Jesse and the N-word -- shocked, shocked

I'm reminded of an episode of "All in the Family" where the Jeffersons meet their son Lionel's girlfriend, and George Jefferson is upset that her parents are an interracial couple. (AITF, for all its liberal bias, did a good job of spoofing black racism as well as white racism.) George (BTW, the Jeffersons were black, for anyone who never saw the show) rants for awhile, then drops the N-bomb. Archie Bunker looks shocked and says, "Geez, I ain't used that word in three years!"

Oh but Rod you and I don't understand. Didn't you see The View? According to Whoopi Goldberg, the n-word is a term of endearment when used black on black. The exchange drove Elisabeth Hassleback to tears. I'd post the You Tube link but the comments won't let me post a link for some reason.

It isn't pretty, but is does show how much work is still left on the race issue.

I did post it on my blog as well at SpunkyHomeschool at blogspot dot com but I'm sure it's all over the net and a google search will take you to it somewhere.

Spunky, I watched the clip and I think that Chris Rock summed Whoopie's argument much more succinctly. If I recall correctly, he said something along the lines that White people abused their n-word privileges during the slavery and pre-civil-rights days, so now they don't get to use it for a while.

And, yes, Jesse Jackson is a hypocrite for using the word after he said that it shouldn't be used anymore. Not a big surprise there.

no conservatives are the pitiful ones

man this is some high quality discourse we got goin' on here

While I don't agree with Rev. Jackson's politics and find his methods often disagreeable ... let me just say two thing in the man's defense:

(1) He was one of the few on the left that spoke up on behalf and in defense of Terri Schiavo during Lent 2005 when those judges tried to remove her feeding tubes.

(2) During the 1980s when he ran for President and committed a number of gaffes (including the remark, which I won't repeat here, about the alleged dominance of a particular religious group in New York City), I remember the apology he made at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and the statement that "God is not finished with me yet." That single statement expressed his humility before God and the recognition of his fallen nature ... something I wish more politicians, movie stars, celebrity journalists, et. al. would do every so often.

We should keep Jackson in our prayers. He's made a lot of mistakes over the years, including lately, but he also did a lot of good "back in the day."

AMH, that is a very interesting video. The double standard is puzzling to me and the distinction is based on color. The are perpetuating the very thing they have been fighting so long to erase.

Spunky, I watched the clip and I think that Chris Rock summed Whoopie's argument much more succinctly.

There is only one reason black folks even care about this word anymore and it's: The First Time.

For anyone in my age group especially, there's a time every one of your parent feared, it was the first time a white person called you n****r.

The parent would have to explain that you are less than human in some people's eyes and in fact in grave danger wherever you went o,f "Something Happening" to you at the hands of white people.

In short, from that moment on you have a piece of your life dominated by fear and hate that would surely come your way again.

Now that I am no longer eight, I am able to say, "N****r please" to my best friend with all the love it represents after 40 years of friendship. And you can't.

So deal with it.

You have to be a douche to defend Jackson.
The man is a shakedown artist, a hypocrite, an egomaniac...when MLK was shot Jackson got his face right into the camera and claimed that he held MLK as he expired(it was a lie; Ralph Abernathy did so)

Jackson runs around the country sniffing out occasions to exploit the mistakes of others(for his own benefit/payoff)

Basically, he's jealous of Obama.

I don't believe he actually graduated from divinity school. I think that he did maybe 6 months and dropped out. So much for "reverend."

He had a mistress and a child out of wedlock.

I don't know if the rest of you remember this from a few years ago, a group of high school guys(African Americans) stormed onto a football field(somewhere in the midwest I think) and just beat the hell out of anybody in their way. Basically a riot. So, the guys got kicked out of school(as they should have) and ol' bigmouth was there in no time hollerin' about the "racist school board," etc.

The man is contemptible, a fool, an idiot.

And thankfully, a has-been.

But Whoopi seems to think it's okay to do as long as you're a black person.

So do I, so suck it up.

I am sure, Poles, Russians, Israelis, Italians, and every other ethnic group has some kind of slur they use among themselves no outsider dare use. I am not overly excited about the exclusion.

As I said earlier, outside of having to explain it to an eight year old we don't much care anymore. If fact, Imus' recent Nappy Headed Ho comment was much more offensive because it denigrated young women trying to lift themselves up. Something Rod goes on and on about in his "Scary Negro" posts.

"He learned it from you guys. If you don't want to hear it Don't Say It!"

Not an unreasonable request, but the world has not stood still and what people say and mean when they say it has changed since 1967.

I have more heartburn with the racialist southern partisans who swarm all over Rod "Scary Negro" posts who never use the word, but show every indication of thinking blacks are less than human. And the word hurt the most when I was called n****r as an adult while in my class-A greens as a newly minted soldier than it ever did as a child.

Mr. Obama is doing a lot to take the air out of the insult and in fact he may change forever then punchline to a very old joke.

You may have heard this one: "What do you call a black man with a college degree? N****r."

The new punch line: Mr. President.