Black people in America are one of the most sensitive groups of people on the planet. Touch the wounds of slavery, or brush past the stitches of skin color, and watch us holler like hell.
Don Imus, former radio host/Crypt Keeper look-alike, was deep fried like mozzarella sticks for calling the Rutgers women basketball players “nappy headed hoes.” Old preachers, rappers and media moguls wanted to do to Imus what Mel Gibson did to Jesus in Passion of the Christ. America is always in need of a stern talk about racism. The evils of slavery won’t ever go away. But every time some non-Black says something mean about a Black, there’s no need to ring the alarm. I don’t care what Al Sharpton says.
The fallout from this Imus debacle has lead to rappers commentating on 60 Minutes. Russell Simmons is acting like he never assisted with the creation of the most prolific hip hop record company to date. Oprah is not Black anymore. I watched an episode the other day, and I think she was a strawberry blonde.
Black people are offended by white people, but also offended by different classes of Black people. Personally, I think white people are just confused. I’m Black and I know I am.
But Indians, they are on a whole other sub-continent when it comes to being offended by the media.
Sanjaya Malakar, the lone Indian of this season’s American Idol, was brutally rejected by Indians who found his bad singing and transgender appearance offensive.
“Sanjaya is voted off American Idol – he’s the only one weeping,” read a front-page headline in The Indian Express, above a photo of his famous “ponyhawk” hairdo.
“Finally, Sanjaya sings his way out of Idol,” read a Times of India headline.
I even read an American Idol message board, where a commenter stated she was “appalled” that the only images of Indians on television were Sanjaya and Apu from The Simpsons.
Now, I know of many people who found Sanjaya’s bad singing and transgender appearance offensive. But not once did I attribute that to him being of Indian descent.
More astonishing is the recent arrest warrant issued against actor Richard Gere for kissing Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on the cheek multiple times in public. In response to the “taboo” nature of public displays of affection in India, protesters have been burning photos and effigies of Gere, calling for his return to India. If Gere returns and is convicted of a PDA, he could face three months in jail, a fine or both.
Shetty is no stranger to controversy, as the former British Big Brother contestant created a spark after seemingly racist comments were made toward her on the show. To make a long story short, TV stations and prime ministers got involved and fans protested.
Shetty’s family released a statement to the media that said they were “overwhelmed and touched” by fans going to bat over their sensitive little Indian. By the way, the offended star won that season of Big Brother. Jermaine Jackson was a runner-up.
Aren’t these things that constantly-offended Blacks do all the time?
And is it really that serious?
Being a member of an oppressed group is always about trying to prove that you are more than a skin color, an old tribal custom, or a stereotype. But I think when groups of people bring up these stereotypes themselves, or are constantly fighting people who don’t want to change, it makes them look like crybabies.
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I was cruising a popular men’s online magazine and I came across a very interesting article written by Matthew Fitzgerald titled, “Are Women Feminizing Men?” The article begins with a description of a 1995 rally in Harvard Square lead by then-Harvard junior Rich Zubaty. The theme of the rally was “Take Back the Penis.” It basically defended men’s rights to be men as well as our right to reject feminism. The article goes on to describe how men have become more feminine in an attempt to satisfy women. He also presents the “Sitcom Theory” in which Ray Romano’s character on “Everybody Loves Raymond” is a hallmark example of the type of man we are destined to become if we succumb to everything women want from us. He wraps up the article by talking about men who act like women, the role of feminism in this process and how “we can take it back.” This whole article got me wondering…
I got mad whenever people said shit like “I’m not voting for Barack because my vote will get him assassinated.” I got real pissed, because that’s the same assbackwards mentality that prevents the the people with the RIGHT MINDSET from getting heard. It’s the same mentality that keeps the third parties in the dark, rather than giving us the opportunity to at least listen to them — “Why vote for them, when it will just take away votes from (that guy who you don’t really agree with but are voting for because he is the lesser of two evils)?” It’s the same mentality that had people saying, “I don’t like what he stands for, but I’ll vote for Bush because I mean, at least he’s constant.”
A few weeks ago, in response to Don Imus’ honest moment, instead of doing a show on the history and impact of gender-linked insults (e.g. “b*tch,” “hoe”) or race-linked ones (e.g. “nappy,” “ghetto”), Oprah aired a 