For the last few days I have been completely transfixed by the Michael Richards (a.k.a. Kramer from Seinfeld) debacle. Any bubble-boys and girls out there who haven't heard the story can just Google his name and read all about it. But don't believe the hype -- you absolutely must go to a site and watch the video footage of Richards at the comedy club. This is not just about him using the N-word.
Ah, the N-word. The subject of much debate and little agreement. I love how the context of what he said, the way in which he said it, the other horrible things he said have all disappeared in favour of discussing whether or not people should be allowed to say nigger. Yeah that's right, I said it. And guess what? I think I'm allowed. Wanna know why? Because I'm black. Some say that's unfair, and maybe they're right, but tell me this: Is it confusing? Because I really don't think so. Please tell me how can this be confusing:
Black = You can say it.
Not Black = You can't say it.
Perhaps because it begs the question of who or what defines blackness. Which is a fair question. But I'm willing to bet that the group of people in the world for whom this question applies are not the perpetrators we're trying to stop from spreading their racist propaganda.
Yeah, I said it: RACIST. That's the Pink Elephant in the room. I find it interesting how people are trying to AVOID saying it. "He went crazy", "He has a rage problem", "The words just flew uncontrollably out of his mouth", "He had too much to drink", are the catch phrases you'll hear out in the world -- and by the way, that would be what the "Not Black" group of people
are saying (another distinguishing characteristic). In fact, the only not Black person I can recall even using the word is Michael Richards himself. He said, "I'm not a racist--that's the insane part about it." Was everyone else waiting to hear him say "I have lots of black friends" too??
But why are we afraid to say he's a racist? Because it can't be taken back? Well, neither can the things he said, as his feeble apology proved. Or are we not saying it because we believe it isn't true? I'm sorry, but in my mind when you couple calling someone a nigger repeatedly with a reference to lynching, that pretty much makes you a racist. I have a feeling that if I said something like "Listen kike, 50 years ago I'd have had you in a gas chamber", it wouldn't be defendable, even if I was a personal friend of Mr. Seinfeld himself.
So I guess to me the debate should really be about what makes someone a racist. Here is the definition of a racist, as found on dictionary.com:
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Now here are some of the comments Michael Richards made:
"50 years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass".
"Throw his ass out, he's a nigger".
"Oh, this shocks you. To see what's buried underneath".
"It was uncalled for you to interrupt me you cheap motherfucker."
"That's what happens when you interrupt the white man."
And according to the men he was speaking to, he also said "When I wake up in
the morning, I'll still be rich and you'll still be a nigger."
I'm not saying definitively that he's a racist--I'll never know what goes on inside his head. What concerns me is that the world is trying so hard to say he isn't. It basically closes the possibility of any real dialogue we could have as a society about "what's buried underneath" all our political
correctness.
I watched a lot of news coverage about this, and then I finally saw an interview with the 2 men Richards was addressing. And they said that it was all bad, but the worst part was when he referenced lynching. That's what really hurt, and what made them really scared. And I thought, "Yes, that's it." Which made me a little sad because it made me think, is it only Black people who will ever really get it?
I know that there are people in the Not Black group who do get it, those who will be reading what I'm writing here and truly understanding. But sometimes it really sucks to live in a world where people are so willing to dismiss it as something else, or disregard it because he's famous, or forgive him because he didn't mean it.
In closing, what I really want people to take away from this post and this incident and everything else is that people shouldn't be so quick to say the world had changed, that racism doesn't exist, or that black people need to just "get over it". This is why our defences are always up -- because when they're down, it can really hurt.
If anyone has gotten to the end of this very long post, I appreciate you reading my rant. This is a far cry from what I usually write, certainly from my lively sex post. But it's equally important (and equally disgusting).
feeling purged,
sbg
