Monday, December 04, 2006
Michael Richards and the Word "Nigger"
Cecile and Celeste on "More Talk Radio" this morning on KBOO hosted a conversation about Michael Richards calling a heckler "NIGGER" and joking about lynching him. I just watched the video, though very blurry on this computer, one could hear his ferocity and racism as clear as a bell.
It was brought up by a caller, a white guy of course, that people like Chris Rock call white people "cracker" so why can't white people call blacks nigger? Well, there is an important difference in these uses of racial epithets in my opinion, so let's open this up to discussion.
I am of a darky race myself which has been referred to as: Red Nigger, Prarie Nigger, Blanket Ass, Redskin, Chief, Squaw, etc. We continue to have to put up with SERIOUS institutionalized racism in this nation. Today, at the airport I visited a store that was selling a feather bonnet in a Western style store. If I watched sports, I'd face it most everyday. Just the shit I get walking down the street is too much.
Let's take a quick look at the dynamics of society concrerning blacks and whites. When whites use the word "nigger," it is from a space where the word historically was used by them as a derogatory term in order to dehumanize blacks and exercise white dominance through the use of force which also comes in the form of words. When a white man calls a black man "nigger," in general it is a term used to exercise the mainstream white dominance and privilege over a race they consider less than the white race. In my opinion, when a black person calls another black person "nigger" or "nigga" it is a reclaiming of the word that was used as a tool of the oppressor.
When a black person calls a white person "cracker" or "peckerwood," it is done so in self-defense. Those words used by a black person do not carry the horrific force that a white using the word "nigger" on a black has. Think about it. There is a significant unbalance. In otherwords, "look how it feels, whitey." But whitey will never feel it like a black person will feel the word "nigger." Dominance, force, brutality, genocide, slavery, etc., were not excercised by black people in general against the whites. The black race has had to defend themselves from the white folks. Same in Indian Country. We Indians spend every fucking day trying to defend ourselves from Whitey, the dominator culture.
When Michael Richards calls a black man "nigger," he does so from WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE which exercised much cruelty over the black race. Michael uses the word to excercise white mainstream dominance. When Chris Rock uses the word "cracker" to describe whitey, he does so from a place of self-defense. Defending his right to be who he is as a black man in a white dominated society. It's a "get your boot off of our fucking necks, whitey!" statement. Folks, racism is still dominant in this society.
I was told by a friend, a black woman from Chicago, that I hate whitey more than any black person she has ever met. I am a racist, but I don't "hate" whitey, I hate the fact that a race of people exercises dominance over my people in order to steal EVERYTHING from us. When I tell white folks I want everything back, they start talking deportation. There is only a minute real chance that we Indians will get everything back that is RIGHTFULLY ours and stolen through the various acts of genocide. Do those white folks ever ask why? What happened to my people? FUCK NO! They don't care. They worry about the UNREALISTIC loss of their personal privilege in a nation that has stolen everything from us Red Niggers by use of force and horrific genocide and cruelty. THAT...my friends, is what we need to deal with. How about doing what's right?
And don't think I hate white people. Some of my best friends are white.
...hahahahaha...
It was brought up by a caller, a white guy of course, that people like Chris Rock call white people "cracker" so why can't white people call blacks nigger? Well, there is an important difference in these uses of racial epithets in my opinion, so let's open this up to discussion.
I am of a darky race myself which has been referred to as: Red Nigger, Prarie Nigger, Blanket Ass, Redskin, Chief, Squaw, etc. We continue to have to put up with SERIOUS institutionalized racism in this nation. Today, at the airport I visited a store that was selling a feather bonnet in a Western style store. If I watched sports, I'd face it most everyday. Just the shit I get walking down the street is too much.
Let's take a quick look at the dynamics of society concrerning blacks and whites. When whites use the word "nigger," it is from a space where the word historically was used by them as a derogatory term in order to dehumanize blacks and exercise white dominance through the use of force which also comes in the form of words. When a white man calls a black man "nigger," in general it is a term used to exercise the mainstream white dominance and privilege over a race they consider less than the white race. In my opinion, when a black person calls another black person "nigger" or "nigga" it is a reclaiming of the word that was used as a tool of the oppressor.
When a black person calls a white person "cracker" or "peckerwood," it is done so in self-defense. Those words used by a black person do not carry the horrific force that a white using the word "nigger" on a black has. Think about it. There is a significant unbalance. In otherwords, "look how it feels, whitey." But whitey will never feel it like a black person will feel the word "nigger." Dominance, force, brutality, genocide, slavery, etc., were not excercised by black people in general against the whites. The black race has had to defend themselves from the white folks. Same in Indian Country. We Indians spend every fucking day trying to defend ourselves from Whitey, the dominator culture.
When Michael Richards calls a black man "nigger," he does so from WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE which exercised much cruelty over the black race. Michael uses the word to excercise white mainstream dominance. When Chris Rock uses the word "cracker" to describe whitey, he does so from a place of self-defense. Defending his right to be who he is as a black man in a white dominated society. It's a "get your boot off of our fucking necks, whitey!" statement. Folks, racism is still dominant in this society.
I was told by a friend, a black woman from Chicago, that I hate whitey more than any black person she has ever met. I am a racist, but I don't "hate" whitey, I hate the fact that a race of people exercises dominance over my people in order to steal EVERYTHING from us. When I tell white folks I want everything back, they start talking deportation. There is only a minute real chance that we Indians will get everything back that is RIGHTFULLY ours and stolen through the various acts of genocide. Do those white folks ever ask why? What happened to my people? FUCK NO! They don't care. They worry about the UNREALISTIC loss of their personal privilege in a nation that has stolen everything from us Red Niggers by use of force and horrific genocide and cruelty. THAT...my friends, is what we need to deal with. How about doing what's right?
And don't think I hate white people. Some of my best friends are white.
...hahahahaha...
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