-Caveat Lector- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 19:48:06 -0400 From: Yardbird <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Larry Elder: Understanding the 'N' Word Newsgroups: : -------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Understanding the 'N' Word : Larry Elder : Feb. 22, 2001 : The occasion: Black History Month. The setting: A hotel in the Bay area : community of Emeryville. The forum: The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, : with 400 blacks in the audience. : California Lt. Gov.Cruz Bustamante, the keynote speaker, and a Hispanic : liberal, discussed the history of the black union movement. So far, so good. : But, incredibly, instead of using the word "Negro," Bustamante used a racial : epithet for blacks. That's right, he used the "n" word. Shocked attendees : sat with their mouths open, with as many as 100 getting up and walking out. : Shell-shocked, Bustamante immediately apologized: "I told folks there in the : room that I can't let you leave and think somehow this is me. I know it came : out of my mouth, but it is not how I was taught. It is not how I teach my : children." : But how does one explain this? Does he use the word in private, perhaps : explaining how it "slipped"? : Bustamante went into damage control. He promptly met with local black : leaders, who forgave him for his "slip," noting that his background : establishes him as a man sympathetic with civil rights. After all, : Bustamante opposed Proposition 209, the ballot initiative to eliminate race- : and gender-based preferences. He opposed Proposition 227, the initiative to : end certain bilingual education programs in public schools. He also opposed : Proposition 187, the initiative to end taxpayer funding of education and : other benefits for illegal aliens. In short, he is a good guy. : Now, hold on just a sec. Haven't we been taught that any "unauthorized" use : of the "n" word makes the speaker a bigot? In "Any Day Now," a cable series : on Lifetime, an upcoming episode centers around the "n" word. A black : teenager strikes, and unintentionally kills, a white kid who uses the : epithet. A defense expert testifies about the offensiveness and history of : the word, calling it "the most explosive racial slur you can hurl at an : African American." : But, remember, the speaker gets a pass if, like Bustamante, he can fall back : on his non-racist past. : Didn't John Rocker possess a clean record? Certainly, the Atlanta Braves : relief pitcher made offensive remarks about gays, foreigners and New York. : But prior to Rocker's infamous Sports Illustrated interview, no one accused : the ballplayer of bigotry. Indeed, while in the minor leagues, Rocker : invited black and Latin ballplayers to stay at his home. No matter. Rocker's : statements made him poster boy for Bigotry in America, irrespective of the : absence of a record of racial insensitivity. : Similarly, golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, criticized for making racially insensitive : remarks about Tiger Woods, had suffered no previous accusations. : Sportscaster Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder lost his job for clumsily expounding : on the superiority of black athletes. And former Dodger general manager Al : Campanis lost his job when on "Nightline" he fumbled a question concerning : the lack of blacks in management. Neither Snyder nor Campanis had been : previously accused of bigotry. : The reviled LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman used the "n" word dozens of times on : a tape recording. Prosecutor Chris Darden attempted to exclude this : information, arguing that the use of the "n" word would stir the prejudices : of the mostly black jury. But Fuhrman's record, too, showed praise by female : and minority colleagues. Indeed, it was Fuhrman's apparent lack of bigotry : that made colleagues so shocked by his taped vulgarity. : But the Rocker standard of zero tolerance, no matter one's past, apparently : only applies to certain people. Black former California State Senator Diane : Watson blasted black anti-affirmative action proponent Ward Connerly. : Connerly's crime? He's married to a white woman. Said Watson, "He's married : a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no : ethnic pride. He doesn't want to be black. I said that." Not only did Watson : fail to apologize, but then President Bill Clinton named her ambassador to : Micronesia. : When "good guys" slip, it's no problem. Terry McAuliffe, the new chair of : the Democratic National Committee, recently made "a mistake." In a meeting : with state Democratic leaders, including some blacks, McAuliffe used the : term "colored people." His spokeswoman said, "What he meant to say was : 'people of color.'" This satisfied black former Atlanta Mayor Maynard : Jackson, who pronounced this a non-issue. (Would it have been a non-issue if : uttered by, say, Attorney General John Ashcroft?) : The bottom line? Jesse Jackson says "Hymie" and "Hymie-town," apologizes, : and all is forgiven. Activist Al Sharpton calls Jews "diamond merchants" and : "white interlopers," and merely apologizes. "Good guys" like Bustamante : survive, but "bad guys" like Rocker, Campanis and Snyder go down. : See, use of the "n" word automatically means you're a bigot, unless you're a : "good guy." Then your past record determines whether we call you racist. : Unless it doesn't. Got that? : http://www.newsmax.com/commentarchive.shtml?a=2001/2/23/154956 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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