sozobe wrote:
I can see more of a case for blacks using it -- it's a case Chris Rock has made many times, most recently on Oprah I think. A reclaiming/ disempowering sort of thing.
I hate to say it - because I love Chris Rock - I think he's just about one of the most observant, astute people on the planet - and funny as hell to boot - but I think he's being disingenuous if he's advocating the use of this word. Maybe because he's taken heat for using it himself, and he's a conscientious and thinking man so he feels obligated to defend his actions by portraying them as calculated - which is something we've all probably done at one point or another.
But I'll tell you why I think it's an empty defense. I think it's in
Bring the Pain or its sequel that he does a bit about the fact that there are "n****s and there are normal black folks. Then he describes the behavior of "n*****'s. And the behavior he's describing has nothing to do with the fact they're black - it has everything to do with the fact that they're just trifling people - so by his description - which I believe- a person of any race could act like a n****, which I totally buy.
But sadly our society hasn't gotten to the point where it can make that discernment- they don't look at whites as n***s, they don't look at any other race but blacks as n***s- and the majority of us are just not mature enough to handle it as Chris Rock wants it to be handled. And I think he knows that - or maybe he's just risen to the point where people of all races kiss his ass - so he doesn't remember what it feels like to be separated out and treated like a "n***.
There's also the issue of internalized oppression, which affects a lot of these young men (mostly), who are using this term for themselves. It's like I told my students who tried to use this term in my classroom. "If you want to empower yourself, call yourself kings or something - at least around me- I can't stand to hear you degrade and demean yourselves by negating everything except one single essence of your being by applying that label to define who you are. Too many other people are more than willing to do that to you- don't do it to yourselves." And they respected me enough to never say that word in my presence because I asked them not to. I just don't agree that desensitizing our children to this nastiness, like we've desensitized them to violence, and just about every other negative aspect of our culture can be positive or productive.
Chris Rock has a little daughter. Maybe the first time someone who doesn't know who her father is calls her a n*** or treats her as such, he'll sing another tune. And maybe we'll hear about it - because I think he's a big enough man to admit his mistakes.
*And Snood - I agree that whites don't like to be told what they can and can't do - and I agree we feel entitled - I know anytime I've been subjected to discrimination, I've been absolutely shocked, while I've watched blacks deal with it as just another part of their day, but truthfully, at this point, that's the stance of every American - "don't tell
me what I can and can't do" - it aint just whites anymore who get rankled by directives.
The issue is more about who we
think we are - the fact that I'm white is not an important part of my own view of myself (although I know it has made my life easier in so many ways) because it's never been a cause of worry or pain. It's not a negative issue, in fact, quite the opposite.
I think minority populations are much more protective (and proud- by the way) of their racial heritage because it has historically been made a negative issue by the majority- they're
never allowed to forget what race they are and I think they're tired of having who they are explained and defined by whites, so they don't even want the
words to describe who they are co-opted by whites who have no idea what it means to be them.
And I think Chris Rock is right- whites in the US are used to making the rules and telling everyone else who they are and where they belong on the food chain that determines what they can and can't do, so they get pissed when they can't anymore because minority populations have started making decisions for themselves.
Why else would there be so much discussion about whites even wanting to use what they know is a historically disgusting and degrading term? To me it's just another example of "us vs. them - if they can do it, then why can't we?" When I get beyond the silly juvenile nature of the whole thing - it's truly saddening to me. It's just one more example of how we'll use any issue to keep ourselves on different sides of the fence- instead of trying to understand where the other people might be coming from.
Anyway - that's how I see the whole issue (after lots of thought and discussion with folks who use the term for themselves).
