s a word that is specific to a style of life in a region, and therefore has minimal impact today and is not relevant to describe all Whites.

So while your point that you have not enslaved anyone is valid, there is the difference. You may not have acted directly against African Americans, and Native American Indians for that matter, you are the direct beneficiary of those that did. There is no argument that slave labor literally built the foundations of the nation on the backs, bones and blood of millions of Africans. It was the slave labor that funded the growth and wealth of the nation. A line can be drawn from that labor to the wealth and prosperity of the nation today.

And that word relives that pain and inhumanity.

But in America, when a crime has been committed the criminal cannot benefit from that crime. A killer cannot write a book, nor have an insurance policy that pays them because of the crime they committed. And slavery is acknowledged as a vile evil criminal act.

Yet not one American has been asked to return their profits from their crimes. Ever. In fact it was not until this year that any Governmental body ever expressed remorse or an apology for what was done. And when it was done this year it was done by a voice vote, such that not a single name could be recorded either way – and only in the House of Representatives thus preventing it from becoming an official statement of the Government.

So when the N-word is used it is a reflection of an unrepentant nation, which is prosperous because of millions that were enslaved, killed and died without regard for hundreds of years, and are described as being inhuman and without worth. That’s what it means when a White says the N-word (and it only has a slightly less repugnant meaning when said by a Black to a Black).

You may not use this word against a Black person vocally, but you have no problem using the word. Because you do not see or feel the meaning of the word. I do.

And it is because of that sensitivity (or lack thereof) that you do not see why this or that action can be viewed racially (right or wrong). It’s not something that will ever affect a White person in America. It is something that does affect every person of color in America today. And I can prove it.

Pick 5 generic television stations. Watch each station for 1 hour. Mark down every time you see a non-background character that is non-White. Also mark down every White character. This includes commercials.

If you have more than 2 Asians in 5 hours I bet you were watching a kung fu marathon. If you have more than 7 Hispanics you were watching the non-generic Spanish television stations (like Telemundo). If you get more than 15 African Americans you were watching BET. And I guarantee that you will have at least 300 Whites no matter what.

[Based on 4 main characters per 1 hour show, 2 recurring characters or guests, and 3 people per commercial with 10 commercials per ½ hour – which equals 330 people/hour]

If I am right, and I am very sure I’m at least close within a couple of people, then that means that American television reflects a world where .61% of the population is Asian, 2.1% are Hispanic/Latino, and 4.5% are Black. Native Indians or any other group do not exist. [Just for the record, the actual fact is that 1 in 3 people in America are non-White.]

In effect television is saying that America is 7.2% non-White, or essentially that America is an all White nation. It means that any non-White is unimportant and does not need to be shown in any setting – whether based in reality or fantasy. And I’d bet that if you are White and reading this you never noticed or thought about this. But every person of color gets the statement being subtly made to us every hour of every day.

So I am not surprised Sadie, that you are tired about hearing something that you do not directly feel or have affect you daily. But for the rest of us, it’s not the same thing. And the only way to change this is to remind you that your take-it-for-granted view of America is wrong.

So expect that until racism and the use of the N-word ceases to happen or exist you are going to always be tired of hearing about how biased America really is.

Concluding Now that Imus is gone - 4.12.2007.3

Concluding Now that Imus is gone...

Any institution that serves the public has a responsibility and morale imperative to not disparage the public. Commentators are not allowed to say anything they wish in a discussion, television broadcasters (public and cable alike) cannot show movies and films of any content at any time to every viewer without discretion, news media cannot report anything they cannot justifyably confirm. There are limits to what can be done, as there should be. Even in the 1950’s and 60’s when parents were outraged by Rock ‘n Roll, with its mantra of sex and drugs there was still limits. There were boundaries that the society and the corporations abided by. In breaking those boundaries record companies, media corporations and entertainers have violated a trust the public has placed in them. Rather than rewarding this breach of unwritten laws with our money we should protest and deny them our funds.

The good and bad must be taken when appropriate. The Black community has failed its children, just as the record companies, radio stations, and gansta rappers have failed the public. This is not something that cannot be resolved, in fact it must be. We have shown the fact we have power, and we need to use it. We must use it in a positive manner. We need to change the Black culture from the commodity it has become to something greater. We are born Black, to sell that off as a cheap triffle is no different than shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s just stupid.

We must also recognize the failures and positives of some of our more recognized figureheads. I say figureheads and not leaders as at this moment there are no leaders of the Black community. There has been no leader since Mr. Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, with perhaps some argument made for Minister Louis Farakhan or Rev. Jesse Jackson for a segment of the community. While Rev. Al Sharpton was helpful, as was Rev. Jackson, in bringing this recent incident to public attention neither are leaders in my mind. They bring baggage and questionable motives to every arena they enter.

Rev. Sharpton is particularly in question. He has a long history of inflammatory actions who’s main motive seems to have been the promotion of Rev. Sharpton primarily. We need to accept that those that would claim to be leaders of the Black community are accountable for what they have said, positive and negative, and when they are in the wrong they admit to this. I say this as the credibility of serious issues that plague the entire community are lessened and placed in question when public figures of questionable motive jump into the limelight. As an example I pose the fact that several of the pundits on television questioned the seriousness of the demand for the removal of Mr. Imus on the sole basis that Rev. Al Sharpton was asking for it. Leaders are followed because they are credible, because they bring a somber tone to the subjects they deal with. To accept less is to weaken the causes, no matter how worthy, that are being pursued.

Again I say that we must change the nature of rap music as it stands today. In doing this we bring ourselves into full accountability for our community and the Black culture as a whole. We are more than just pimps, ho’s, drug dealers, ganstas and other riffraff. In reclaiming and redirecting one of the most popular and prevalent formats that the society and world views us by, we gain in all aspects of our lives and futures.

This is what I think, what do you think?