When I was first watching the show, I admired comedians Paul Mooney and Sheryl Underwood for saying that they'd like to give up using the N word. However, I think they showed a real double standard after viewing the clips of Richard Pryor. The clips showed Pryor talking in a way that black often people use to imitate white people. You know what I mean....nasal, nerdy, frightened, geeky. It's OK when Wendy Williams, Michael Baisden make fun of white people on their radio shows, right? Black people making fun of white is OK, right? During the Richard Pryor clip, there were white people nervously approaching the black people siting in their seats and when approached, the black people replied to the (scared) white people something to the effect that it was just too bad, they'd lost their seat. This message was portrayed by Richard Pryor in a proud way as if to say, get lost, don't even THINK about asking a black man for your seat back. End of the video clip---cut back to the studio and there were Paul and Sheryl yukking it up, LOVING the whole Richard Pryor routine, nodding their heads, shaking hands, as though high-5-ing their agreement. Feeling somewhat proud that the white people were too intimidated to ask the black people for their seats. And YET....when an audience member admitted that in her neighborhood she was somewhat fearful, and covered her purse when passing by black people.....well then, everyone else is offended.
It was disgusting to watch Paul talk about the white doll babies being serial killers. Hey, I love crime shows. I've read reports in the paper. We've all heard that serial killers are predominantly white males. That's just a fact. As a white person, I've never tried to dispute it, it NEVER even occurred to me to dispute it, OR to feel offended by it. I never felt insulted by the statistics. They're true. Numbers don't lie. It is what it is. I think though, if the statistics were the other way around, and we heard that serial killers were predominantly black, then Paul would find a way to turn this into a racial statistic. Or, find a way to excuse it because their ancestors put up with horrors100 years ago (before mine even arrived here.....do I need to apologize for something that I agree is horrible but which I didn't do?). The woman in the audience told him to get over it. That might be a tough way to say it, but it's somewhat true. HE didn't live though it and I didn't do it to him. I grew up poor, my family struggled. I could have felt like a victim of the institutional governmental politics that shut down poor people like me and my family, and so many others of different colors. I could have given up and perpetuated the cycle. Instead, I worked after school and weekends, took out loans, got excellent grades, became a great student to end the cycle. I appreciate the government policies that want to protect people like me from the wealthy minority that want to stay in power and pit us against ourselves. It's working too...right? A previous person on the msg board wrote that Paul just hurt Obam's chances. I don't know if I agree or not, but he certainly didn't help. I feel that no matter how much I (and a good portion of America) support Obama, and live my life in a non-racist way (as much as possible), I'm still going to be lumped together with the image of some old, white-haired slave owner that lived 150 years ago. That's not me, and it's not the majority of white people I know either. And I'm tired of feeling bad about it. I didn't do it. I wasn't here. I didn't inherit wealth from it. My ancestors were told "Irish need not apply" for jobs. Not nice, but it was very true. I'm over it, It wasn't me personally, and a good majority of my folks have overcome it---through hard work which speaks for itself. No special policies, just hard work.
This two-syllable expression is arguably the most divisive word in society. Dr. Phil tackles this touchy topic with help from a panel of outspoken luminaries: civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton; legendary comedian and writer Paul Mooney; CSI actor and author Hill Harper; comedian Sheryl Underwood and conservative radio talk show host Michael Graham. First, is there a double standard that allows African-Americans to use this sensitive word, while non-blacks are forbidden? The debate heats up when Rachel, a white guest, says she calls her husband the N-word all the time. Then, should hip-hop artists be censored or fined for using the N-word in their songs? Becky says rappers promote negative stereotypes with their lyrics, but find out who Rev. Al Sharpton thinks should face the music. Plus, does tone or intent make a difference when using the N-word? See what Dr. Phil thinks and share your thoughts here.
