Bring Dog the Bounty Hunter Back

Thank you Duane "Dog" Chapman. Thank you for proving Mo'Kelly's point. That surely didn't take long. Two weeks ago, Mo'Kelly took painstaking measures to weave a narrative/argument together to explain how the word "Nigger" has no place in the hearts or mouths of African-Americans or as the title of a Nas CD.

It is not a word that can be de-fanged, neutered or sterilized through its use on any level. Not by Nas, not by Dave Chappelle or any random comedian on the Black comedy circuit who happens to think it adds to their supposed comedic value.

But there were those of you who couldn't wait to email to Mo'Kelly to "prove" either its value or "teaching power."

GTFOH

For all the time Mo'Kelly spent waxing rhapsodic on how the word's hateful history is inextricably linked to each and every utterance; Mo'Kelly's efforts weren't HALF as effective as that audiotape of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman.

Thank you again Duane. Right on time.

If you haven't heard the audio by now, Duane admonished his son to break up with his girlfriend Monique Shinnery who is African-American, because it seems Duane and the rest of the family say "Nigger" and refer to Black people habitually as "Niggers" and didn't want her to get the "wrong idea."

(Note, Ms. Shinnery was contacted by The Mo'Kelly Report to make a statement but as of press time had not responded.)

How considerate of him. If you haven't heard the audio...here you go.

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/dog_bounty_hunter_racial_slur_tape/celebrity/64325

The result? Dog the Bounty Hunter has been pulled indefinitely from the A&E Channel.

Didn't it just make you smile the way "Nigger" just traipsed lovingly off his lips like it was the name of one of his best friends? It was as cavalier and nonchalant as strolling through the park or a rumination on what might be for dinner later.

Didn't it just make you feel warm and fuzzy all over also knowing that Nas is "doing his part in the struggle" to help "take the power" from the word?

Exactly. There are some things which can't, won't and shouldn't be changed.

Nevertheless...bring the show back. It's only appropriate.

Duane is quite comfortable with the word, in a Barker lounger/afternoon nap-in-a-hammock sort of way. Unless your name is Tom Metzger or David Duke, you can't get much more comfortable with the word than Duane is. Conversely, Nas is also just as comfortable...and America is not a better place on either account. This is an all-inclusive complaint.

(On a side note, Mo'Kelly didn't really need to hear any audio tape to know that Dog the Bounty Hunter privately refers to Black people as "Niggers." That's about as shocking as the sun coming up. As in...not really. Mo'Kelly would've been MORE surprised if Duane DIDN'T refer to us as "Niggers.")

John Amos...aka "Kunta Kinte," aka "James Evans Sr." getting a 5-album country music record deal...THAT is shocking. Mo'Kelly didn't see THAT one coming.

Kunta Kinte gone country...Lord have mercy.

http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur38232.cfm

The Electric Slide was created by a White man and now Kunta Kinte is headlining at the Grand Ole Opry.

We can only imagine what that performance will be like...

(Little confederate flags wave back and forth in the audience amongst the 10-gallon hats, flannel shirts and oversized belt buckles.)

...And NOW, coming to the stage...you loved him back when we whipped his ass and cut off his foot...in Roots. You adored him as the 6^thgrade- educated father who couldn't keep a job or get his family out of the ghetto in the "Reality" TV show Good Times. And right here at the Grand Ole Opry, Toby errr uh Kunta Amos is gonna sing a song and dance a jig for us. Let's put our hands together and give him a Klan...er uh, I mean a GRAND Ole Opry welcome.

(John Amos walks up to the microphone with a guitar slung around his shoulder. He smiles for the cheering crowd and strums a chord on his guitar. The confederate flags wave even more fervently. Chants of "To-By" "To-By" echo throughout the performance hall.)

"Just looking out of the window..."

(Crowd cheers wildly as they recognize the "country" tune.)

"Watching the asphalt grow. YEEEEEE HAH!"

But Mo'Kelly digresses...

Usually Mo'Kelly is content with offering the euphemism of "The N-Word" in these commentaries to get his point across; but lately he's wanted you to feel the sting of the word, every, single, time...until you get the point.

"Nigger" needs to be experienced in all of its gory splendor and repugnance.

Here's an exercise...

Replay the audio of Dog the Bounty Hunter 50 times consecutively while examining the photo of Emmett Till's deformed corpse in his casket. See if that doesn't spark some common sense in those of you in love with Nigger/Nigga. Come back and tell Mo'Kelly how "comfortable" you are with it afterwards.

Casually perform the internet search of "nooses 2007" and note how many DIFFERENT references pop up while you listen to Dog's rant and then come back and argue that Nigger/Nigga is "no big deal."

Granted, we as African-Americans should be above emotionally unraveling with every utterance by those who hate or disparage us. Mo'Kelly isn't saying to buckle under the weight of the word, but never should we become comfortable living in an America where it's acceptable and ordinary.

We could learn plenty from Jews and exchange our use of "Nigger/Nigga" for "Never Again." How different might this country be? How different might our African-American community be?

Personally, Mo'Kelly is fully of the opinion that Dog should KEEP his television program. Of course, any advertiser would be wary of associating itself with anybody shrouded in such a controversy...but let's be real, this was a private conversation.

How many inappropriate, racist, remarks do the multitude of us make on a daily basis? How mortified might we all be if our personal conversations were played for our employer; causing it both embarrassment and loss of revenue? How much would Newstex appreciate having Mo'Kelly's private conversations posted about Mo'Kelly's predilection for handcuffs, Crisco oil and butter in the bathtub?

Probably not very. (Oops...did Mo'Kelly just say that out loud?)

How long would any of us have a job if our personal lives were thrust into the public spectrum through no encouragement or fault of our own?

Probably not very.

How many of us are above being "closet racists," "closet sexists" or "closet homophobes?" (No closet pun intended on the last one.)

Probably not very many.

You get the point.

Dog has committed no crime, being an ass isn't illegal. In fact, he's paid handsomely to be an ass in every episode of his program. We shouldn't be surprised what goes on in his private phone conversations and we shouldn't be surprised at the vitriolic reaction that the word Nigger still inspires.

Given the circumstances, Duane's show deserves to return. But the word "Nigger?" Any and all of us can do without it. Hopefully more people will get that crucial message now; be they White, Black or other.