Comedians Using the N-Word: Andy Dick, Michael Richards....It's Not a Joke!
Huh? Is stupidity contagious?
Terrence Howard, the star of Crash (and a believer in the turn-the-other-cheek philosophy, I guess) tried to give Richards and Andy an alibi: "We gain so much from comedians by giving them an uncensored sense of style and liberty."
Hmm. Those are some pretty-sounding words. But, as my late and beloved Aunt Connie used to say, "Bullsugar."
I'm tired of cowards with a microphone hiding behind the First Amendment. This wasn't a fearless trailblazer like Lenny Bruce who was harassed, arrested, and finally banned from performing in public. This wasn't the controversial Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour being cancelled by CBS. This wasn't the subversive Bill Hicks being censored by David Letterman.
No, this was a cynical and pathetic attempt by Andy, a comic whose career was a "Where Are They Now?" footnote,
desperately trying to get people to pay attention to him again. It was vulgar, stupid and inexcusable.
Whenever I hear a stupid white man vomit the word "nigger," it feels as though a dirty-fingered bum with a bad cold has suddenly grabbed me like a napkin and blown his nose. I still hate the word, and I hate the smug white sons of bitches who casually delude themselves into thinking they have a right to use it.
You don't.
Yeah, I'll admit that you're exercising your freedom of speech. Legally, you're entitled to that.
Morally, however, as an African-American male, I feel that you're exploiting your white male privilege. That's not "freedom"; that's acting out a mental disorder you inherited from your ancestors who imprisoned hundreds of thousands of innocent Africans centuries ago and brought them here.
But you don't own that word anymore, because you don't own me anymore.
Believe me, African-Americans know what happens when white people forget we're human beings and treat us like we're their property:
Two brothers are humiliated in public by a lazy, has-been, pissed-off comic because they're niggers.
Clifford Grover, Eleanor Bumpers, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond, Michael Stewart, Abner Louima, Sean Bell, and all of the other human targets who find themselves on the wrong end of a cop's billy club or "warning shots," are brutalized and killed because they're niggers.
The men, women, and children of New Orleans who, after Katrina has cruelly taken away everything they ever knew, drown or slowly starve to death in front of the whole world, because they're niggers.
Uh-uh, "nigger" isn't just a word in the African-American community, It's a burglar alarm. It's telling me that somebody who hates me is knocking down my front door. That old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a dangerous fallacy. When I hear the word "nigger," I know the damned sticks and stones are gonna be close behind, followed by an angry mob armed with nooses, knives, brass knuckles, baseball bats, and guns.
Remember Cabaret, the brilliant Oscar-winning musical by Bob Fosse? The Kit Kat Klub, a sleazy cabaret in Berlin during the 1930s, is used by Fosse as a grim mirror to reflect the gradual corruption of Germany before World War II. As the Nazi Party grew in power, the "comedy" routines on stage became more viciously anti-Semitic. And I'd bet you money there were "good" Germans who didn't think it was a big deal. What's the matter, you don't have a sense of humor?
Whenever an ugly racist slur turns into a punchline, look out. Not only isn't it funny-- it's deadly.
Oh, and Andy?
Why don't you sit on your last name, all right?
Published by D.R.Scott
I'm a freelance movie critic. Whether it's a noisy, testosterone-fueled, shoot-'em-up adventure flick or a moody, character-driven B&W foreign film, I'm open-minded. I just want to see a good movie that has... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a Commentit is this big double standard of the world that will never end,black people can use the N word,make jokes about white people left and right for a cheap laugh and no one can say anything about it,last time i tuned in to the NCAA basketball tournament about 95% of the players were black,but can we say we are being discriminated against? NOPE<because then you dwell back on slavery that happened so long ago,it's over now,you can do what you want and play the race card anytime you want,YOUR Kings and Queens sold you to slavery back in the day,a African American friend of a friend researched it in college,but God forbid it ever gets out,we all have a past and need to focus on the future,and what we can do,Chris Rock said it best,"there are black people and there are ni**ers",the media makes a big deal out of everything,George Lopes,Mencia and a majority of black comedians can be deemed racist by their actions and "routines" but it will never get as much play becau
Wow. I will say this briefly and with the note that it cannot really be disputed because it is fact as portrayed by you in your emotionally charged rant. While I agree that word should not be used...ever because of the connotations it holds. People.....ALL OVER.....in the African American community constantly use it. Lead by example and try telling the other African americans to stop as well if it is so hurtful. Is it less hurtful of a meaning when used by a black person?? Shouldnt be because the definition should not change in your perspective.
Second: You called out the white people who say it as being acting out a mental disorder inherited by our ancestors.....really?! and what education, first of all do you have to back up your knowledge of identifying a mental disorder? I have mine. Also, by that same definition you gave us, yes I am white, would you and other African americans also be acting out some mental or emotional disorder inherited by YOUR ancestors by still blaming the
It seems that the context is what is important. My personal friends, who are both black and white all find David Chapelle to be hilarious. He uses all of the racial slurs to poke fun at the tension that is in place, and I believe he uses it in an intelligent and funny way, however; I would be willing to bet that if you took the same act David Chapelle uses, and gave it to a white comedian to perform, say Dane Cook, and had him perform in front of a mostly black audience...I think you know what the outcome would be. Interesting dichotomy, isn't it?
is the one to be attacked. BTW the word "bum" sounds pretty insensitive to me, I doubt a homeless person would want to hear that. hey those victims of katrinas could be classified as bums right? oh wait they aren't dirty because they are black... you seem pretty disgusted with the homeless, equating the word "nigger" with them, kind of comes off as elitist... sooooo you can call a homeless person a bum all you want, comparing their dirtiness with a word you think so horrible and disgusting, but yet somehow a comedian is out of line when he decides to try make light of a gloomy situation. andy dick was making fun of michael richards, he did not say it vindictively, it was a parody.
"Whenever I hear a stupid white man vomit the word "nigger," it feels as though a dirty-fingered bum with a bad cold has suddenly grabbed me like a napkin and blown his nose." dirty fingered bums? wouldn't happen to be the same person homeless from katrina would it? you babble about tolerance, and you have none. you are an oxymoron personified.
I must admit when I saw and read replays of both these comedians comments my jaw just about dropped to the floor in disgust.Being a comedian does not give someone carte blanche to make any comment they want. I hate and abhor racist derogatory jokes coming from anyone about any race. I remember everyone praising the sitcom "All in the Family" and saying in response that I didn't find it funny at all. At least I was given the chance to explain my position and I replied that I didn't think it was right or appropriate to condone and glamourize that kind of vicious racist behavior on a television show that influenced so many people. A racist would just see it as Hollywood telling them it was fine to act that way, even if it was meant as humour and satire and I refuse to even watch reruns of that old show. I have to admit I can't stand hearing African Americans or anyone use the "n" word. It absolutely makes me cringe. It isn't a joke and too many people have suffered for that word, and the
This is an honest question...do you think it's OK for African Americans to use the "n" word, in or out of a comedy routine? How about Carlos Mencia, can he use derogatory racial terms because he's actually funny? I'm not trying to be glib, I really am curious about what you think.