Last week we saw the final White House Correspondents Dinner—or “Nerd Prom” as some refer to it—for the last year of the Obama presidency. Following that gala event, many couches have been fainted upon (by those who remain irony and humor-challenged) over the controversial code-switched last statement—and particularly the last word used by host Larry Wilmore in relation to the very first African-American president.
When I was a kid, I lived in a country where people couldn’t accept a black quarterback. Now think about that. A black man was thought by his mere color not good enough to lead a football team — and now, to live in your time, Mr. President, when a black man can lead the entire free world.
Words alone do me no justice. So, Mr. President, if i’m going to keep it 100: Yo Barry, you did it, my niggah.
In America today, we actually have far greater problems than this one. We have the challenges of a dramatically changing climate, growing wage gaps, actual discrimination and bigotry in our school bathrooms and police stations, and public water systems poisoned with lead. But it is this, this, that much of the media has decided to drop their collective jaws over?
Of course it is.
It is important to note first of all that despite claims to the contrary, Mr. WIlmore did. not. call. the. president a “nigger.” He used what is in a fact a different word, with a different spelling and different meaning. You can tell because if you were to choose a substitute word and keep Wilmore’s clear context, meaning, and affection for the president—not to mention the president’s own welcoming response—it clearly was not used as an insult or attack.
The problem is that some are getting far too caught up in the historical context of the word they think he said, compared to what he actually said. People like Jonathan Capehart.
Now, if there are things white people should not say [ie. "CPT time”], then there are definitely things black people should not say. Let me be more specific. African Americans know there are things that should never be said outside the safe cultural confines of the barbershop, beauty shop, backyard barbecue or momma’s house. Nothing exemplifies this better than two of the last words of Larry Wilmore’s disaster of a nerd prom performance.
Capehart then proclaims that Wilmore actually said this.
“Yo, Barry, you did it, my nigger. You did it.”
...
Many say it to reclaim the ugliest word in the English language used to devalue their enslaved ancestors and subsequent generations. The NAACP may have held a public burial of the n-word nearly a decade ago. But it is exhumed daily by young people of all races who mindlessly hurl the insult seemingly without a care for its painful history.
Wilmore has specifically pointed out he didn’t say the N-word with an “E-R” at the end—and that was on purpose.
Capehart admits he knows what Wilmore meant, but besides misquoting him proclaims that what some people think he said, and how they feel about it historically, should be given as much weight as what he actually did say—and his obvious intent.
Sure, there were and are blacks who loved what Wilmore said. They think that by “keeping it 100,” a latter-day “keeping it real,” Wilmore expressed the undeniable pride African Americans have for Obama, the first lady and everything the first family means and represents to them. But the White House Correspondents Association dinner was neither Wilmore’s barbershop nor his momma’s house. Obama is president of the United States and should have been accorded the respect that comes with the office — especially by someone who considers himself family.
Over the past 20 to 30 years there has been an effort to defang the power of the N-word by using it ironically and reconstructing it contextually to mean quite literally the opposite of its original intent. Comedians use this technique quite often and you can best see current examples of it on another Comedy Central program, @Midnight staring host Chris Hardwick.
For example one of the responses to this week’s “Hash Tag Wars” segment was to reconstruct popular songs into a Star Wars theme, such as “Trap Queen Amidala” by Boba Fetty Wap and “Obi Wan is the Loneliest Number.”
In reconstructions like this, knowledge of the historical and cultural context is key to creating the irony of how it’s being reused, or repurposed for a different end. It also makes the joke go flat.
But it’s not just young people who have decided to do this. The history of black people using the N-word (hence the irony, which doesn’t really apply when non-whites use it) actually goes back well over a century with phrases like “nigger rich,” which is from the 19th century as documented in books such as Juba to Jive.
“Nigger Rich”
Describes a person that lives way beyond their means, and usually buys flashy items before paying their bills. Someone that is nigger rich is generally attracted to Flourescent Colored Vehicles - gold Chains and platinum "Grills" for their mouth.
"Dre is Nigger Rich - He works at KFC but owns a brand new Mercedes."
Today you could reconstruct that term to describe the wealth of Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Oprah, or Russell SImmons, and it would mean something completely different, something that couldn’t have been conceived of 100 years ago.
Man, if this IPO blows up, we gonna be like Oprah Rich!
It can be heavily debated whether the attempt to reconstruct “nigger” the pejorative into “niggah" the honorific has been successful at draining the power and negative connotations of the original word. In the end, it probably hasn’t. People can still use the N-word as a vicious verbal attack—yes, even by black people against other black people— and it can still sting and hurt with just as much pain as it may have 50 years ago.
So the attempt to “defang” the N-word has essentially failed. Even RIchard Pryor eventually came to this conclusion when he finally decided that he wasn’t gonna call anyone a “nigger,” because he realized on a trip to Africa that there really weren’t any.
Pryor: That’s just a word we use to describe our own wretchedness.
So yeah, there’s that.
The problem in the end is that even if you could ban or bury a word, you can’t really ban meanings. Ironic reconstruction is a two-way street and simply because someone doesn’t say “nigger,” as the president himself pointedly brought up not long ago, doesn’t mean that they aren’t actually saying the exact same thing as "nigger” implies. Or that by their actions, and selective lack of action, they aren’t creating situations that are far worse racially, regardless of what they admit or state verbally.
Larry Wilmore himself has brought this up, regarding how the word “thug” has been used recently in coverage of the riots in Baltimore—and is essentially the “new N-word.”
The talk show host discussed media coverage of the ongoing unrest in Baltimore, and he said news commentators had seemed to “fall in love” with using the word “thug” to describe demonstrators.
Wilmore aired a video montage of the word’s copious use during coverage of the Baltimore riots – including its use by the president.
“Et tu, Obama?” Wilmore said. “You know who wouldn’t have said that? ‘Choom Gang’ Barack.”
He agreed with Baltimore Councilman Carl Stokes, who told CNN’s Erin Burnett that commentators might as well just call the rioters “n****rs.”
And it wasn’t just that one time Wilmore pointed out how some of the same fainting figures in the media are often using all types of terms and phrases for black people that are far from flattering and continue to perpetuate simpleminded, negative stereotypes. So no, they don’t have to call you “nigger”—not anymore. There are many other words, from “thug” to “food stamp president.”
What we’ve learned recently is that the nation has quite a long distance to go on race issues. We can’t even communicate clearly with each other about it.
The bottom line is that getting all bunched up over the semi N-word is merely a shiny distraction that doesn’t do much to combat the structural racism in places like Baltimore or Flint, which continues to do far more damage than any single word can do.
How ‘bout we work on those issues rather than getting tripped up over interpretations of language, and stick the fainting couch out on the curb where it belongs?
Just sayin’.
Sunday, May 8, 2016 · 7:45:46 PM +00:00 · Frank Vyan Walton
Here's a contentious discussion of the subject between April Rayne and Joe Madison from CNN which highlights the depths and intensity of generational divide on this issue.
IMO they both make valid points, but the problem I have with the entire discussion is that nearly all their points become moot once you recognize that someone can absolutely not say the n-word, but mean exactly that, and also act on that meaning and those feelings without repercussions. Neither banning the word, or redefining it solves that issue.
Monday, May 9, 2016 · 2:32:36 AM +00:00 · Frank Vyan Walton
Thanks for all your passionate responses, both pro and con, but I’ve been on this subject for awhile.
This is a debate I’ve been involved in for over 20 years, most notably when I was a member of the Black Rock Coalition in L.A., and Guns and Roses was opening at the Coliseum for the Rolling Stones with Living Colour and Muzz, LC’s bassist was asked during a KROQ interview his opinion of the song “One In a Million” that was on a recently released GnR EP which has the lyrics…
Police and Niggers, that's right Get out of my way Don't need to buy none of your Gold chains today I don't need no bracelets Clamped in front of my back Just need my ticket; 'til then Won't you cut me some slack?
And it goes on…
Immigrants and faggots They make no sense to me They come to our country And think they'll do as they please Like start some mini Iran, Or spread some fuckin' disease They talk so many goddamn ways It's all Greek to me
Yeah, ok.
There’s more but you get the idea, although for point of reference while all the verses are negative the choruses are positive and about how love can lift you out of this morass.
You're one in a million Yeah that's what you are You're one in a million babe You're a shooting star Maybe some day we'll see you Before you make us cry You know we tried to reach you But you were much to high.
Even tho that might no work out in end.
Needless to say Muzz was pretty down on it during the interview and the song and the N-word became a topic of discussion at the next BRC meeting which was the first I attended that had included Vernon Reid, LC’s guitarist.
Now 90% of the people there were black, but it was still a pretty heated discussion because one of Axl’s main arguments was that “Black people say it to each other.”
Vernon’s position is like many others, that Axl’s excuse didn’t cut it because the word has historical connotations that simply can’t be ignored or changed. So even if he meant it the way black people use it, such as his then guitarist Slash, it still wasn’t cool. Also Vernon and LC felt that having black people say that to each other validates the perspective of hard-core racists.
The other position was that it means what the speaker means it to mean at the time just like any other word — which was the view of fans and supporters of bands like Body Count. LC and BC had done shows together, specifically the first Lollapalooza tour, but they had issues with each other over exactly this point. This wasn’t a settled issue then, it’s not a settled issue now.
Here’s another twist, there’s a pre-apology for the song published on the cover of the album, which I had, and was familiar with.
It says this…
Ever been unjustly hassled by someone with a gun and badge? Maybe you’ve been conned or had someone attempt to sell you stolen property who won’t take no for an answer. Been to a gas station or a convenience store and been treated like you don’t belong there by someone who can barely speak English? Hopefully not, but have you ever been attacked by a homosexual? Had some so-called religionist try to con you out of you hard earned cash? Have you ever been banned or censored by a relatively small group of people claiming to be the majority with self-righteous and dangerous motives? This song is very simple and extremely generic or generalized, my apologies to those who take offense.
So he was painting with a broad brush, being deliberately “politically incorrect” and trying to get a lot of shit off his chest, but he knew he was likely to miss the mark. Yeah, he missed it, but I was much more sympathetic to what he was trying to do after reading this, however I don’t think he really got there. He tried, but no.
In one of my first bands I actually use to cover this song, but then I would morph it into Bodycount’s “Cop Killer” — cuz I’m wicked funny ironic like that. It made me smile. :)
My bottom line then was my bottom line now — what matters is what people mean when they speak, not the specific words they use. Language is Fungible. It gets redefined all the time and it should be, only dead languages and cultures don’t continue to change and evolve. Besides, even if you could get everyone to stop using that one word, they’d just start using other words to say the same thing. Axl was trying to express a ton of frustration with having to put up with a whole bunch of bullshit. I’m from L.A., I get it. I still deal with that bullshit.
I’m not for censoring people, I think they should be able so say what they fraking mean — and although we may disagree with what they say, or even how they say it, we should be able to respond to them but we really shouldn’t demand that it not be said short of direct calls for violence — which by the way, happens to also be the law on free speech even under the Brandenburg standard.