So last night, I watched Paul Mooney's "Analyzing White America" and was moved afterward to conduct a search regarding his sexuality (I know, I know). Somehow, I stumbled upon this Dr. Phil episode on the N word and absolutely needed to watch it. It is about forty minutes long (roughly 10 minutes per video).
As a person who has had several conversations about this word and its meaning, usage, and history and who is still finalizing her exact opinion on it, I was strongly impacted by the views expressed in this episode. Accordingly, I think you should take some time and watch it, especially since I have made it so easy for you...here:
Key idiot in this segment: which ever person stated that "only dark skinned African Americans have issues with the N word"
Also, I am so over Jesse Jackson. He has lost legitimacy in my world, and his Obama comments and his N word usage are not the only reasons why.
Okay now I was cool with Michael Graham until this segment. Institutionalized racism is not a problem in America? Using a quota system as a legitimate example of equal rights across ethnicities? C'mon!
Check Mooney's comments though: "shut up" lol...his input definitely begins to go downhill here.
Key idiot in this segment: Becky, audience member in the pink shirt from the video.
Also, unfortunately, Paul Mooney lost a lot of his credibility in this segment, in the audience members' opinions as well as in mine.
My heroes throughout this episode:
-Al Sharpton
-Hill Harper (ps. OMG he writes? This episode made him a lot hotter in my book)
-Oh and of course, Dr. Phil
In case you missed it, in the episode from left to right on the stage are:
Michael Graham- conservative radio talk show host
Sheryl Underwood- comedian
Paul Mooney- comedian and writer
Hill Harper- actor and writer
(on the screen) Al Sharpton- Baptist minister, social justice activist, radio talk show host.
Ummmm.... I definitely do NOT think this was a legitimate discussion on the N word. I mean 2 comedians a "conservative" talk show host, Al Sharpton & Hill Harper? Sowwy, doesn't cut it. The show was obviously lop sided to one point of view from the get go. They should have had Michael Eric Dyson, Condoleeza Rice (think i spelled that right), Rush Limbaugh, Cornell West, and Hill Harper now then we might have a legitimate discussion. I mean some more credible opinions by people who've put significant thought into the issue not comedians and public entertainers (though their opinion is valid). In my experience, older black people have the most cognitive dissonance when it comes to using the word. Saying how horrible it is but using it so flagrantly and so negatively behind close doors. As generations have gone on, you can see through talking to black people about the word and observing how they use it the terms is much broader and all encompassing. The N word will never die, even if all the black people in the world were to stop using it today (which won't happen, now or ever)it would only give the word THAT much more power when its used by people who really use it to denigrate blacks. I've gotta give props to Dr. Phil for at least trying to have the discussion though. Seriously though... how did you think this was gonna end? I mean... its Paul Mooney! lol
ReplyDeletethey should have had Louis Farrakhan on there 2 lol
ReplyDeletelol...i agree and disagree:
ReplyDelete1. two comedians, a conservative talk show host, and an actor are not what one may consider sufficiently qualified to present credible points on such a controversial, emotionally charged, and important issue. and as for al sharpton, i will admit that his being summoned every there is a racial issue is def. getting old. however, in this case, my qualifications for legitimacy were based on the contents of the discussion, not those discussing, per say. in this episode, several points were made that i often struggle with and every kind of person that i have ever spoken with on this issue was represented (the ignorant blacks and non-blacks as well the educated blacks and non-blacks). as you pointed out, the opinions were valid, regardless of ethnicity education background. i found the convo to be legit in that i appreciated what was said and how it was presented, because i could both relate and learn from the discussion.
2. clearly, someone got the panel members together in the green room and told them that during the discussion, they should assert something to the effect of: the n word is poisoned by its history, which makes it worse than bitch and cracker, so people should not say it. and the only advocates for the word were those who appeared less important as audience members. On the other hand, there were numerous members in the audience who were clearly more educated than some of the panel members on the stage, and who also spoke in favor of the n word usage. furthermore, the majority of the panel members may have appeared to be united in their beliefs about race and language, but it does not take much to gather that paul mooney and hill harper, for instance, were only slightly in agreeance...
3. it is obviously not right for a person to say one thing and do another (one reason why i do not appreciate jesse jackson as a person). however, this should not be used a premise when asserting that the n word should be used. that is like saying, i am not going to church because those church people are hypocrites. in these cases, it is not about the people; it is the principal of the matter.
ReplyDeletewith that (typed), i cannot say that no one should use the word, nor can i say that everyone should be able to use the word w/o anyone else getting upset. what i will say is that i do not use the word because, as it stands today, the word nigga/er is offensive to the overwhelming majority of brown people in america. offensive terms are not a part of my vocabulary, especially when they are based on ethnicity, class, sexuality, sex, and gender. only to a certain extent do we have power over the meaning and context of words. there are some words that mean what they mean and seem how they seem, no matter how much we try to mold them, because there will always be someone out there who is offended by the word. so just as the n word will never leave the english language, it will never stop offending people. who are you to say that we should just stop being offended and let everyone say it? who am i to say that we should just stop offending people and not let anyone say it? together, these last two questions have been my dilemma with the n word.
ps. i honestly did not even know how absurd mooney could get until i watched this...that "analyzing white america" film was one of the first glimpses i got of his comedy, and it was so old i didnt think i could use it as an accurate representation of him. but, besides his n-word usage, i guess i was wrong...lol
Okay okay... fair enough lol. The way I see it though the arguments brought up here are the same ones I always hear. I remember on "The View" they had a similar discussion and I actually thought it was a better discussion than this one... at least i think. Its been a while since i've seen it so i hesitate to say that, maybe i should revisit it. You know I'm a big hip hop head and so I've got to link you to what the KRS-ONE (arguably the father of modern hip hop, and one of the most uniquely brilliant MC's to ever grace the mic) says about the word.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2FxZfPRrAU