Thoughts on Imus and Other Wrong Speech
Apr. 13th, 2007 04:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redneckgaijinBefore I go into the cut, a reminder about the meme from last post. Y'know, one or two curious parties would be nice.
Anyway, on to meat.
WARNING- TALK ABOUT RACISM, INCLUDING RACIST LANGUAGE, AHEAD! POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE! NOT JOKING, I MEAN IT, BE AWARE!
On those all too rare occasions in my childhood when I was out and about with my father, he frequently took me along with him to visit old friends of his. These friends were, by and large, construction workers like my father or similarly used to working with their hands on machinery. On more than one occasion my father would spontaneously pitch in on some project or other, or else he'd be asked for help and he'd bring me along with him.
A not uncommon phrase in this group- this group, I should point out, of white Southern males- was nigger-rigging. It means roughly the same thing as jury-rigging: it's ugly as hell, it could quit any moment, it shouldn't be working NOW, but it works and that's all we ask. In some respects, the term was used as a compliment; an impossible job had been accomplished with wholly insufficient supplies, and in its way that was a sign of a superior worker. It meant you were part of the club, a club that tossed the term around, not at random, but with ease of use.
I used the term in my father's presence precisely once.
Only after his calm but anxious explanation did I realize that the first half of the compound word was the same exact word as that which my father used only with care- or in the company of his black friends- to describe black men who would do anything to avoid work.
At the time I thought that the lesson was that, as with other curse words, I was as yet too young to use the term and be socially accepted. Later I decided for myself- with, I admit, heavy environmental influence- that the term is utterly inappropriate for anyone to use.
Only this week have I understood something new about my father. My father recognized that his own use of the term- under any conditions- was wrong. He couldn't stop himself- he'd grown up just before Texas schools integrated in a strongly prejudiced society, where railroad tracks formed a more effective barrier to crossing than the Rio Grande. The back of his brain would run on autopilot in conversation and casually say things his forebrain rejected. He was a product of his time in that respect... but, as a parent, he could do his part to make sure that the next generation had at least one person better than he was.
My father definitely had racist views, in retrospect... but, based on recent conversations with certain of my cousins and my aunt's husband, he was probably one of the least racist of his generation, at least in this general geographical area. He knew racism was wrong, he felt guilty when racist thoughts escaped his lips- even in casual slang, without reference to any person or group- and he did his human, fallible, often-failing best to be better than he was.
Bearing this in mind, I'm inclined to take Don Imus at his word when he apologizes abjectly for his statement. Imus is ten years older than my father would have been, had he lived. My father was four when Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was decided; Imus was fourteen. If anything, racism is even deeper in Imus's bones, ground in by decades of pressure from a society that regarded hatred of African-Americans as a prerequisite for acceptance. I find it entirely believable that, despite his best efforts, the demon that lurks in the back of far too many of us escaped briefly and destroyed his career, without any actual malice against or hatred for the Rutgers basketball women.
So I, for one, forgive Imus... but, since he was an annoying and unfunny asshole even without the race question, I don't mind him being permanently off the air.
As to Imus's firing... I really don't like the idea of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton claiming credit for driving Imus from the airwaves. Both men, in my opinion, are leeches on society- stirring up racial unrest and making it worse so they can present themselves as leaders and exert the power of public opinion for their own gratification. The decision should have been dependent on the future profitability of Imus's show and the moral standards of the people who write his paycheck- not the demagoguery of two men who seek to drive races apart for their own benefit. Unfortunately, due to the way things played out- and especially since CBS announced its decision less than an hour after meeting with Sharpton- we'll never know for certain which it was.
But now that he's gone- ostensibly because he said something hateful and racist on the air- why don't we apply this to other radio and television personalities? Lou Dobbs has an hour-long show on CNN every day dedicated to how foreigners are destroying America. Michael Savage has repeatedly called for the extermination of every Muslim on the planet. Neal Boortz keeps repeating the now disproven lie that Saddam Hussein funded al-Qaida and the 9/11 attacks, and declares that we are in a religious crusade. Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly made statements to the effect that black men cannot compete with whites without affirmative action and that women, as a group, exist to serve men. And Bill O'Reilly... there's REASONS why Keith Olbermann never goes a week without naming him at least once in the list of Worst Persons in the World.
I personally predict that not a single one of these people will be touched. They won't even be called on their words. Instead Imus will serve as scapegoat for our national guilt for harboring racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted thoughts, even when we can't control them. Now we can pat ourselves on the back, tell ourselves it's all been straightened out...
... and then blame hip-hop and rap artists for reviving and glamourizing the word nigger and the worst stereotypes about African-Americans. Yes, the virtually all-white talking heads are now saying, blame the blacks for committing racism on themselves. It's all their fault, because it certainly couldn't be OUR fault.
Bullshit. I, for one, have... well, I don't say I have NO problem with blacks using the N Word. I have problems with anyone using it, outside a historical perspective. But with blacks, it's different. The blacks have PAID for that word, whether they wanted to or not. They continue paying for it every day they live in American society. Why, aside from the single obvious answer, shouldn't they be able to use it?
There's a passage from Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign that parallels, but doesn't quite say, what I'm saying here:
Yes, most hip-hop and rap is noxious, misogynistic, racist, anarchist, pro-violence, pro-crime, anti-society, and utterly, utterly vile... but the rappers and hip-hoppers have already paid the price for the word and the stereotypes. I think the way they use them is wrong and abhorrent, but if anybody owns the N Word, it's them.
To invert the above sentiment: we white people DEFINITELY haven't paid for that word. We haven't suffered that stigma- we've inflicted it upon others. We have absolutely no right- no moral right- to use that word, for any reason, about any other person.
I'm a fan of Carlos Mencia. The core of Mencia's comedy is the blatant use of stereotypes and racism as comedy- both to remind us that these stereotypes exist and to remind us that white people have no monopoly on either racism or stupidity. There's an important thing to remember, though: Mencia is Hispanic, born in Guatemala if memory serves. If Mencia were white, the comedy just would not work, because a white person making racist jokes is, well, just being white... and thus not funny.
In other words, a white Mencia would be... well... Don Imus.
Only, y'know, Mencia actually has TALENT.
The above probably proves that I have racist tendencies, too. I know. I'm sorry if what I wrote above offended you, or anybody. It's what's in my head right now.
Well, that, and that I wish the media would SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT IMUS NOW and focus on the fact that the White House has deleted, apparently deliberately, YEARS worth of emails which by law were supposed to be preserved for posterity... and which were supoenaed by Congress...
... add a second clear and undisputable charge for impeachment...
Anyway, on to meat.
WARNING- TALK ABOUT RACISM, INCLUDING RACIST LANGUAGE, AHEAD! POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE! NOT JOKING, I MEAN IT, BE AWARE!
On those all too rare occasions in my childhood when I was out and about with my father, he frequently took me along with him to visit old friends of his. These friends were, by and large, construction workers like my father or similarly used to working with their hands on machinery. On more than one occasion my father would spontaneously pitch in on some project or other, or else he'd be asked for help and he'd bring me along with him.
A not uncommon phrase in this group- this group, I should point out, of white Southern males- was nigger-rigging. It means roughly the same thing as jury-rigging: it's ugly as hell, it could quit any moment, it shouldn't be working NOW, but it works and that's all we ask. In some respects, the term was used as a compliment; an impossible job had been accomplished with wholly insufficient supplies, and in its way that was a sign of a superior worker. It meant you were part of the club, a club that tossed the term around, not at random, but with ease of use.
I used the term in my father's presence precisely once.
Only after his calm but anxious explanation did I realize that the first half of the compound word was the same exact word as that which my father used only with care- or in the company of his black friends- to describe black men who would do anything to avoid work.
At the time I thought that the lesson was that, as with other curse words, I was as yet too young to use the term and be socially accepted. Later I decided for myself- with, I admit, heavy environmental influence- that the term is utterly inappropriate for anyone to use.
Only this week have I understood something new about my father. My father recognized that his own use of the term- under any conditions- was wrong. He couldn't stop himself- he'd grown up just before Texas schools integrated in a strongly prejudiced society, where railroad tracks formed a more effective barrier to crossing than the Rio Grande. The back of his brain would run on autopilot in conversation and casually say things his forebrain rejected. He was a product of his time in that respect... but, as a parent, he could do his part to make sure that the next generation had at least one person better than he was.
My father definitely had racist views, in retrospect... but, based on recent conversations with certain of my cousins and my aunt's husband, he was probably one of the least racist of his generation, at least in this general geographical area. He knew racism was wrong, he felt guilty when racist thoughts escaped his lips- even in casual slang, without reference to any person or group- and he did his human, fallible, often-failing best to be better than he was.
Bearing this in mind, I'm inclined to take Don Imus at his word when he apologizes abjectly for his statement. Imus is ten years older than my father would have been, had he lived. My father was four when Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was decided; Imus was fourteen. If anything, racism is even deeper in Imus's bones, ground in by decades of pressure from a society that regarded hatred of African-Americans as a prerequisite for acceptance. I find it entirely believable that, despite his best efforts, the demon that lurks in the back of far too many of us escaped briefly and destroyed his career, without any actual malice against or hatred for the Rutgers basketball women.
So I, for one, forgive Imus... but, since he was an annoying and unfunny asshole even without the race question, I don't mind him being permanently off the air.
As to Imus's firing... I really don't like the idea of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton claiming credit for driving Imus from the airwaves. Both men, in my opinion, are leeches on society- stirring up racial unrest and making it worse so they can present themselves as leaders and exert the power of public opinion for their own gratification. The decision should have been dependent on the future profitability of Imus's show and the moral standards of the people who write his paycheck- not the demagoguery of two men who seek to drive races apart for their own benefit. Unfortunately, due to the way things played out- and especially since CBS announced its decision less than an hour after meeting with Sharpton- we'll never know for certain which it was.
But now that he's gone- ostensibly because he said something hateful and racist on the air- why don't we apply this to other radio and television personalities? Lou Dobbs has an hour-long show on CNN every day dedicated to how foreigners are destroying America. Michael Savage has repeatedly called for the extermination of every Muslim on the planet. Neal Boortz keeps repeating the now disproven lie that Saddam Hussein funded al-Qaida and the 9/11 attacks, and declares that we are in a religious crusade. Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly made statements to the effect that black men cannot compete with whites without affirmative action and that women, as a group, exist to serve men. And Bill O'Reilly... there's REASONS why Keith Olbermann never goes a week without naming him at least once in the list of Worst Persons in the World.
I personally predict that not a single one of these people will be touched. They won't even be called on their words. Instead Imus will serve as scapegoat for our national guilt for harboring racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted thoughts, even when we can't control them. Now we can pat ourselves on the back, tell ourselves it's all been straightened out...
... and then blame hip-hop and rap artists for reviving and glamourizing the word nigger and the worst stereotypes about African-Americans. Yes, the virtually all-white talking heads are now saying, blame the blacks for committing racism on themselves. It's all their fault, because it certainly couldn't be OUR fault.
Bullshit. I, for one, have... well, I don't say I have NO problem with blacks using the N Word. I have problems with anyone using it, outside a historical perspective. But with blacks, it's different. The blacks have PAID for that word, whether they wanted to or not. They continue paying for it every day they live in American society. Why, aside from the single obvious answer, shouldn't they be able to use it?
There's a passage from Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign that parallels, but doesn't quite say, what I'm saying here:
"Useful! Have you found the name of the Butcher of Komarr a handy prop, then, sir?" Miles said indignantly.
His father's eyes narrowed, partly in grim amusement, partly in appreciation. "I've found it a mixed... damnation. But yes, I have used the weight of that reputation, from time to time... Why not, I paid for it..."
Yes, most hip-hop and rap is noxious, misogynistic, racist, anarchist, pro-violence, pro-crime, anti-society, and utterly, utterly vile... but the rappers and hip-hoppers have already paid the price for the word and the stereotypes. I think the way they use them is wrong and abhorrent, but if anybody owns the N Word, it's them.
To invert the above sentiment: we white people DEFINITELY haven't paid for that word. We haven't suffered that stigma- we've inflicted it upon others. We have absolutely no right- no moral right- to use that word, for any reason, about any other person.
I'm a fan of Carlos Mencia. The core of Mencia's comedy is the blatant use of stereotypes and racism as comedy- both to remind us that these stereotypes exist and to remind us that white people have no monopoly on either racism or stupidity. There's an important thing to remember, though: Mencia is Hispanic, born in Guatemala if memory serves. If Mencia were white, the comedy just would not work, because a white person making racist jokes is, well, just being white... and thus not funny.
In other words, a white Mencia would be... well... Don Imus.
Only, y'know, Mencia actually has TALENT.
The above probably proves that I have racist tendencies, too. I know. I'm sorry if what I wrote above offended you, or anybody. It's what's in my head right now.
Well, that, and that I wish the media would SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT IMUS NOW and focus on the fact that the White House has deleted, apparently deliberately, YEARS worth of emails which by law were supposed to be preserved for posterity... and which were supoenaed by Congress...
... add a second clear and undisputable charge for impeachment...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 10:56 pm (UTC)And I wish the media had shut up about Imus days ago.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 11:27 pm (UTC)I think we can ALL agree they hit the nail on the head, and Imus is providing proof.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-15 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 11:36 pm (UTC)The problem is, I didn't want to post it in my own journal in return. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 12:40 am (UTC)Free Speech
Date: 2007-04-15 12:04 am (UTC)This country makes an attempt at it, which is laudable; but Free Speech is still an ideal which has not achieved full empowerment in this country.