“Everyone” is an artist..”

I can’t say I pay too much attention to tabloid drama or American race politics, since leaving my parents house in America. However recent events related comedian Michael richards’s show (Kramer from friends) have held me transfixed.

I’ve always been a little confused on my feelings of the connotation of the n word. Even the phrasing the “n word” leaves me thinking its more than a little long winded. I didn’t grow up in a culture ( and by that I’m saying immediate culture as in my parents and friends) where the n word was ever ever used . if I ever heard it growing up (unless on television or in hiphop) it was a racial slur used by a stranger who wasn’t very happy that me and my friends were in their store, neighborhood or state. And I’ve had a love affair with hip hop for as long as I can remember, and with the African American comedy scene, where the n word was bandied about in great volume and with great flair. And I was always ok with that.

And yet when challenged on why a black person can say “nigga” and for it to be ok, while a person of any other ethnicity can say “nigger” and for it to be horrifically racist, was never something I could fully back up. It always bothered me. As far as sexuality slurs were concerned, I was a quick adopter of the word dyke, as I believed the politics that by claiming the word I robbed it of its power. And I genuinely feel that is true. If I guy calls me a lesbian on the street and he means it to be nasty it is no less hurtful than the word dyke. But the offense comes with the tone and the intent. And I am proud to say that some of the time getting the word dyke screams at me doesn’t hit so hard, as the word itself is not hurtful to me.

But back to the language of race. It wasn’t so much that when I saw the Michael Richards video clips (in the world we live in his massive blunder was instantly captured on a mobile phone, and said video streamed worldwide on the internet in less than a day) that I was shocked that he could be racist, or hurt by hearing his racial tirade. I guess more than anything I was dismayed that someone who seemed so part of a certain open culture (entertainment, new york,, liberal) could have something so vile inside of him and even worse display it so blatantly, in a public context, to something that was so out of proportion to his reaction. ( he was told he was not funny, I know that as a comedian doing live stand up this is the last thing that you want to hear, but from what contacts I’ve had who have worked in that scene, a comedian who cant take being heckled is like a fish who can’t deal with the water)

note: for me the most disturbing thing about the apology, was how the david letterman show audience laughed… why the f*** were they laughing??? ultimately its the kind of laughter that stems from nervousness, but still it is just as inapropiate as what michael kramer did in the first place.. but i digress..

When many of my european friends saw the film crash,

the first question many of them asked was “is America really like this??” and yes the film intensifies the issue, and offers many fairly implausible connections between characters to make it further, but in terms of its portrayal of race always being potentially underneath the surface, it is true for a large part of the nation. In truth I would say that Europe can’t play so innocent either. If we deal with it less here it is not only because of a different history, it is because there are far less minorities in this part of the world and far less integration (in comparison to America) and maybe also because we are caught up more with different cultural issues like class and nationalism.

Watching the Michael Richards clip and subsequent apology is clearly footage of a man going through a serious nervous breakdown. To react in the way he did to a heckler he must have already had serious and concerns and doubts about his career. More worryingly the thing he drew out himself to fight back was so dark that it not only shocked  him, but through his already shaky career into a free fall that he had to have been too far gone to consider before saying. The scary thing about these kind of racist reactions is that they show that the history of race relations and prejudice is something so deep within our culture and deep within so many that they can rear their head even when we think we are getting beyond it.

So what of the n word then? Is it ok as long as black people themselves are saying it? Comedians like chris rock

use it with the specific meaning of a black person who is acting particularly ignorant. Some hip hop artists and writers use it to convey a vernacular. A specific dialect they are invoking to give a sense of place, a culture , a community. That almost sits right with me but then something isn’t quite right. I think what crystalised it for me is listening to the following.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6560171

Hearing krs 1 explain the ins and out of when and why the n word is ok struck me as convoluted. I was also inspired to hear how after Richard pryor had returned from Africa he had a change of heart on using it, deciding to ban its use from its routines. And then I think at the end of the day if we no longer want this word used casually (in a potentially racist way) or carelessly or defiantly. If we don’t want the word used against black people, shouldn’t we as black people be making and effort to limit its use in the world at all? And if so isn’t the strongest starting place with us? With all the hip hop artists, comedians, filmmakers and writers that let it fly so freely? I’m not going to stop listening to those who use it, as I like their music and films and sense of humour…

but I’m starting to give it some serious thought…

I can’t say I pay too much attention to tabloid drama or American race politics, since leaving my parents house in America. However recent events related comedian Michael richards’s show (Kramer from friends) have held me transfixed.

I’ve always been a little confused on my feelings of the connotation of the n word. Even the phrasing the “n word” leaves me thinking its more than a little long winded. I didn’t grow up in a culture ( and by that I’m saying immediate culture as in my parents and friends) where the n word was ever ever used . if I ever heard it growing up (unless on television or in hiphop) it was a racial slur used by a stranger who wasn’t very happy that me and my friends were in their store, neighborhood or state. And I’ve had a love affair with hip hop for as long as I can remember, and with the African American comedy scene, where the n word was bandied about in great volume and with great flair. And I was always ok with that.

And yet when challenged on why a black person can say “nigga” and for it to be ok, while a person of any other ethnicity can say “nigger” and for it to be horrifically racist, was never something I could fully back up. It always bothered me. As far as sexuality slurs were concerned, I was a quick adopter of the word dyke, as I believed the politics that by claiming the word I robbed it of its power. And I genuinely feel that is true. If I guy calls me a lesbian on the street and he means it to be nasty it is no less hurtful than the word dyke. But the offense comes with the tone and the intent. And I am proud to say that some of the time getting the word dyke screams at me doesn’t hit so hard, as the word itself is not hurtful to me.

But back to the language of race. It wasn’t so much that when I saw the Michael Richards video clips (in the world we live in his massive blunder was instantly captured on a mobile phone, and said video streamed worldwide on the internet in less than a day) that I was shocked that he could be racist, or hurt by hearing his racial tirade. I guess more than anything I was dismayed that someone who seemed so part of a certain open culture (entertainment, new york,, liberal) could have something so vile inside of him and even worse display it so blatantly, in a public context, to something that was so out of proportion to his reaction. ( he was told he was not funny, I know that as a comedian doing live stand up this is the last thing that you want to hear, but from what contacts I’ve had who have worked in that scene, a comedian who cant take being heckled is like a fish who can’t deal with the water)

note: for me the most disturbing thing about the apology, was how the david letterman show audience laughed… why the f*** were they laughing??? ultimately its the kind of laughter that stems from nervousness, but still it is just as inapropiate as what michael kramer did in the first place.. but i digress..

When many of my european friends saw the film crash,

the first question many of them asked was “is America really like this??” and yes the film intensifies the issue, and offers many fairly implausible connections between characters to make it further, but in terms of its portrayal of race always being potentially underneath the surface, it is true for a large part of the nation. In truth I would say that Europe can’t play so innocent either. If we deal with it less here it is not only because of a different history, it is because there are far less minorities in this part of the world and far less integration (in comparison to America) and maybe also because we are caught up more with different cultural issues like class and nationalism.

Watching the Michael Richards clip and subsequent apology is clearly footage of a man going through a serious nervous breakdown. To react in the way he did to a heckler he must have already had serious and concerns and doubts about his career. More worryingly the thing he drew out himself to fight back was so dark that it not only shocked  him, but through his already shaky career into a free fall that he had to have been too far gone to consider before saying. The scary thing about these kind of racist reactions is that they show that the history of race relations and prejudice is something so deep within our culture and deep within so many that they can rear their head even when we think we are getting beyond it.

So what of the n word then? Is it ok as long as black people themselves are saying it? Comedians like chris rock

use it with the specific meaning of a black person who is acting particularly ignorant. Some hip hop artists and writers use it to convey a vernacular. A specific dialect they are invoking to give a sense of place, a culture , a community. That almost sits right with me but then something isn’t quite right. I think what crystalised it for me is listening to the following.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6560171

Hearing krs 1 explain the ins and out of when and why the n word is ok struck me as convoluted. I was also inspired to hear how after Richard pryor had returned from Africa he had a change of heart on using it, deciding to ban its use from its routines. And then I think at the end of the day if we no longer want this word used casually (in a potentially racist way) or carelessly or defiantly. If we don’t want the word used against black people, shouldn’t we as black people be making and effort to limit its use in the world at all? And if so isn’t the strongest starting place with us? With all the hip hop artists, comedians, filmmakers and writers that let it fly so freely? I’m not going to stop listening to those who use it, as I like their music and films and sense of humour…

but I’m starting to give it some serious thought…