A Nation of Cowards?

In honor of the unjustified hoopla surrounding Chris Matthews' innocent comment, I give you an old blog on a similar theme, originally released on February 18th, 2009.

Eric Holder, our nation’s first black Attorney General, has called us out. In a speech given to Justice Department employees, he has stated that, in matters of race, we are “essentially a nation of cowards,” and that we should start discussing these matters, however difficult, more openly and honestly. Well! To quote Yosemite Sam, “Thems fightin’ words!”
I’m not saying I disagree. I agree completely. But, whether you think I’m tactless for saying it or not, it’s a lot easier for a black man to make that statement than it is for a white man. You see, if an African American wants to talk about race, he can just talk about his personal experiences with racism, oppression and the like; he’s bound to have some. But white people have no real experience in this area. We would be speaking from an inherently unknowledgeable position, which means we’re more likely to make a misstep. And a misstep for a caucasian on this subject could mean the loss of a job or a friend. Thus, even those of us who consider ourselves relatively enlightened on the subject of race tend to avoid it like the plague.
But screw it. There’s something that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while now, and this provides the perfect opportunity. I may offend some people, but please understand that no offense is meant. I’m simply calling it like I see it.

I want to talk about the word “nigger.” Personally, I hate it. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another word in the English language that I find more vile and offensive, and I’m white, so I understand how it must make an African American feel. But that’s what confuses me. If blacks find it so offensive, why the hell do they use it so often?
I understand that blacks pretty much never say “nigger.” That word is left to toothless Klan members and non-blacks that really, really want to piss off an African American. Instead, blacks use the variation, “nigga.” It might seem like a small difference, but it’s always been an important distinction to me.
I know that some people are of the opinion that using the word lessens its power, but I don’t buy it. A white guy won’t get his ass kicked any less for using the term in front of a black guy, and the black man won’t be any less offended, no matter how much he might use it himself.
If there’s going to be a distinction between “nigger” and “nigga” among blacks, then I believe that “nigga” should be fair for all to use. It’s all a matter of the intent, and the intent is usually plain as day. For example, I love hip-hop music, which is replete with the use of “nigga.” Hell, in his song “Put It Down,” Redman ends almost every line with “nigga.” If I were singing along with the song it’d be pretty damn obvious that I meant no offense, but I’d still get a serious beat down if I got caught doing so. That’s crap.
I hate double standards, and this is a big one in our culture. The black people in the audience might be rolling their eyes, thinking “Poor little cracker. A double standard that goes our way for once.” I understand how one might be inclined to feel this way. But, as the cliché goes, two wrongs don’t make a right. I hate all double standards, whether they are detrimental or favorable to me, because they are inherently wrong. End of story.
To put it bluntly, I think African Americans have a choice to make. They should either be a little more understanding when us honkies use the less offensive variation (I promise that there are plenty of us capable of making the distinction), or they should stop using the word themselves. If blacks really want “nigger” to go away, then they need to stop peppering their speech with “nigga.”
The use of the word, even a variation, perpetuates it because, whether you like it or not, black culture is increasingly American culture. White kids grow up listening to hip-hop and R&B, watching Friday and How High, dating blacks, and saying “Nigga, please!” when someone says something outrageous. They hear “nigga” on a daily basis, and many fail to understand that “nigga” coming from the mouth of a white kid still feels like “nigger” to an African American.
(I can personally attest to this. I’m from a small town in the mountains where there are essentially zero African Americans. I went away to college and one day found myself in a room with a bunch of more savvy city kids, including a black guy. I can’t remember what the exact circumstances were, but I ended up innocently quoting a line from Pulp Fiction that applied to the current situation: “Chill them niggas out.” Crickets, man. I didn’t get my ass handed to me, prob’ly on account o’ my country ways, but it was the first and last time I said “nigga” in front of a black guy.)
Another key to getting rid of this word is to ignore it. Remember what your parents used to say when your little brother was bugging you? “Just ignore him. He’ll get tired of it and move on to something else.” If you want “nigger” to go away, then stop reacting to it. I realize that this is easier said than done, but if the ignorant morons who use it see that it no longer has the desired effect, they’ll stop using it. It might take a while, but it will happen.
Richard Pryor, upon his return from a trip to Africa, stated how wonderful it was when he realized that there were no niggers there. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that there weren’t black people in Africa; he simply meant that since no one said “nigger,” there weren’t any. He said that this had inspired him to never use the word again, and he encouraged everyone else to do the same. As you can tell, the majority decided not to take him up on the offer. Perhaps it’s time we reexamined it.
Do I think that's actually going to happen? Nigga, please!

The Bastard: Can We Just Enjoy a Movie, Please?

I have yet to see Avatar, but it looks like a visual masterpiece, if not the most compelling intellectual fair. Whether I’ve seen it or not is immaterial; I can’t help but get irked by some of the criticism I’ve heard about this movie.
The first ridiculous bit of whining that I’ve come across is that it’s a liberal anti-war movie. Say what? Whether you’re liberal or conservative, does anyone consider themselves pro-war? Think about that for a second. How much of an asshole would you have to be to complain that a movie has a message that denounces sentient beings killing one another? I think you’d have to fall into that exclusive club of nutjobs including Hitler and his Nazi cronies, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and the Manson Family to think, “This whiny, liberal anti-war message just pisses me off!” Regardless of one’s affiliations and affinities, I fail to see how a human being with an ounce of compassion can be pro-war. I can’t help but hope that there’s a special ring of Hell for people who get upset about a movie with an anti-war message. Maybe one where they have to endlessly navigate minefields in the nude while it rains glass and lemon juice.
The other bit of criticism I’ve heard is that the movie is racist. These people are upset because a white man comes to the planet and acts as the savior of the naïve colored natives. Really? Really?! Why does race even enter into this equation? Would this same bit of idiocy be brought up if the main character was black, Asian, or Latino? I doubt it. To these people I say, “Look to your left. Remove chip from shoulder. Look to right. Repeat.”
This has nothing to do with the color of the main character’s skin. Nothing. Sure, you can see it that way if you’d like, but I can also see boobies in a Rorschach test if I really want to. This is the reality of the movie: a man from a technologically advanced civilization infiltrates a technologically primitive civilization, learns to appreciate their way of life, sees the error of his people’s ways, and does his best to save the natives. What matters is that he has knowledge that the blue people don’t. Without that knowledge, they stand little chance of prevailing, not because they are inferior, but because their knowledge is inferior. It’s a bit tough to go from riding animals and hunting with arrows and spears to analyzing, duplicating, and using guns and mech suits. I’ll repeat this point one more time, for the feebs in the back talking on their cell phones: the main character is able to save a race of technologically naïve natives because of his knowledge, not his skin color.
I’ve learned something recently, and it’s a lesson that took me ten years of depression to figure out: you see what you want to see. If you look at the world and want to see racism, you’re going to see it. The same goes for sexism, ageism, and antidisestablishmentarianism. Conversely, if you want to see kindness, altruism, and love, you’ll find that too. With either view you’re going to end up being wrong some of the time and end up with false positives (to borrow a medical term). For example, if you choose to take the former path, you’ll see racism that isn’t there, but if you choose the latter path, you may see kindness where there isn’t any. Given the choice (and I assure you that it is a choice), I’ll take the latter, thank you very much.
I’m tired of focusing on the negativity in the world. As a depressive, I understand that it can be hard to change the way in which one views the world. But it can be done, if imperfectly. So can we all please just sit down, shut the hell up, and allow ourselves to be entertained by a goddam movie?!