Letters to the Editor
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spot on
suntzu5
you are spot on
(everyone else - go one page back and look for 'The Death of free Speech...'
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@JW Walker...
>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.<
Um, the "PC onslaught" is a whiny conservative fantasy made up to denigrate white people not being able to freely insult anyone not like them. Those who complain how it threatens their "free speech" are really whining that it's a shame they can't call black folks the n-word without people calling them out.
>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?<
There's no insinuation about that. Whenever one deals with racists (or folks who like to play patronizing and disingenuous about race), invariably said folks don't know any black folks...or know them superficially at best.
>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.<
But you want to ignore that whites buy most of it and let white folks totally off the hook for attitudes like this getting spread. Nice try, but....
>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.<
Which still does _not_ excuse what Imus said or the real reason he said it.
>Yea. I've made it my business to "know the deal," but thanks for the recap.<
Funny, you sounded as if you thought black folks didn't have any other major voices except Sharpton and Jackson. That's a common mistake with folks who prefer to see black folks as easily-led and undereducated.
>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 was pointing out why Sharpton has the respect he does. For you who have trouble reading, he is an activist who helps people without power navigate the system and helps get publicity about injustices that would normally get swept under the rug. Relatedly, it's amazing that there are similar white fixers and power-brokers out there who consistently commit unethical deeds, but they are praised solely in terms of the "good" they do. Sharpton makes one mistake, and people like you want to use that to marginalize and discredit him forever. It must be scary as hell to see someone who knows how to work the game as well as those power-brokers you regard as such great men, eh?
>I guess I'm just a closet racist who likes his historical black heroes safely dead.<
Given your patronizing, disrespectful tone and general "it's every black person's fault but Imus'" attitude, you've got _some_ kind of problem, for sure...
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More on All That
Um, the "PC onslaught" is a whiny conservative fantasy made up to denigrate white people not being able to freely insult anyone not like them. Those who complain how it threatens their "free speech" are really whining that it's a shame they can't call black folks the n-word without people calling them out.
Before we go any further, I think it's useful for me to tell you what I believe constitute racism and politically incorrect speech and why.
I imagine by your previous comments that you'll disagree, and that's fine. I'm not proselytizing or gunning for converts. What I'd like to do is give you a framework for my own comments and beliefs so you might dispense with the not-so-subtle suggestions that I or anyone who doesn't swallow whole your views on race and political correctness are all closeted nigger hating rich white men.
If one feels his or her race is superior to another race by virtue of his or her skin color, that's racist. If one's actions favor a group of people over another based on skin color, that's racist.
I think some people make a common error of confusing race with culture. It's alright to criticize another culture as long as one is open to criticism of one's own. Cultural myopia (i.e., ethnocentrism) isn't exactly racism, but the ill effects can be just as damaging.
I've seen real racism. It's a belief system. It's systemic. It has awful, detrimental results beyond merely offending someone. There is no Constitutional right not to be offended. In fact, you have a Constitutionally protected right to be a total asshole. It's called the First Amendment. Others have an equally protected right to call you out for being an asshole. That's how it goes in a free society. Political Correctness says basically, No you don't have this right. You don't have a right to use words that may offend another person, regardless of your intent or the context of your remarks. And therein lies a crucial distinction for me. Racism requires a certain intent. It requires a specific meaning. Sometimes it's difficult to divine if racist intent exists or not. Political Correctness in relation to race basically assumes anything that can be construed as remotely offensive contains racist intent, and that's quite simply bullshit. Sometimes people choose their words poorly. Sometimes they stereotype. Stereotyping isn't racism. It may reflect a gross ignorance on the part of the person doing the stereotyping, but it isn't de facto racism. Indeed, some stereotypes are useful to social critique. I think of the great tragedies of late was Dave Chappelle canceling his show. The man brilliantly skewed racial stereotypes by employing racial stereotypes. Comedians do it all the time. Social change is often offensive. Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Dave Chappelle... none of these guys would've been effective if they went around worrying about what other people thought. It's a shame Chappelle succumbed.
But you want to ignore that whites buy most of it and let white folks totally off the hook for attitudes like this getting spread. Nice try, but....
Who produces the music? Who composes it? To whom are they speaking? Do rap and r&b artists sit around writing songs to suburban white kids? The reason whites buy most of it is that, in terms of commercial power, they have overwhelming numerical superiority. I think a more interesting question is why do whites buy it? Probably for the same reasons white kids in the fifties bought into the blues. At one time, it was edgy and rebellious, the music/beats appealed to them. It entertained them while simultaneously pissing off their parents. They romanticized it and glorified it, and they revered the artists who created it as if they were gods.
Which still does _not_ excuse what Imus said or the real reason he said it.
Imus said what he said because he's paid to be irreverent and controversial. That's pretty much it. You can psychoanalyze him, read into his words whatever you want, call for a boycott, call for a firing, stand on a soapbox and scream until your lungs explode. That won't much change the basic fact that he's paid to offend and plenty of people pay to listen, and that's their right.
Funny, you sounded as if you thought black folks didn't have any other major voices except Sharpton and Jackson. That's a common mistake with folks who prefer to see black folks as easily-led and undereducated.
I wish you'd quit projecting your pre-fab ideas of "white folk" onto what I write. It's terribly annoying not to have someone take what you write or say at face value. The letter writer I was replying to specifically referenced Sharpton, so my reply specifically referenced Sharpton. I see people of all colors and ethnicities as easily-led and undereducated. That has nothing to do with race. I find it incredible that you would criticize me for praising a person for their intellectual interests.
I know you feel very clever for reading between the lines, but all you're doing is projecting into my words prejudices and assumptions that don't exist.
Sharpton makes one mistake, and people like you want to use that to marginalize and discredit him forever.
This is about integrity. Anyone who makes the "mistakes" Sharpton has made loses all credibility in my book, regardless of what race they are. Pick a prominent white "power broker" of comparable stature and test me.
It must be scary as hell to see someone who knows how to work the game as well as those power-brokers you regard as such great men, eh?
How the fuck would you know whom I regard as great? Certainly not because you've asked me, you presumptuous idiot.