OPINIONS
Offensive words should punish all offenders
Racism, sexism and bigotry have been around a long time, but when did they start being so cool (a.k.a funny, acceptable, mainstream, encouraged etc.)?
The Billboard Top 40 is full of rappers who sing about b*tch*s and ho’s, not to mention their consistent use of the ‘N’ word. These rap songs don’t exactly induce a whole lot of laughter.
Comedy Central’s top comedians on the other hand, sometimes go even further with their misogynistic routines and folks are rolling in the aisles.
David Chappelle said “I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds.” Is he saying people should lighten up?
People must not mean Al Sharpton. Sharpton along with Jesse Jackson and many others urged CBS and MSNBC to cancel the Don Imus radio show.
After 30 years of spewing crude garbage, what exactly is it about the shock jock’s comment about the women of Rutgers University’s basketball team that has got Sharpton up in arms?
Was it because Imus was talking about women from a historically respectable learning institution?
Maybe it was more offensive because Rutgers lost the game.
Perhaps it is simply because of his skin color.
I would be hard pressed to think Chappelle would get the same kind of heat had he made the comment.
Last July Mel Gibson said, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” He was forced to publicly apologize.
The same goes for Arnold Schwarzenegger when he made reference to Cubans and Puerto Ricans all being hot heads.
The list goes on and on with people who are in the public eye saying something they will soon find is “politically incorrect” and have to apologize to save face.
I don’t see rappers lining up to offer their atonement. I don’t see Sharpton protesting outside the recording studios.
I don’t really want to play the race card here, it’s messy and complicated and I don’t know Al Sharpton’s motives.
But I do think as Americans we should feel open to express ourselves in our dress, our art, our beliefs and our speech. We should also feel free to change the channel if we don’t like what we’re seeing or hearing.
Just because it offends someone or a group of people doesn’t necessarily make it wrong.
I imagine there are a group of people offended by Sharpton’s comments about Imus. Then Sharpton, too, could be considered wrong.
I don’t condone what Imus said but I realize that people are always going to disagree about something.
That is the beauty of this country - to be able to decide for ourselves what we deem as being “cool.”
Volume
44, Issue 14. Today is
Michelle Lawrence
Mesa Legend