Letters to the Editor
JM Walker
Published Letters: 205 Editor's Choice: 4
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Welcome to the Discussion
[Read the article: Imus offends]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And the reason why that is is because people learned they couldn't say racist speech openly because they would get called out on it. I guess to you, those calling them out would be "the PC Police, Version 1.0."
No. Those people still harbor racist sentiments. It's just no longer socially acceptable to voice them in "polite" company. The PC onslaught did nothing to end racism, and it isn't comparable in any way to the earthquaking efforts of the civil rights movement. What I specifically referred to was personal, honest re-evaluation of classifying and judging people based on the color of their skin. It happens.
Yeesh. Do you _know_ any black people? Up in my area, we've got four black radio stations. Two play rap; another plays old-school and R&B; another plays dance mixes. So, yeah, not all black people listen to rap.
That depends. If I say yes will I expose myself to snotty insinuations of closet racism or ignorance of a "methinks thou protest too much" variety? If so, then no, I've never met a black person. If not, then yes. I was half raised by a black woman, have dated black women, and count many blacks among my close personal friends. Nowhere in my original post did I suggest that black people listen exclusively to rap. The original poster suggested that gangsta rap is something composed for and consumed by white suburban kids to the exclusion of blacks, which is absolute horseshit. That some blacks listen to country, metal, or indie-rock in no way changes the fact that gangsta rap (or just plain rap) has made expressions like "nappy-headed ho" common, and that it isn't exclusively a bunch of white kids passing them around.
Not only has ESSENCE been waging a long battle to get rappers to consider what they are saying, both Sharpton and Jackson have decried some of gangsta rap's messages. And the reason gangsta rap does so well is because white teenagers buy it by the truckload. So, that "black folks are totally responsible for rap degrading the culture" sword cuts both ways, laddie...
Yea, and guys like Aaron McGruder have been railing against the likes of BET for just as long. I never claimed otherwise. Props to them. The point is that rap music is popular. Rap music is a conduit for some particulars of black culture. I don't define the essence of black culture by these particulars, but they're common enough that they can't easily be denied, for right or wrong.
Here's the deal. Tavis Smiley and Tom Joyner are the media voices of black America. Cornel West and Henry Gates are its academic voices (among many others.) Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the activists black folks call in when they've been wronged and they know TPTB won't listen to them. That is why the families of cop-hurt victims like Sean Bell, Patrick Dorismond, and Abner Louima in New York called in Sharpton from the start--he knows how to get them the legal help they need...and how to keep their cases from getting shoved under the rug. It's amazing--Sharpton has done a lot of good up here in representing black citizens and helping them fight the system, but people figure the Tawana Brawley mess negates every single person he's helped to find justice. And what's ironic is that MLK Jr got the exact same "he's a race-baiter agitator" crap when he came along--but those people who hate Sharpton just love them some MLK Jr. Guess that's because the latter is safely dead.
Yea. I've made it my business to "know the deal," but thanks for the recap. I have a lot of respect for many of the names you (and I) mentioned. Sharpton isn't one of those, and I can't seriously believe you just compared him to MLK. I guess I'm just a closet racist who likes his historical black heroes safely dead.
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Sometimes Rhetorical Questions Need Answers Too
[Read the article: Real inconvenient truths]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Every time you publish Paglia, I'll write in to say how empty and her obnoxious her columns are, and 90% of letter writers will agree with me. Is that really what you want, Salon?
Yes.
You got my clicks, but you lost my subscription revenue last month, exactly because of crap like this [...]
You realize Salon makes more off of advertising ("clicks") than subscriptions, right?
[...] and if you keep doing this you'll lose my clicks, too.
Sure you will.
I'm with Poco. I don't agree with everything Camille writes--I frequently call bullshit on what she does--but the hyperbolic invective levied against her in the letter section continues to astound me. Talk about your sacred cows. So let me get this straight. The Right is bad because it strangles internal dissent, promotes ideological groupthink, and throws anyone on the sword who challenges the party line.
Hello, kettle. This is pot. You are sooooo black.