Why, Cosmo, Why??????????????????????????????????
We loved him as Kramer in Seinfeld. I even loved Kramer way back when he was still a young skinny and likeable comedian still only known as Michael Richards (and not Kramer, yes I'm on the SEO trip) on the comedy show Fridays, where, as BattleBoy, he raced trucks around in the mud like a 9-year-old...um...BattleBoy.
But, now Kramer has yelled "nigger, nigger, nigger!" (I just love that I can post nigger, nigger, nigger without recourse. One of the advantages of being black) to some black men who allegedly heckled him at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood.
Watch the video of Kramer making a fool of himself here.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to bookmark or blogroll me at http://www.paulamooney.blogspot.com/ and drop back in some day to see what I'm up to next. Blessings and love, Paula
Tags:
kramer ,cosmo ,nigger ,michael ,richards ,n ,word
83 comments:
The AP report added, "He refused to comment on-camera when reached by CNN, but the network reported that he said off-camera he felt sorry for what had happened and had made amends." Now, my question is: How the hell can a White person make "amends" for calling a Black person nigger one time, let alone REPEATEDLY?
I kinda feel sorry for ol' Kramer. I wonder if he was drunk? Look at the backlash already here on Bossip...
I kinda feel sorry for ol' Kramer.
You're nicer than I am, lol. I don't have a lick of sympathy for him. Even if he were drunk, I've never noticed alcohol having the effect of turning me into a racist.
(I just love that I can post nigger, nigger, nigger without recourse. One of the advantages of being black)
That's some racist shit right there, you and kramer should go grab a beer together, lots in common.
Hello, anonymous? Did you check the pic? I'm black! If my ancestors had to put up with being called "nigger" in a defeatist manner. I surely can take advantage of the blessings they passed on to me from working the fields and taking crap by using the word as a journalist today.
Of course, we don't know what the hecklers (who weren't exactly being choirboys) said to Richards first. The video doesn't have that ...
That said, I can't see how anything they said should have pushed a professional into stupid mode like that.
And, Ms. Neal Mooney, I'm still confused at your apparent glee at being able to write "nigger."
I'm *not* saying you shouldn't have.
It was clearly necessary in this context, and in fact, as a black journalist myself, I wish all media outlets would use the whole hateful word and not sanitize it as the "N-word."
Everyone needs to hear how ugly it truly is (misguided use by ignorant rappers, notwithstanding).
bma, this is how you make amends: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Costello#Controversies
I'm white, so maybe I ca't comment, but I feel like he was being provocative and by us discussing it we're doing what he wants us to do
Great, you're black, so you can say nigger all you want now. Does it make you feel like you have a strong racial heritage to be able to use the word nigger so casually? Why is it that black people use nigger so much when it's really just a slap in their own faces. Grow the fuck up. If you're gonna get offended when anyone else says it, you should stop saying it yourself. If not, then quit your bitching because you're a disgrace to your black heritage if you say "nigger" and use the color of your skin as an excuse to do so.
Oh...I forgot to mention that as a web journalist, you know all about SEO (search engine optimization), which necessitates us repeating words more often than we normally would.
For example, I knew everyone would be typing "Kramer nigger video" into search engines, not "Kramer n-Word video," so that's why I was happy at having the advantage of being a black reporter that could use that word several times without the same repercussions that a white reporter would face.
That's probably how many people found this blog post to begin with, by typing in the dreaded n-word.
BOOK CRITICAL OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO USE THE N-WORD
Los Angeles, CA., Author H. Lewis Smith has written a thought provoking, culturally divided book that will not only spark heated conversation, but can also bring about real change. The N-word is often used in the African American community amongst each other and is generally not a problem when spoken by another African American. However, once the word is used by a Caucasian person, it brings on other effects. The question is "who can use the word and why?" Smith believes it is a word that should be BURIED!!!!
The book is written in a manner that all can understand. The points are well-taken and the wording is easy to follow. There are quotes from great people in our history including Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin and many, many others. Smith has mixed history with honesty, love with life, education with effects. This is a great book for educators, parents, managers, professionals, newsmen, and anyone else wanting an in-depth look at the N-word, the effects and the solutions. A MUST READ!!!!
H. Lewis Smith has studied the idioms, meanings and the psychological impact of words, its energy and vibratory effects on the human mind for more than two decades. He has been a guest on several talk shows, The Power, The Exchange, Andrea Williams’ Jamin 98.3 and many more. To learn more about Bury that Sucka, please visit http://www.burythatsucka.com
Impossible! Words can't be buried, they can only fall out of the lexicon naturally...
So what's wrong in being racist? Some people don't like dogs, some people don't like blacks. Kramer didn't rape,rob or kill.
This just shows America that racism is still very much alive. These days it's not the ones in sheets it's the ones just like Richard's. The one's who hide it and secretly hate other's for no intelligent reason. Hate is stupid no matter who does it. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Indians or Aliens. It's doesn't matter, hets will destroy the person harboring it and also the victims of it. Richard's is just releasing the evil that he has been hiding. It's a shame. I really thought he was funny. I guess the Jokes on him. Ha HA HA Just an FYI: Anyone can be termed a "Nigger". It means ignorant. He himself is a nigger for saying those stupid remarks!!!!
Come on, anonymous! What's wrong with being racist? Everything. Watch the fallout from Michael Richard's mistake and you'll see what's wrong with it. Hate gets you absolutely nowhere.
Well said, Alize. I was just thinking how stupid it is to hate an entire race of people. That would be like me saying I hate all Greeks. I don't even know all Greek people -- how could I hate them all? Racism is disgusting...
While I can appreciate the white mans frustration, as I've never understood the " pay for comedy so you can ruin the show" philosophy, you would think that after years and years of doing this the man would have a thicker skin when it comes to dealing with black audience members.
It's sad that people think using racist (or homophobic for that matter)slurs is ok as long as they themselves are a member of the group the term is used against. It's an inane idea, and my best friend is having a helluva time trying to explain it to her 8-yr-old.
Unfortunately, it's stupid to think slurs will ever go away, but it's more stupid to try and justify their use by ANYONE. And another thing: It's ridiculous to think that racism will ever go away. We're ALL racist (aren't you wondering what race I am right now, like it matters?), and just stating whether you are or not has NOTHING to do w/it. We're all products of this country, of this world. And we're all human beings. And it's part of the human condition to be insecure and pick out differences between ourselves and others. If we were wiped off the face of the earth, and two kids were left to grow up and re-populate the planet, bigotry would simply start right over again. Yes, it's ugly, but the truth often is. Get over it and wake up, people. Because, until then, we'll NEVER progress as a species.
Amazing.. im from the Netherlands..
And we have a more tollerant system.
whenever im in USA i dont feel the love from either white or black..
so much hate.
i dont like the general mentality at all.
beeing a rascist is different from not liking dog's and cats what kid of comparisement is that?
Anyway.. im so happy not to be a American.
People around the world hate you guys... it's hard to get love when you hate yourself. start @ cleaning house.
This makes me sick how yall treat eachother.
You talk about tolerance and then you say,
" im so happy not to be a American"
Anyone else pick up on the unintended irony
Well the whole problem starts with black ppl thinking that the white man owes them something and you didnt work in a field so you cant say anything and if you go further back down into your ancestory you will find out that you sold yourselves tribes in africa captured other tribes and sold them to the americans and other countries for money and goods so basically its the black ppls own faults that they were slaves and they should thank the white ppl that they felt sorry for treating you bad so we freed you.... so quit your bitchin...
Im tired of first year african american study students posting comments about the use of the N-word in the wrong manner .
It was actually a stage civil disturbance during the 1800's.
We started calling each other the N-word as a way of taking the power from the word .If the N-word doesn't have the power in which we supply to it.Remember words as only as significant as the power in which apply to it.
So it was his theory if we know longer see it as vicious than people using it as an attack woudl have to cease because it would mean about as much as Googlflabinhuytingnizzhoping .Which means nothing unless I decided that I was really saying the word nigga.
We give words power and we can therefore take it away.
Yes Micheal Richards was offensive and in poor taste and what exactly does that have to do with Paul Mooney saying Nigga again.
So before we go off and string up Paul Mooney (hahahaha...) lets try to do more investigative research into the hows and whys of the use of the N-word.
One day I want to overhear this conversations:
-(White guy) Hey what's up nigger?
-(Black guy) Not much cracker. How was your weekend?
...
Kramer, basically, lost it. I like him though. Seinfeld things of him are funny. I wouldn't call him cracker. I would call him "saltine." It is somewhat easier and more polite hehehe.
P.S. "Saltine" is copyrighted and patented by ME! Just like "nigger" is somewhat copyrighted and patented by all black people including twice the owner of this blog.
To the Anon from the Netherlands:
I completely agree with you. Americans do treat each other like total garbage, and often times I'm ashamed myself to be associated with half of the population. But I find that the media is screwing us over, moreso than the majority. I enjoy the company of most of the people I meet, but unfortunately the media does not come and interview the type of people I associate with.
On a different note, it is extremely odd that the lower-class African Americans (not saying all are lower-class, simply specifying) are constantly throwing the word around without consequence. I understand that it has a different connotation based upon skin color, but that itself is still proof that racism is a large factor in this discussion. Race is making the word into the abomination that it truly is. If you want people to avoid using the term (just like if you want them to avoid cursing), then you should not make exceptions as to who is able to say it. Hypocrisy will ruin your argument against the word.
When blacks use the word nigger, it has a hidden 'we can say it and you can't, we can say it and you can't, we can say and youuuu can't, the masters gone away,' crock of shit to it. It also implies that the 'nigger' saying it hates whites, again, which is why they say it infront of whites so much. Its only the older 'black' people that don't say it.
Maybe the majority, gemran americans, should start calling each other nazis in front of other races.
What up nazi! Heil Hitler!
Oh, and we should be able to get all upset if any other race uses the other n-word, 'nazi.'
Heil Hitler. Like that?
Heil Kramer! :)
I don't see the irony in what Mr Dutch said, but I do say it's humorous that an African person can even claim 'nigger' as 21st century racism when the majority of their peers have no quarrel with the word themselves. The word 'nigger' has become slang in many African American neighborhoods.
That is really what is so twisted about all this. It Just goes to show most African Americans enjoy to hate, their is not one humble vibes in their soul (i.e. they'll never forgive Michael's), they want to sit themselves with all the other victimized races of the world, I'll give you a humorous comparison, do we see German's going round calling themselves Nazi's and Slapping Swastikas all over their bodies? Then once doing that scrutinizing others who use the same terminology? No this isn't the case at all. In Germany showing Swastikas is illegal, and no cultivated German embraces the word 'Nazi' as slang on any level like African American's do of the word 'Nigger'.
I find it most ironic that the stupidest comments I'm receiving here (of the ones I can publish that aren't downright ignorant) are the ones usually left by people not even brave enough to leave their names, only anonymous.
So as for this latest one, ANONYMOUS, I believe you should pick up a history book because though black African were used to capture others as slaves, black people SHOULD NOT "thank the white ppl that they felt sorry for treating you bad so we freed you."
Okay, anonymous, that "saltine" post was funny. COL - chuckling out loud. Thanks for a laugh this morning.
I dont think he owes them an apology any more than they owe him one. They started it. Respect is a two way street and when the hecklers crossed the line he lashed back. For all we know they were acting like niggers and deserved the disrespect - after all, they lashed back with calling him a cracker, an equally racist word, yet you dont see that on CNN do you. I hope we call all grow up and stop judging people by their skin color and start judging by their actions. When the day comes that black people unite to say "we dont care about the word nigger anymore" will be when it wont be used against them anymore.
I am a history teacher in a Boston public high school. About half of my students are African Americans or black. I am Asian American. Paula, I can understand your journalistic privilege in publishing "n*gg*r" in your blogs. I do, however, take issue with a black person using the same word gratuitously. Often I overhear black students, usually young men, walking around school addressing each other as "n*gg*r." It's very sad for me to hear African American teenagers referring to themselves or their friends as n*gg*rs. I am bothered by both the intrinsic meaning of the word and the fact that these students objectify themselves by speaking of themselves in the third person. For instance, one student may say "This n*gg*r ain't going to school today" to express his own intentions. My general observation is that persons who feel powerless resort to some sort of social device to compensate. For many of my students, and others, it's cursing or use of racial epithets. Witness how Kramer's use of the racial epithet was triggered by his frustrations from his perceived slights and ridicule from the audience. To me, a black person's use of "n*gg*r" says more about the speaker's sense of safety and belonging in our society. Alas, America has much work to do in racial justice and reconciliation. Thanks for this healthy discussion.
I think you are all missing the bigger point. Michael Richards was a big shot making a lot of money for quite some years. Fame and fortune, adoring fans, a very comfy life and feeling of accomplishment.
That ended and for the last 7 years his star has been steadily declining. Stand-up comedy is a tough career for him especially after coming from such a long-running and very successful tv show. Listen to the film clip again as he confirms this, "Oh, I guess you got me there. I am just a washup; have to stand on the stage". This is more than sarcasm; I think these words came from the bottom of his soul.
He looks like a very frustrated individual. I feel for him. I would not have felt for him when I was younger, but now I understand.
After a successful career in a manufacturing industry I was laid off at the age of 58 (business moved to China). Now 19 months later I have only been able to find a part-time job that is not very challenging. Especially for a man, this can be tremendously frustrating and can creep into every corner of your life.
Nevertheless, Richards actions are unacceptable. I am praying every day that I will be steadfast and walk in the way that God has commanded us to. Especially at this age, I do not want to have a moral crisis on top of an employment problem.
I will add Richards to my prayers and ask that God to heal him and turn his life around.
May God bless you all,
Bantam
First off, in africa, there have been wars and mass killings going way back and right up to the present day. Most african-americans were probably PRISONERS OF WAR in africa. In most cases throughout history, POWs were killed immediately. The african americans should THANK europeans for SAVING them from POW/Deathcamps.
So afro americans... get to thanking europeans for saving you from execution in africa, and thank americans for giving ya'll freedom.
AND btw, the founders of this country knew that first, white people had to get along. Once this was achieved, then the others races could get a vote here. The strongest nation on earth took time to make, from its founding, to the taking out of the clause 'africans are 2/5ths human only' (not sure but i've heard the constitution once had that). Anyways, take that clause out and its an awesome constitution.
African americans... u don't have to thank us. But either way, the most of us will NEVER apoligize for saving ya from african POW camps. Sooo sowwy.
If a black comedian had hollared "Honky, cracker" at a group of white hecklers and the "alledged" hecklers called the black comedian a nigger in return... who would be the bad guy in that story?
I find it "ironic" that all the comments you call stupid, Paula, are those that disagree with you. Nice job being open.
I definitely never considered myself a racist until I started seeing all the media about Kramer's comments. Yes, he went ballistic and was compltely out of line, but everyone fails to mention that the two men were heckling him first. So, because they are black and he called them nigger, they don't need to apologize for their actions? Sure, someone needs to let Kramer know that two wrongs dont make a right, but the two audience members actions are no less wrong.
I go to a mostly African American school, and I've been noticing lately how often the word is thrown around. I have never felt any desire to call anyone negative terms like that, but I am a bit sick of the "only white people can be racist" attitude. People call me cracker and whitey all the time, but I don't bitch about it. If I called them nigger, I'd get my ass beat.
Maybe other cultures just need to toughen up, and remember whining is profitable.
Oh, by the way, I'm anonymous because I don't care enough to sign up for an account.
You don't have to sign up for an account. There is the "other" radio button that allows people to enter their name, if they so desire. But I understand with such a volatile topic, people have concerns about taking a public stand on an issue they feel so strongly about.
*sigh*. This is great. But it's 3am and I don't have a lot of time, so I'll summarize.
The word "cracker" is derogatory. But it's origins alone (research it) imply that's it's no where near as derogatory as 'nigger'.
If black people had, for example, taken white people from Europe;
Chained and whipped them;
Brought them to Africa packed on boats (throwing the ill ones over board);
Enlightened the world on the 'factual' and scientific evidence the stupidity, laziness, drunken, unruly, and lavicious nature of whites;
Justified the extra crude treatment of whites using the bibles "Hametic curse";
Lynched, cut the fingers off white civilians, burned peaceable white churches, hung white men and women for them being white,
Poured hot tar on naked white women and children as punishment;
Demoralized, degraded, and for decades told the listening (and believing) world that whites were subhuman and simian (ape-like) all whilst calling them crackers, THEN cracker would be the same as 'Nigger'.
But so far, it's just an old word created by WHITE people for Georgians.
Now that i've gotten that out of the way. Michael Richards wasn't wrong.
They wanted to ridicule him; he ridiculed back. And they couldn't take it. Imbeciles.
Why are they crying about it? Yes, I know the word hurts you, black audience member, but why start in the first place?
'You got served'.
Yes, i'm black.
Did they call kramer any racist names? Are the guys he yelled at completely innocent? Racist remarks aren't right in any situation. But maybe it was just a big understanding.
Wow, Idiot (as you call yourself), that was an amazingly insightful and intelligent comment, but I'm surprised that you surmised your on-point observations about the horrors of the Middle Passage with the ascertation that Michael Richards wasn't wrong.
But now that new allegations have surfaced that accuse Michael Richards of making derogatory comments about Jews -- of which Jerry Seinfeld is Richards' supposed good friend -- what now? And should the black men be paid the money for damages that they are now seeking?
I think Kramer was more trying to punch below the belt than to be racist. When I watched the video, he was really pissed at those guys and wanted to say the most offensive thing that he could. We all tailor our insults to the intended recipient, not that this excuses him. He knew before, during and after his little episode how people were going to take it.
this is retarded, its okay for black hecklers to disrupt a performance, but when a white man fights back its wrong? and how is it okay for black people to say the nigger word and everyone else cant? thats hypocrisy right there. If it is a taboo word then no one should be able to say it, not even black people. I see black people using racial terms against other people and its not taken as highly as the word nigger, but when someone says nigger to a black person its somehow a higher level insult then anything else. GROW UP. Oh your ancestors have suffered in the past stop whining, its not like black people were the only ones oppressed.
Which is the worse term? N*gg*r or Racist?
Isn't it interesting how nigger is just an insult? But the word racist, on the other hand, actually destroys people's lives? If you are called the n-word it does not cause any harm except this - it connects you with the slave heritage and its hardships, and it shows that the speaker is angry at you.
But if a white person is called "racist" their life is often ruined. Almost every reputable company in the country fires white people immediately for simply saying "nigger." Their finances are trashed, they are unable to pay bills, have to go through the emotional hardship of being unemployed, and may never get another job again in the case of people like Richards. Their names are dragged through the mud in the media and often their lives are threatened by the nastier members of the African American race. So which word is actually more harmful?
Ricahrd's tirade was wrong. But it is no worse than the trashing he is recieving from the entire world right now, not even close. And it is no worse than the utterly disrespectful way the 20 plus crowd of hecklers treated him when they disrupted his routine.
What if you were at your office job and a crowd of noisy, arrogant young people burst in, after hours, talking loud, drinking (which they were), and heckling you while you tried to make your paycheck? I for one would want to do a lot more than through an angry word or two around.
If Kramer had used any other shocking speech it would have been just another ordinary comedy routine. The whole point of comedy these days (if you've been to many clubs) is to say the sickest, curse ridden thing you can think of. The f- word is normal, so is talk of beastiality, adultery, abortion, murder, spite, hate, and on and on.
But here you see one lone guy standing up to over 20 disrescpectful youths and they've found the way to get the ultimate revenge. Destroy his life as best you can all over the media because he uses *gasp* socially unacceptable insults. Any dirty comedy routine is fine, just don't cross that one line, right?
Ridiculous. Calling someone negro or other derivatives is not illegal. It is not a crime, it does not hurt other people's jobs, it does not destroy their credibility. The real criminals here are those who don't like that Kramer wouldn't let them get away with disrespecting him.
Knowing how destructive the word "racist" is to white people, when do they get to start suing blacks and destroying their lives in the same way?
Okay, Let's look at this logically. I ask you, to take away the race of the hecklers, because I can promise you that they were not hecklers because they are black. Nor are all black audience members hecklers. For Michael Richardson, making fun of someone is his job, but that was not what he was doing. The word nigger maybe just a word, one that many people, both black and white, feel comfortable using. Despite that word, when he goes on to say that 50 years ago they would have "had him strung up from a tree with a fork in his ass", and call for his removal on the basis of race, that did not alienate him as an an individual. What it did was humiliate, enrage, and alienate an entire community. A community whose culture has been so intertwined with the fabric of american culture as to merit its honor and respect. No person in this great country of ours should feel less than the next person based on culture, race, or sexual orientation. Had he called him cheap and stuck to the point of him being frugal, or even a "nobody", this would have been acceptable. I have read, that some people feel that is is permissible to hate people, that it is like disliking a food or dog, that everyone has the right to free speech. I reject the idea of equating the hate of a culture or race, to that of a dislike of a breed of dog. However, I see that this is the forum in which all people regardless of their intelligence are allowed a say. Therefore, I will explain further to people that have not yet seen the point. When you make fun of a race, you make fun of their culture, their lineage, their history, and any one who shares this commonality. While you can not erase or change mindsets; we are a global experiment of how people who come from different backgrounds can learn to make a greater super culture. It is our job and our rights as americans to embrace each other in the love that is the american identity. As such, I find these acts committed by Michael Richardson to be a set back to the greater american movement. It is my greatest hope that this incident can bring to light the idiocy of unfounded hate, and lead to us joining together as Americans to deem this and other acts like it as intolerable.
Here's how I feel about it...it isn't so much the word "nigger" that bothers me or the black people I know, it is the reference to lynching. I don't believe anyone here has commented on that. I'm a white woman from Maine who had racist white women in my family years ago. They would spit on black people if upset or openly wipe their hands on their skirts if they shook hands with a black person. I'm married to an African-American today (been married to him since 1986 since we left high school) and that does have its problems in society because we don't live in a colorblind world. Once, a black woman told me that black males (Emmett Till comes to mind) have been shot for looking at women like me. I've been called horrible names for being married to a black man, by both blacks and whites.
My husband is from the South and that was the haven of lynching back then. The most recent incident of lynching happened in 1981, with 20-year-old Michael Donald walking to the store and being violently beaten, castrated, and having his throat slit by two white racists, then tied up to a tree. Kramer didn't do anything this extreme and many people have become desensitized to the word "nigger"...but it was the comment that referred to lynching that bothers people, both black and white. He specifically said: "Fifty years ago we would have had you upside down with a fork up your ass". That can be construed as racist b/c quite simply, it IS. He said it to two black men who might be too young to know much about lynching in terms of experience, but still know the historical connotations behind his words. The "we" in this case means white men. Black men were the ones who experienced that evil back then. We all lose it from time to time but we don't spew that kind of venom towards an entire people based on the actions of a few.
It isn't about being PC. I've no doubt that those guys weren't being choirboys. However, if he was so annoyed with them, a simple "shut the fuck up" would've done it. It might be unpleasant but it works sometimes. Sure, they might have continued to bother him but the situation could've been handled in an adult way. If somebody is annoying you, tell them to shut up or carry on with your act, that's what you're being paid to do. People don't spend money to be abused in that way. To spew forth hate, racist rhetoric, was low. It showed poor behavior...immaturity, lack of self-control, and an innate feeling of hate towards blacks. He was there to do comedy, not to be an abusive prick. This loss of self-control on his part has cost him a career I'm sure he enjoyed.
It happened to come to the forefront which sort of tells me that perhaps he had these sentiments all this time. I don't believe people are racist on a whole. What you mean is that people are prejudiced when it comes to different things and their attitudes, whether subtle or open, are shaped by different factors...their parents, their environments, contemporaries, misconceptions, or unwillingness to be more broad-minded. I'm white and sometimes there's lines you don't cross. Comedy is about shock value and psyching people out but what I witnessed on that type was ugly. If a black person does it, it isn't cool either. I don't like it when some black people openly mock whites, so it goes both ways. Respect doesn't cost anything. However, Richards crossed the line with certain comments. He was hit with the term "cracker" which is a racist slur, b/c he was showing contempt and hate. He's the one who did most of the name-calling and taunting. It is a wonder that the black people didn't jump up there and throw down after his inflammatory comments. He wasn't talking about how rude they were, he had to call them "niggers" and refer to the painful past experiences of American blacks. I don't like that word whether it is from a black person or a white person, but he pushed it with the "fork up the ass" bit.
On the other hand...white people today aren't responsible for what our parents, grandparents, or those before them might have done. Some of us had grandparents or great-grandparents who came to this country from Europe and never owned slaves or acted with hate towards black people. I know some might disagree but it is the truth. We are responsible for ourselves, for what we do as INDIVIDUALS. White people don't owe black folks anything except basic respect because we are all human. This means people of all colors checking themselves before letting some offensive comment slip, even if "innocently" intended. When we treat all people with respect, we become better people. Not better white people or better black people or better Hispanic people...we become better PEOPLE, period. No "white guilt" or reparations are necessary, in my humble opinion. What IS necessary is that people on both sides look within, reflect on their attitudes, take responsibility, and make a conscious effort to change who they are on the inside. That is a reparation in and of itself. Whitey isn't holding black people down anymore and black people deserve the right to live without being on the defensive around whites, or referring to one another as "niggas" and acting out stereotypes that only serve to hold themselves down.
Blacks can marry whites, eat together, work together, play together, shop together, attend school and church together...but there are still some things in this society that need to change.
There are fools in every race and some people have buried hostility that only comes out in moments of anger. I'm not a "liberal", BTW...I'm simply a person who makes my own observations about human behavior, nothing more. I'm a white person who had somewhat racist notions once but experience, education, and life helped me to grow up and see people for who they are. It doesn't mean I'm colorblind...it means I see color, I'm aware of it, but I look beyond it and try to see the person as a PERSON, first and foremost.
Wow, Food 4 Thought, that was quite a mouthful -- or should I say keyboard-full? -- but I read your entire comment.
It was great and I appreciate your feedback, and the fact that it was as intelligent of most of the comments here. Some of the ones I've received calling me a "nigger bitch" and such I didn't even publish because they didn't contain one piece of enlightment or actually a point beside what they thought were hurling words that they thought would hurt me. (Let's keep it between us that they only served to bring me more pageviews, including the guy who said that I was just mad that no one was reading my blog -- as he was reading my blog.)
But it's good to hear from a white woman married to a black man. You of all people know just how racist both blacks and whites can be. (Though some claim black people have no power to be racist, I beg to differ.)
Yes, it's the lynching reference that Richards spewed that really poured salt into the wound.
And I learned that Richards is rich from all those Seinfeld residuals. He didn't even need to be up on that stage! He is most perplexing.
And is Richards Jewish or what? I've heard he's Catholic, or was raised Catholic. I'm wondering because my other post about Kramer shows that he also insulted Jews, too, at another venue.
I'm just perplexed over Kramer. But I'm glad this discussion is continuining, because we're getting some open and honest and educated conversation going on here that I pray will serve to foster more understanding, not hatred.
My take on this is that he tried some 'shock' tactics to deal with a heckler and they backfired badly.
Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks, Richard Prior or George Carlin might have got away with it but Richard's isn't good enough to pull it off.
The biggest mistake he made was trying to apologise for being 'angry'....wtf? He should have just laughed it off and he might have survived the fall out.
Incidently, my take on blacks calling each other nigger is that it's way of taking the strength away from the ultimate white insult for blacks and maybe even a way of saying f*ck you, as in - we're black and we're using your worst word for us right in front of you and you can't do anything about it . We aren't slaves anymore. (and fair enough, I'd probably feel the same way)
I dunno, I know it's a black thing and I'm trying to understand it!
Forgot to say, very nice bit of SEO Paula - impressed!
You don't have to post this on the blog.. ;)
Thanks, Boogaloodude, and I posted your comment so more folks can understand the SEO concept and because more comments, as you know, help my SEO! Love to ya, Paula
To everyone who left a comment I have to thank you. I desire in the deepest part of my heart not to be racist but it is hard. Like when I see my children being mistreated because they are Black. Or when I think of my ex-boss who fired me and yelled out nigger in a meeting because I am Black, never did drugs, may drink once a year if that, live in an expensive neighborhood and drive an Escalade; well, I just did not fit the stereotype.
Being light skinned, I have experienced racism from both sides. However, I must say that no Black people have ever jumped out of a car and call me and my male friend at the time a black nigger bitch.
Some said that Blacks are lazy; America was built on top of Black people's backs. Let's see, we are violent and murders, most mass murders are White males in their thirties. We are uneducated, according to a study; White males are showing less of a presence in higher education then Blacks. Black men just know how to get Black women pregnant, White women usually lead in the pregnancy rate and the abortion rate. Black women usually have their children.
I have read some other comments that were left that Blacks should thank White Americans (Note, Europeans were just that, Europeans, not Americans. People poured in from all over. This is what created America.) for bringing us here and that it was other Black tribes that sold us into slavery. Just to make a correction, if my tribe fought against your tribe and I won, you belonged to me. Sometimes these POW's were killed but most of the time they were kept as slaves. Some even earned back their rights and progressed within that tribe. Each tribe had their own law on how POW was to be treated.
Many people do not know that Africans just like other races that came to America as servants. They owned land and servants themselves. It was not until the White men did not want to keep their agreement to pay the servants land after their service was up that things begin to change. White men wanted the servants to work for free so they could get richer. They tried to turn everyone in to slaves; Native Americans, all Whites and Blacks. Native Americans were being killed off by the germs that the Whites brought over and in the wars for their land. Other Whites were becoming too sickly and would run away and could not be identified because they were White and easily mixed in. Whites looked to the Africans and chose them because they could easily be set aside because of their dark skin. So, like Hitler, They slowly began to pass laws first restricting their freedoms and then doing away with them all together.
It was about this time that the separation of races increased. Some Whites who felt this was wrong kept their mouth shut because they were able to stop working as a servant, have their own land and have free labor. Others voiced their feeling and were out numbered. As supply and demand increased, White men traveled to Africa for more "slaves". Tribes were running out of POW's so they began to pick fights with other tribes to obtain more POW's. Men, women, and children alike were sold off to America.
To keep the Africans under control, the slave owners used the same tactics that Hitler did. He tried to brain wash them by telling them that they were less than. They also used religion to keep control of their slaves. As Blacks in America had the official tag of slave, White men lived in constant fear of a revolt or their sin coming back upon them. They too were slaves. This is when they gave in to their darkest part of themselves. Rapes of children, men and women took place. It was not uncommon for body parts to be cut off. Inventions like jumping over the broom was created and replaced with real marriage so slave masters could sell husbands and wives without a heavy heart.
I have heard stories from those who lived through slavery and it was not pretty. I remember my girlfriend’s grandmother's story of a White woman who was sleeping with someone other then her husband. She said that a slave raped her. Her husband through the Black baby out of the 2nd story window, tied the slave's wife to a tree and cut off her stomach (before she died she watched her unborn baby fall to the ground), then after making the slave watch this he castrated him, tortured and killed him. He was not the slave she was forcing to have sex with her.
So when I hear comments like we as a Black race should thank Whites for turning us into slaves, degrading, beating and killing us at will, No! When I hear the excuse that we sold ourselves into slavery, I would have to say that I could be wrong but the horrific experiences that Blacks have endured at the hands of Whites have not been matched by African tribes or by any race. People think that we were brought here to be slaves from the start, but it was the White man's greed for money and that mob mentality that brought about the Black race's future. Before then we were just thought of as people, not niggers.
With all of that history behind the word nigger, Kramer was wrong. There is nothing that could justify it. Some just are not mature enough to know what to say and when to say it. If your mother just died of cancer and you pissed me off, I am not going to come out and degrade your mother to hurt you. This lack of maturity is a human race thing not a White or Black thing. It was my understanding that the Black and Hispanic men that came in were late and ordering drinks. This is what set Kramer off because they were loud. After he called them niggers that is when they said that he was not funny. The woman who filmed it only got part of the event. She like everyone else thought it was part of the show. Once she realized it was not, that is when she began to film it.
Not that I think it is right for anyone to belittle another, Black people have had to stand their with their heads down as Whites cut them down and mistreat them, sometimes with a smile and kind words. I think of Martin Luther King that had to take the beatings, water holes, dog bites, house set on fire, cross burning in the front yard, his children and wife in constant danger, and he just continued to give love. If Kramer was being hackled on stage and could not remain in control he should have walked off. If I am in an office, I don't expect people to come in a hackle me because that is not apart of my job. However, if I am a customer service rep. and people call and curse me out, I expect it and deal with them in a professional manner. Just because they are being ignorant does not give me the right to do like wise. Kramer chose his profession and if his career is ended because of this, that is the price he chose to pay.
Also, I have often heard Black comics call White people racial names while Blacks and Whites were laughing. And usually they are calling other races names and picking on the differences between them. No one person or race is targeted and the White people usually will say some things and everyone laughs and it is over. Even after that Whites continue to come to see that comic again and again.
I don't agree with Blacks or Whites saying nigger or nigga. However, I equate it to being like, if you are my sibling and I call you and tell you something negative that our father did to piss me off. I can call him names to you and it may upset you a little or not at all. But let us say that a stranger comes up to you and begins to put down our father, it is a whole other ballgame. Why? We have history and common experience with this man we call daddy. You know that I truly love him in my heart and mean him no harm; with a stranger we don't know this. I remember when I was a teen, a White friend of mind who was dating this Black guy. She said that he was a sorry ass nigga/nigger. I thought nothing of it because I knew her heart. I also knew the guy and I agreed and said that I told her that he was a sorry ass nigger. My next door neighbor who I grew up with would say what's up niggas to his Black and White friends and they commented the same to him. No one ever though he was racist. Not all White people receive the racist tag or a beat down when using the word nigga. Just as I did not hurt any of my White friends feelings when using the word cracker or redneck, or my Hispanic friends when I inquired what a wetback was after they told me the word.
My problem with this whole thing is that I find that some White people around me feel like they can say what ever they want because they still have the mentality that they are superior. Black people send mix messages to everyone about the use of the n word. Like one writer said, Americans in general are hated. It is not because of our values but because we set standards for everyone in the world to live by but us. When I took a trip to Italy I was not a nigger or Black, I was a rude, stinking, disrespectful American.
Sorry for the length, but I had a lot to say. GOD Bless All!
Sorry, another history lesson for those who don't know. Just like every other race in the world, Blacks did travel. Anyone who has had Western Civilization knows that there were many men and women of color referred to that had status and fame. Painters, writers,... If you read the account of Moses in the Bible Africans are referenced there also and not as slaves. The most glorious and knowledgeable King Solomon married African royalty to unite his kingdom with hers to increase his strength. Africa was the great power like the US is today. History teaches us that every dog has its day and what goes around comes around.
The center of knowledge use to be Egypt (in Africa), Asia, ... Whites however had the great knowledge to see a good thing, take it and implement it within their culture. Another great civilization was Rome. Their art was not their own it belonged to the Greeks. Just about everything that they were known for was borrowed from other civilizations. They had the ability to borrow it and put it to good use within their culture.
So, just like everyone else, Africans in the beginning came to America on their own. Not by force and not as slaves.
The reason for Egypt's down fall for those of you who believe in the Bible is they turned their backs on the Jewish people when they asked for protection from Assyria. For that, GOD said that Egypt would meet her end and would never again be a place that other nations turned to for neither food, protection, wealth, prosperity nor a safe haven. Until today GOD'S Word has not failed.
Races were mixing long before anyone ever thought to come to the Americas. There is no race that is pure anything. So, Kramer calling anyone a nigger and him using it as to say I am degrading you Black man, is crazy because I am sure that if he looked deep enough into his family tree he would find a rainbow of colors.
I know it was a little off the subject, but it needed to be said to enlighten all races that believe Africans were wild, dumb, savages that ran around naked in the jungle.
People, you have to know were you have been to know where you are going.
Isn't this something. American Blacks use "nigger" and its fine. Gays use "queer" and its fine. Anyone other-they are racists, homophobes etc. Malcolm X perfectly described Miss Mooney, Al Sharpton etc.: "Poverty Pimps". Mooney/Sharpton et al make a living from scandalous comments. Where were they all re: OJ Simpson the MURDERER getting off with slaughtering his WHITE ex-wife and her new lover? NOWHERE! What have they got to say about the KILLER's confession "If I Did It"? If only the US adopted the double jeaopardy rule, as we have here in the UK. OJ would be looking at a needle, not $3.5M for his confession (he even steals from his kids avoiding the GUILTY civil award) in having his payment given to an "aide".
Now, what about the Black diners calling Kramer a "Cracker" prior to his "Nigger" outburst. You mention nothing of that. And you know, if I got called a racial name by a Black person, I might just give it back to them. Or is it ONLY that Blacks can call each other Nigger and Whites "Cracker" and expect no reaction. What's Equal about that? The US is fucked up. And here, in UK, we get along much better. It must make you lot envious of our race relations.
Thank you, Tyra, for your enlighted comments...they help.
Anonymous, as a matter of fact I do believe OJ is guilty of horrendous murders...but for those of us who think we have gotten away with murder without repenting while on this earth, we will someday have to deal with the repercussions of that stubborn stance.
Is it not possible that racism is not as complex as people make it.
It might simply boil down to a little ignorance and fear of 'different' thrown in with a large need to be superior to someone.
Most people who look down on someone, are doing it because it makes them feel better about themselves, and that's human nature, I don't know if we'll ever lose it. What you say about people often reveals more about you than it does about them.
Racism must at one point have had some evolutionary survival benefit or it would have been bred out of us. 10,000 years ago, it made sense to be xenophobic & kill anyone who was a stranger to you, they were a threat to your small close knit community. They would kill you and take your women to further their own survival chances.
Now of course, things are different and maybe racism/xenophobia has ceased to be a survival benefit and is working against us. If so, it will become a selection pressure and who knows what will result from it.
Great blog Paula. Love that you're objective about the posts.
Michael Richards said today, I believe on Jesse Jackson's radio show, that he had felt humiliated and belittled by the men heckling him and that he reacted by trying to make them feel the same way he felt.
Now, I have been called a nigger myself and I know how it feels -- as angry and righteous as I *showed* people I felt on the outside, inside I actually felt humiliated and belittled. No amount of hearing the so-called term of endearment "Nigga" has ever lessened the way it feels for me to hear the word "Nigger".
At any rate, I feel sorry for Michael Richards, and the men he called Nigger and the people in the room and everyone who watched the video and this whole country because the truth is, in the privacy of people's homes and heads these feelings of superiority/inferiority, belittlement/entitlement are burning everybody up inside. There are no winners in this. Not even the people with money or power get to REALLY be on top because the idea that one human is more important or valuable than another is a LIE and lies corrupt.
What Michael Richards said is part of a lie passed down over hundreds of years -- not just to White people. Black people say hateful things about Whites, too. I am 100% sure that no group is free of prejudice but I am also 100% sure that no group is free of love, either. Humans are complicated. Racial issues are COMPLICATED. I'd like to suggest that rather than look for a SIMPLE name like "Racist" to call Mr. Richards we take a look at this whole nation, starting with ourselves, and realize that no one is purely good or bad and try to tackle the reasons behind Racist THINKING instead of tackling the people that have racist thoughts. Otherwise we will have to tackle a heck of a lot of folks when we could be actually working together with some of them to root out the causes of racism for good.
I have seen it work! I have seen sincere groups of people of different races get together and be honest about their prejudices in a respectful and loving environment. I have seen people talk about their embarassment about being taught racism as children and their desire to change that but not knowing how.
There are ways to deal with things like this that actually bring people TOGETHER rather than prove how far apart we are.
I hope we can all get a little creative about our response to this and other things like it. Rather than pointing a finger and calling another name have an honest talk about race with someone you trust -- hopefully even different from you-- in which the aim of the conversation is not to prove who is right or wrong, racist or perfect(?) but to see if there is a way to understand and heal, even a little. Just my two cents.
Im not good at writing but I will tell you what happen to my son. My son go's to a christian school. The school goes to different states to help the poor.He is adopted and comes from Brazil. All so he is dark skin. When in the south his groub wented to a resturant. The waiter who were serving had blonde hair and was really light skin. He gave my son a hamburger my son friend is white. The boy goes I also order a cheesburger The white waiter took my son burger and gave it to the white boy. He made my son wait a long time for his. Also the waiter kept filling the white boy cup with free soda but not my son. this is the first time my son had ever experience racist My son was in alamba. My son handle it well. Im different. If I was there I would have drag his butt . My husband and I are white so we see both sides. When he calls us mom and dad boy do we get dirty looks from the white people Mean while my son is more educated then half the white giving a look of hate. My son does'nt like being call nigger from whites or black.he feels like it means your ignorant.As far as Kamer he should think before he open hims mouth and yes I do feel sorry for him for being ignorant.
Yeah, Parisa - I had a small dinner party last night and all my black friends and I were talking about racism and I shared with them the first time anyone ever called me nigger to my face.
My one friend grew up in a predominately white area and the kids would throw rocks at her and call her the n-word when she was in kindergarten and first grade.
Another friend, like me, was called the word from a passing vehicle, and for both of us it was like time slowed.
But, like I said last night, I grew up with black folks who let prejudiced and racism scar them -- my grandmother's mother remembered seeing her own mother on the auction block. Yet, with the power of God, I refuse to get stuck in a mentality that says "what the white man owes us" and the like. I know the Holy Spirit is raining all kinds of favor down on me that no man -- white nor black -- can take away.
Blueeagle - The hurt you experienced with your son transcends words. Keep your head up, as well as your son's. Know that the Lord has overcome this hateful world.
I am a white woman who grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood. I had many black friends growing up and my parents never saw color as a means of defining people (notice I didn't say they were color blind- no one is color blind). Instead, my parents embraced differences and taught their children to respect people because of who they are on the inside. I have been fortunate enough in my life to meet not only racially diverse Americans but also people from all over the world. I believe that how I see people is a direct result of how I was taught as a child.
When I got married 5 years ago, I moved with my husband to a predominantly white (and white-minded) area. It was culture shock for me. I heard white people use the N-word in my presence. I heard people say they wouldn't go to a certain city because it was "too dark". Once again I was smacked in the face with the fact that racism is still alive. And it was hard for me to understand it. In my mind, any half-intelligent human being would agree that you cannot stereotype a whole group of people based on skin color. But then I learned that these people grew up with parents, grandparents and friends who encouraged these ridiculous notions.
The only possible way that racial bitterness will cease is when people of all races actively teach and show younger generations that hate and disrespect is not the answer. I firmly believe that if white and black Americans entered into even one REAL friendship with the opposite race, that racism would see a decline.
My greatest American hero is Martin Luther King, Jr. He always has been. Perhaps that sounds obnoxiously PC, coming from a white woman. But, without him and those who stood beside him, I may never have known some of the most interesting, intelligent and beautiful people in my life. Those who stood up against racial inequality have helped enrich my life and their legacy will live on for my children.
Richards comments were just stupid. But I guess the good in it is that it has opened up dialogues such as this one.
I thank you Paula for your blog.
I'm not a "nigger" but i'm black. I am an african but I'm not an afro american. I'm Swedish belive it or not, but most of my family lives in Africa(Eritrea). In Sweden we deal with the same problems in the term of the "N" word, but over here it spells "neger". Like America the word is just amongst black people but not as frequently, and if a white person uses the the word it create the same reaction.
Now that you now where I'm from and who I am I will tell you about my train of thougths on the whole Kramer thing.
I first felt furious and it was unbelievable to see "Kramer" from one of my favourite shows say these thing. I understand that he was bullied and he was mad as hell, and if they weren’t black he would probably say something as outrages and prejudice. And I really don’t beleive that he’s a racist, I have had friends using the “n” word on me when they were mad as hell, two weeks later they are out dating black girls. So I understand how people sometimes uses the “n” word(all over the world, not only in US) when they are mad and angry because it’s obvious that it extremly insulting and degraded to some people(not necesairly all black people), and it doesn’t have to do with racism. It’s simply a word with great power when it’s used by someone from the other side of the fence.
What I would like to know from you americans wether you’re black, white, pink, yellow etc. do I owe the right to be mad? As I told you earlier I’m black but not a nigga, and I have no ancester from slavery-times. Do I have the right to use the n-word when I travel to US?
/SpecialDelivery
I'd be careful, anonymous, about using the n-word over here (even though you are black), judging from some of the flack I've gotten from using it in the above blog posting. (Even though I repeated it for search engine optimization reasons so you all could find this article.)
The jury is still out over the "nigga" vs. "nigger" debate. Some of the younger generation feels "nigga" is a term of affection, some don't. Hardly no one likes the "nigger" word. So, unless you're a journalist quoting Kramer, I'd say stay away from it.
Like Maya Angelou says, anyone who comes to her house with racists jokes and hatred and such is asked to leave.
That Dutch guy is a total hypocrite. The Netherlands is having terrible racial problems right now, but he's over here pointing fingers at us.
so, i watched the clip.. here are my thoughts... i think that kramer was wrong.. no one should use that word, not whites or blacks or any one for that matter... i am a student enrolled in a university that is very diverse, i see everything... but one thing that pains me is the ignorance and racism that some young blacks, and latinos have toward any thing that we dont know about or dont care to understand! i cant stand the bitching though, i have over heard many conversations between some black friends of mine, saying that its harder when you are black and saying that life is harder! but you know what, if you are complaining about injustice you are wasting time, the best way to make a change is to be that change! the more you wear your white tee-s and baggy pants trying to look thug, and talking like you have no education the more you perpetuate the stereotypes. for example, i have a friend j, ive known him since 5th grade, he has an extensive vocabulary, he goes to a great college, and is really very cultured, but for some reason or another the need to belong or fit in molds us into something we are not, in his case a thug. if my being upset about that makes me racist or any other word that defamates character or breaks a mans spirit, than im sorry my words do not appropriately express my concerns and views.
Latino Dave, you are right on the money! I'm am so sick of black people who joke about "you talk like a white girl" just because I can conjugate a verb!
God gave us brains and extensive vocabularies and it's fine to use them!
It's my passion to see folks step out of the "thug life" mold -- if they are faking it just to fit in -- and go fully forward towards the life they were intended to live, not backwards into idiocy.
I'm glad I ran into this blog. I was searching for Paul Mooney's response to Michael Richard's comments and ended up here. I read the entire list of comments and there have been some interesting ones made. I hope I can add one more.
A little background on me first. I was born in Chicago (the actual city, not the surrounding suburbs) and grew up there until I was 20. I'm one-quarter Japanese, one-quarter Irish, one-blah blah blah, you know, a real mutt. The thing is, most of my friends were mutts too. I am thankful I grew up in such a diverse area and I think that has helped me become who I am.
This is not to say there weren't any racial tensions where I lived, because they always tend to appear when people have told themselves they're gone now. I used to use "nigga" a lot with my close black friends back when I was in high school. I never really caught flack for it and it actually endeared me to a lot of my black friends, though in retrospect it wasn't much more than me drawing boundaries to cross boundaries. The awkwardness of youth.
The high school I went to some of you might remember. It was De La Salle Institute. Remember a boy named Lenard Clark? I went to school with the people responsible for his beating. Back then, that group of guys beat down pretty much anyone who wasn't in their social circle, myself included. When the Lenard Clark beating happened it was suddenly national news. There were camera crews and news reporters all over the school for weeks as the teachers and students did their media dances proclaiming their "color-blindness" and "racial tolerance".
Truth is once the cameras were gone, everything went back to normal. The lunch tables were so segregated you would have thought it was a living color-by-number. Granted, we were all friends or at least acquaintances by the fact we all went to the same school for four years but the true feelings of some groups was apparent whenever I would hang around with them outside of school. Either way, I haven't kept in touch with anyone from high school since it ended. I wasn't all that popular after all.
As for where I am now at the age of 25; I have been taking turns living in and out of Asia for the better part of 5 years. I spent a year in Japan from 2001-2002, and 2003-present day in South Korea. I am actually writing this from my cubicle at work in Korea.
This is how it relates. Living in Korea and Japan will give you a real sense of what "good ol' fashioned" racism is. Considering that both countries are over 95% homogeneous it's a point you can understand at least. It can be pretty frustrating to find yourself on a bus with the entire group talking about you (some good things, some bad, some horrible) simply because they have all assumed you cannot understand the language. There are many instances of taxi drivers not picking you up and even if they do there is a small chance they will take you the most expensive route to your destination. You will be charged more for certain items at retail markets depending on the location and there is never a lack of discerning stares in public places. The list goes on…
Not to say I don’t love living here. The above comments are simply some of the things one might experience and must become accustomed too. One thing is for sure though, there is no violence towards people of different races here. That at least, is a comfort.
I am officially rambling. Just wanted to give a taste of what race relations in parts of Asia are like.
As for usage of the n-word, I have completely torn it from my language along with other words I feel aren’t worth the breath. I just go by the simple rule that if I wouldn’t say it in front of anyone, I won’t say it at all.
I think the Michael Richards incident needed to happen. It brings up a complex issue that I think everyone needs to address regardless of how it makes one feel. Some people would rather just sit and be complacent and only address issues that they feel comfortable with addressing. That to me is what leads up to incidents like this, an explosion and everyone clamoring around the aftermath. The underlying issues need to be vocalized much more than they have been for awhile for this to be viewed in the proper light.
Anyways, just some thoughts. Thank you for reading all of this.
Mike
WOW. You took down my post? I look at some of the sadly ignorant comments you've allowed here, and MINE was removed? You certainly owe me nothing, but I'm consumed with curiosity ... Was it an oversight, or was there something in my comments that really did offend you? I've reprinted it below.
Thanks for your time and attention.
Jennifer
aka "ihartny"
------------------------
It's sad that people think using racist (or homophobic for that matter) slurs is ok as long as they themselves are a member of the group the term is used against. It's an inane idea, and my best friend is having a helluva time trying to explain it to her 8-yr-old.
Unfortunately, it's stupid to think slurs will ever go away, but it's more stupid to try and justify their use by ANYONE. And another thing: It's ridiculous to think that RACISM will ever go away. We're ALL racist (aren't you wondering what race I am right now, like it matters?), and just stating whether you are or not has NOTHING to do w/it. We're all products of this country, of this world. And we're all human beings. And it's part of the human condition to be insecure and pick out differences between ourselves and others. If we were wiped off the face of the earth, and two kids were left to grow up and re-populate the planet, bigotry would simply start right over again. Yes, it's ugly, but the truth often is. Get over it and wake up, people. Because, until then, we'll NEVER progress as a species.
Hey Jennifer - I didn't take down your post! It's still right up there. Believe me, I appreciate good comments like yours. You should see the stuff I didn't publish...
And Mike, thanks for the heads-up on the Paul Mooney comments. I used your "good looking out" to write this new post called Paul Mooney on Michael Richards: He Cured Me of Using the N-Word
Ooops! You're absolutely right. So many posts, I overlooked it twice. My apologies, and thanks again.
Jennifer
I always become racist when I drink. it's really weird because my girlfriend is black, and my best friend is asian. but i get drunk and hate everyone who isn't brazilian l ike me. but as soon as i sober up i love them to death. is this a problem maybe for i should be seeking councill?
Are you for real, Anonymous? If so, yeah, I think you need to examine the roots of hating non-Brazilians. (Generally beautiful people, by the way.)
Anyhoo, a drunken mind speaks the sober truth, they say. So let me ask you: How did your parents feel about other races? Were they both Brazilian? Any issues of racism you harbor problem stem from how you were raised.
I know mine do. My mom and grandfather especially had a hard time getting over the racial incidents they experienced first hand.
And instead of following the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wise words that "Excellence is the best deterrent to racism and sexism," they blamed, blamed, blamed white folks for their own shortcomings in life.
Well.. Being a white man who doesn't have a racist vein in my body unless it is assumed by others.. I would have to say that what he did was definitley wrong and not because he said nigger but because he was just being an ass who couldn't handle the pressure.
The word "Nigger" is just a word that is used more by african americans than it is by whites. If fact It's a constant in films any more you know, "What's Up My Nigga" and stuff like that. It's only deemed a racial statement when a white person says it. Well..
I just think it's time to get over that word and move on. Noone of this day and age had anything to do with slavery and most middle americans(40 and below) were adults during the "Civil Rights" movement. Racism anymore is just an excuse and makes no sense at all. A black comedian can poke fun of white folk but if a white comedian did that? Racism.. What if there was a White Entertainment Channel? Or a .. White History Month? The list goes on and on..If your a racist these days your an idiot and your stupid, if you are someone who uses racism as an exuse (IE, can't get a job or into a certain college or are getting arrested all the time blah blah) than you have no self confidence and your a stupid idiot as well..
Point blank.. Racism has no place in the world anymore.. People need to get over it.. ALL people..
Thanks! Have a nice day! :)
Honestly,hate itself is not the issue. Hate is stupidity and bigotism, what we must do is to totally destroy Every last aspect of ourselves, of humanity, every last one of us. Now, THAT is a worthy goal. Hatred is not enough, humanity itself must be destroyed. There was life here before us, and life after us, only without us, the would will be pure as it should be. (guess the "higher powers" really ****ed up when it/they created US)
I believe we were the ones who screwed up. Thank God so much that He took us messed
up vessels and saw fit to
"made it again another vessel" instead of chucking the whole lot of us!
Boo fucking hoo. On the streets you hear black people calling each other "Nigger" constantly. Why should it be any different in today's society for a white person to call a black person a "nigger"? AND it's acceptable for a black person to call a white person a "Honkey" "Wigga" "Cracker" "Whitie" or whatever else?
I think the "niggers" need to grow up and accept that if they are going to complain about a white person saying "Nigger" then they don't need to say it either. This also applies to any other person who gets so upset when they hear a white person say the word "Nigger".
If you are a black person, and you have gotten offended at a white person for saying "Nigger" then you need to stop and ask yourself "Have I called my fellow black man a Nigger or allowed him to call me a Nigger?" If the answer is Yes, then you have absolutely no grounds to complain.
Also saying "Nigga" is no different than "Nigger".
Bottom line!!!
world traveler, friends of all colors around the world, 39 year old white male's perspective:
Here is my take on the racism thang: I don't condone calling people names, nigger included...On a different point, my american caucasion friends and I are very fed up after years of the "race" card being played by black america for a myriad of issues.
Enough of the racist perks black people force into our faces and then wait to see if we flinch so they can scream "racist". You know what I am talking about (Ebony magazine, Black TV channel, Kwanza, etc.) Can you imagine the outrage if we started Ivory Magazine...All White TV channel and White Pride Week...It seems as though every white guy is on high alert and trying to be extra careful so that none of our actions are such that we can be unfairly ACCUSED of being "RACIST". (Try to envision Invasion of the body snatchers when the aliens spot a human)
Personally speaking, I have been to Ghana west africa and I dated an African woman. I found her to be quite beautiful and I still miss her to this day. Also, Ms. Mooney, you are quite cute!
Regarding Africa...it was a pleasant surprise to be around people of color that do not have a constant chip on their shoulder as a majority of black americans wear today...
I don't despise black america. I despise their largely unwarranted chips they wear on their shoulder.
Not unwarranted pre 80's...but largely unwarranted henceforth...
Remember, advance through life based on your merits and open your heart with compassion to all people.
Frank from Orlando...
Nigger, nigger, nigger.
I'm white: where's my recourse? Will the Dept of Homeland Security be sent against me?
I got tired of reading the same stuff over and over. Im Black male(African American), and this is what I think. Once again white people have made themselves feel good by making some of us think that using the word "NIGGER" is exactly the same as using the word "NIGGA" to each other. Well from experience I can tell you it is absolutely not the same. I have been called a "NIGGER" by white people and I have been called a "NIGGA" by my black friends and family and it is definately not the same. White people feel better about their own racism when they say we do the same thing to ourselves. To all white people who read this you all should understand that the "ER" added to the end of "NIGG", stands for slavery, KKK, lynching, Jim Crow and every other symbol of black hate. Black people don't call each other "NIGGERS", that doesn't even sound right, try being black and saying that in the "Hood". Black people call each other "NIGGA". It sounds different and it has a different meaning depending on how the person who is using is feeling. White people can never make the word "NIGGER" mean anything else than what it is. I say all black people should use the word "NIGGA" when they feel like it and stop being influenced my white people's attempt to make it seem as if we're all in the same boat when it comes to that word. We're not and we wont ever be. I almost forgot to remind everyone about when Jessie Jackson got on the "Chris Rock" show a few years ago and said "What's up my NIGGA". Much respect to the Rev, but don't back pedal now brother.
Frank Maui, I am black male and it doesn't matter to me that you think these things. I feel that it's good that small minded people such as yourself put their chicken shit thoughts on public display. I must say I would have more respect for you if you just came out with it like the other white dude and said "NIGGER, NIGGER, NIGGER", but your a coward and hide behind bullshit statements like "I date black women", "Paula Neal Mooney is cute". Listen chump, a white man being attractive to a black wome aint no fucking suprise bitch! Just because you like them and your sexually attracted to them doesn't make you not racist. I don't even know if you really are racist, but if you are own that shit, don't be a punk and hide behind sweeping generalizations like "black Perks, Ebony magazine, black T.V.". Punk, you watch that shit too, and if you have kids they probalbly buy hip hop, gansta rap, all that shit. Any way you "Buster" you and any white person can call me nigger all day, I will still have a good job, I will still have a nice house and I will still have my education that I didn't get because of affimative action, rather, I got it because I out scored whites, blacks and asians to get in. So fuck you for saying we all cry racism to try to get ahead. If I ever did say a white person was racist it would be true and I wouln't say it to try to get a job or to whine, I would say it because I just fucking want to. Be a real man, say how you really feel, I did.
Im a white man who understands that I should not use the word "Nigger" just because I hear black people use it with eachother. If your white and you use it then your just plain stuipid and deserve what ever happens to you. White people wont admit it, but I will. Being called a cracker doesn't mean shit. If your white and you say it does you know your lying. Being called a "NIGGER" takes on a whole different historical perspective and meaning. Someone other white person maybe read a few books and learned that some African tribes sold eachother to slave traders. News flash, read more books. Although this may be true in some part, it doesnt tell the whole story. Firstly, slavery has been around long before the Spanish, English, Dutch and American slave trade. It wasn't until Europe and America entered into slave trading where we see the terrible treatment of people transformed on a whole new level. Basically, they upped the anne on inhumane treatment. By the way, just so you know, white slave traders manipulated waring tribes into capturing other tribes. It wasn't like it was their next door neighbors. We see this throughout history. The Vikings, the Egyptions, the Monguls, the Romans. Somehow, when Americans did it to black people it went to the next level. So that being said, white people can say "NIGGER" all day if they want, but be real, you and I know your saying it because your an asshole, not because you really think black people are racist too. If you argue this point, which I hope you will, then it just prooves that your stupid and if you did ever call a black person a "NIGGER" to their face, you should not be confused as to why you got you ass handed to you.
People ask, "Why is it OK for black people to use the word nigger?" It's racist no matter who uses it, true. But that's the whole point really. The usage is a subtle attempt to call attention (unsuccessfully) to the bigger racism still ongoing in this country.
As somebody implied in their post, it's a way for black people to exclude other races (but mostly directed at white people) from their "club". What is that club? That club is a demographic in this country that has been oppressed based on the color of their skin. And it's been going on for a very long time.
Food 4 Thought had a great post. However, I have to disagree with her comment that white people today are not responsible for what their white forbearers have done. White people do owe black people something. And that something is what I believe to be the ongoing racism still alive in this country. I refuse to believe that the relative socioeconomic status of black americans (higher poverty level, higher representation in jails, higher dropout rates from highschool) is independent of slavery and oppression from white people.
So what do white people owe black people? That's not an easy answer. My personal opinion is that affirmative action is a step in the right direction. It won't fix things overnight, but the hope is that it makes things better in the long run.
Some will argue that black people don't need any advantage. That they have every opportunity as white people do. That's a load of crap. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but in general black people cannot be compared to white people opportunity wise without looking at the context of their environment. Go watch Trading Places. Yeah it's a just movie, but the message is universal.
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Stupid nigger.
Ya know, nigger is a word people. A WORD. If I say I am Goddamn Christian, am I a blasphemer? NOOOOOOO
I am only using a WORD!
Now if someone cuts me off while driving out of church and I call him a Goddamn Christian then YES I am a blasphemer!
Ok Ok Paula...I almost kept writing here but this is a waste of time.
When I argue Christianity I have an opportunity to bring a soul to Christ. When I argue racism nothing happens, who cares!
I am glad you left all the moronic comments on here, it further promotes their stupidity!
PS You are a Marketing GENIUS and I hope I get 78 comments!!!
PSS I can't stand using or hearing the word GD or JC...makes me cringe, because if you DON'T know what context you are using it, then you ARE using taking the Lords name!
This is your second comment by a Dutch person, or third, I didn't read everything
what i did read was this:
"Anonymous said...
That Dutch guy is a total hypocrite. The Netherlands is having terrible racial problems right now, but he's over here pointing fingers at us."
we do have some racial problems at the moment, and please don't think I'm being hypocrite, you have a hard time finding someone more open than me, BUT, here the foreigners actually brought it on themselves. not black people, mostly marocans. This is entirely different from black people, believe me. We didn't torture them or anything, but we took them out of warzones and let them stay in our country for their personal safety. In return, their offspring becomes, well... lethal. 40 percent of the crimes in this country our commited by foreigners, 5 percent are foreigners.
I've also seen some comments about Europe more approving for other cultures than America. I have to agree, we have some kind of don't bother me and I won't bother you agreement, but we don't really get along neither (In the big picture that is, some whites and blacks are friends)
Christianity... I am an atheist myself, but I still respect why you would believe in God. However using the bible as an argument versus racism has never worked. In Holland the racists mostly have a high education and are atheists too. I myself have to admit I don't tolerate people from Maroco neither, but really, they bring it on themselves.
I tolerate blacks, gays, asians about everything, because they never caused me trouble. I'm sure that if a black person raped my girlfriend (in the most extreme case) I would hate black people too.
btw, Holland and the Netherlands are not two different countries, and Amsterdam is the capital, not a different country.
Love Kramer!!
Spoken by an 16-year-old dutch white male, who currently has an education equal to Harvard (for the people who try to call me stupid)
We like the Orange, especially Prince William
with يد النجر pound some cardamom foo!
IAM A BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE AND AS A BLACK PERSON WE SHOULDNT BE USING "NIGGER" OR "NIGGA"...HE IS WRONG BUT AS BLACK PEOPLE WE ARE ALSO AS WRONG AS HIM...IGO TO YOUTUBE.COM COME AND TYPE IN "WALE-THE KRAMER"..ITS A SONG THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HEAR!!!!...IF YOU WANNA FURTHER THIS CONVERSTAION FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT M.WHITE32@YAHOO.COM
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