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One Mans Reaction to racial slur on Survivor Series
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=600 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Reaction to racial slur on Survivor Series
This is off of wrestlingobserver.com =================================== </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>I would have expected more from you on this topic than just a glance, and I'm a bit disappointed Mr.Meltzer, b/c I hold you in such high esteem. I'm sure that sum may have just gaped in shock others may have brushed it off as simply Vince being Vince. But as a African American my only reaction to Vince's comment to John Cena was exactly what Booker T did and that's kinda scary. I was so dumbfounded by the out and out idiocy of such a comment that all I could think was....Tell me he didn't just say that. Is Vince McMahon racist I doubt it, is Vince ignorant or an uneducated swine, no. Is Vince one of those who believe in the Nigger and Nigg-A concept....maybe. You could make an argument that Vince thought it was okay to say niggA, b/c that sterotypical slang is okay, but then again stereotypes are the bread and butter of black wrestlers by looking at the number of active black wrestlers to those who are given a push in a major company with out being stereotyped. On my list I got Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin. I mean Rock was in the nation, same could be said for Farooqu but he did get the big strap in WCW. Booker T plays Chicken George even with out the Harlem Heat deal, Teddy Long does not talk like that in real life at least not when I've met him, and Monty Brown is nothing more than a Jimmy Rooster act. And I'm not even touching Mark Henry, or D'lo or the trash they did with Scorpio and GodFather. But then again this isn't really about stereotyping wrestlers b/c that's just what a small minded booker is going to do, just like anyone else who doesn't know diddle about something they will grasp to the most stereotypical molds. (see Mexican, Japanese, or foreign wrestlers) I don't think what Vince said last night is anything to go on a march about, or to start protesting, quite frankly Katie Vick still puts this type of thing to shame. But I don't think it should be overlooked at what happened. Vince set this whole thing up himself, first having the plain to see white John Cena who is of course doing a street image with a hip hop edge to it. So Vince is playing on the whole wigger concept of whites who act....black, even though that concept is even more offensive b/c it suggests that talking ignorant, wearing garish and sometimes ugly clothing and being loud and obnoxious, and oh yes flashing bling all over the place is the hallmark of your average black man. But I digress, so Cena is playing wigger so Vince plays into it by using a bit of "slang" type talk and getting real "jive" in his mannerisms, then he throws out the line and walks away with either his typical strut or his attempt at a "ghetto stride" then to safely put it into context he makes sure to get himself a black man in there sort of to sanction the comment. Meaning that Vince all along knew this was going to be offensive, and he knew it was going to be controversial and he knew it was going to make people go what the hell. B/c I promise you despite popular belief or what Carlos Mencia, or Dave Chapelle say or might like to think, people using the N word is still justifiable reason to kick someone's ass on the spot no questions asked. Its bad enough that a vibrant and meaningful art form inherent to black culture is considered accurately represented by low life, ignorant, uneducated, dancing puppets we call rappers, who perpetuate completely degrading and utterly offensive images of who black people are today in America, and so they can get on a CD and shout out Nigger 50 times before they ever get to the second song, and people assume all black folks find this word socially acceptable. But that's a HUGE misnomer, Nigger, Nigga, Nucca, Nagro, My Niga they are all offensive and any self respecting African American would not tolerate the use of a name directly designed to degrade and disrespect us as human beings. Only complete idiots and wastes of space who spend their time rolling blunts instead of going to school or getting a job think that term is okay and I have gotten into more than one fight with another black b/c he thought it was okay to call me niggA. And this is I'm sure why Vince did it, not b/c he was bumping Young Jeezy or 50 cent or whoever the next cookie cutter monkey with a base line is, but b/c he saw the use of niggA as acceptable and made him hip and daring. Well it was most certainly daring I'll give him that, the real problem was not Vince saying it. But in why he would think to say it. If you watch most "black" entertainment in this modern day it is created by white people. BET is owned and run by white people, most "hood" movies are written and produced by white people, the whole concept of what is black in America is still created by white people. The movie Hollywood Shuffle by Robert Townsend is a comedy that skewers the black actor's stereotypes in Hollywood at the time. However it still holds true today sum 15 years later and its scary. Sure blacks no longer play the Pimps and Chicken George's, now their relegated to gangster, thug, druggie, rapist, killer, convict, or athlete...(well we kinda did that to ourselves but still). And for every Rock who did break clean of that stereotype image, there is a Monty Brown, for every Shelton Benjamin there is a Booker T, and its not like now a days is better than the past, is there any difference b/c u can look at Koko, or JYD or Slick (remember him) with only Virgil being the exception that comes to mind right now and that's only after he PLAYED A SERVANT!! And while Monty and Booker and the rest in the end are over and stay over b/c of their talent, it was some cock of the walk rooster act, or ghetto talking bug eyed deal, or uncle tom act that got them there. Its hard as an African American who has grown up watching wrestling to stomach that this is the only real images that are given of black athletes in the industry I love. The argument for Ahmed Johnson's and guys like Lashly is that they are big bodies so creative doesn't fall back on racial stereotypes b/c being big monsters sells better. But it is sometimes hurtful to see not only that this is all bookers can think of but that the general audience of predominately white accept it. On your site most of the feedback with Survivor Series had ZERO to do with what Vince said. Even you Dave brushed it off as Vince JUST TRYING TO BE HIP!!! but my god he used a word that is completely designed to degrade us to the level of animals. What would u have said if he said kyke, is that a socially acceptable word, what if it was, what if the only way a Jew in wrestling could get a break is if he was the Kosher Krusher, or the Helacious Heb, or the Da Shnoz, or Mr.Mench(spell check on those). The only way bookers used him as a heel was b/c he was so cheap, or he only looked out for his own. What if that was the sum of Jews in pro-wrestling a bunch of silly and nasty stereotypes, how would u feel if Vince dropped the K bomb and all you had was Barry Horrowitz saying "Oi! did he just say that!" Here's the point, I'm not going to go as far as to say I'm defending Vince but I will say that you cannot blame Vince for thinking this a cool or hip or comedic thing to do. At least you cant get mad at Vince before you get mad at Hollywood, and even more so before you get mad at the music industry which has done and will continue to do more harm and be more offensive to the image of African Americans in this culture than any one liner Vince is ever going to throw out. Was it stupid for Vince to say what he said at Survivor Series, yeah it was. Was it offensive...well if it had been Booker-T saying it, the whole thing would still have been controversial, but with Vince saying it, your damn right this was completely offensive. Should Vince apologize....no he should not, he went out of his way to do something he thought was funny and shocking, he went 1 out of 2 on it and it could have been worse. It is, however, deplorable that an educated, wealthy white man could make such a statement especially being in an atmosphere where he deals with blacks on a daily basis but again, can anyone really say Vince was trying to offend black people with the comment. What is truly the worse thing about this is that fans think its stupid or lame but they don't see anything morally wrong with the very use of the word by anyone on TV or in a PPV (this extends to guys like Dave Chapelle as well) And that by far, is what makes what Vince said so wrong, and I hope white wrestling fans take note of this not just as wrestling fans but as humans. Carl Evans Kigely@cs.com Chicago, IL Credit: http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/....asp?aID=14882 ========================================= Discuss |
Well, Vince didn't get where he is by doing non-controversial things....
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Didn't read but if that guy's offended he needs better things to do.
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I read your piece. And I'm not at all understanding what your point is.
At first, I was getting confused and a little ticked about why you were so mad at Vince for using...a word. And I thit I was following you when you were talking about Jews and Kykes. ANd then you somehow thot that WE might think you were defending him? I don't follow. But here's what I think. WWE Creative has templates that they run by. They start new guys with easy gimmicks, and if they do o.k., they build on them or try new things. Hence, the majority of non-American wrestlers start as foreigner heels. Yes, it's stupid to assume that every foreigner in the company hates our country and claims we don't respect theirs. If they hated us, why would they get a job with an American company? Completely stupid. But it's easy to write, it's worked in the past, and you can always drop it later. The American version of that is to make blacks racist. If you make a white guy racist, the crowd will actually hate him to death -- moreso than Hassan. But if a black guy claims that the whites are all racists, then he can be the victim, the same as Hassan and La Resistance claimed that all of America hated them. Now, I don't know about any instances of anyone throwing a slur at Hassan, b/c the E was trying to make Americans look like NON-racists, to oppose his views. But I do recall a few commentators throwing 'Frogs' around at the early days of LR. And I might be wrong, but I doubt any "French-Americans" bitched about it. I'm not condoning Vince using the infamous "N-word", but I'm also not complaining. Firstly, b/c it seemed to me, at first, the he was making light of Cena's wigger persona, secondly b/c everyone who's been watching Booker's heel turn has been waiting for his racial heel turn, and thirdly b/c it's WWE and I don't really care. And by the way, if you don't know why I've been waiting for the race card to be played, it's b/c Charmin is a former Miss BLACK America. Not that there's a Miss WHITE America, nor are blacks banned from a regular ol' Miss America contest, but the day they pointed that out, Joey Radd and I knew they were going there. Aside from all that, you stated yourself, several times, that Vince didn't do anything to hurt anybody. He was being a twit and actin' a-fool, pallin' around with Champ, and yes, he used...a word. But that, really is the point here. It's a damn word, and you mentioned Dave Chapelle -- an admitted racist and a comedian whose telecision show I cannot stomache, due to lack of comedy -- and it reminds of what his friend Chris Rock said about 'bad words', which is "There are no bad words, only bad attitudes." My point? When Rico was around, nobody called him a faggot on air, but if they had, it would not have offended me. It would definitely have surprised me. And I admit, I would hope the guy got beat down if he said it in a heelish way. But had it been: Rico: Gee, Charlie, you sure are hot. Charlie: Heh heh, Rico, you're such a fag! *All laugh* Then I woulda said wow, and laughed along with the writers. Not every Arab hates America, not every Gay is a flamer, and no, not every black guy is a ghetto thug. But so what? Stereotypes are there to be exploited -- that's how stupid kids get scholarships. I've done a fair bit of quoting, but you want my advice? Take solice in the words of one Stewart Griffin: "I'd like to thank the blacks for taking it all in stride." Oh, and relax. It's just wrestling. |
I didn't write that. I had a link to the site after it; I went ahead and edited for you so no one else gets confused.
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Ah. Appreciated.
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That piss-poor writing makes it seem as though you're one of the blunt-rolling dropouts you speak of.
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Good response though, Afterlife. Especially the point of how racist it is not to have a Miss White America (or better yet every other ethnicity) and to still allow the Black females to participate in the main one; even though they have segregated their own competition.
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What up my nigga!
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Nigga-nigga-nigga-nigga-nigga-nigga-nigga-nigga
BLACKMAN! |
In all seriousness, people need to lighten up abit. If Booker T said it to Lashley, would there be this much of an outcry?
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My honkie!
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Where are all the offend white people?
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When I went down to NC, my friend (The guy I was visiting) called almost a dozen different black guys nigger. No less, he did this in public, with other "niggers" around.
Are these North Carolinians, like BET and those ghetto movies, "owned by white people?" |
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http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/3688/image9pv.gif Oh no, Vince isn't a racist. No way no how. |
The look on Takers face is priceless.
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Um...I think an Arab being played by an Italian is a little too confusing to be racist.
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Mark: You mean like the FBI or something? :wtf: Vince: F...B...I? No, YOUR heritage! Mark: I'm sorry sir, I don't follow. Vince: You know, your muslim heritage! What part of the Middle East are you from? Iran? Iraq? Mark: I'm from Detroit Vince (To aid): Where in the Hell in Iran is that? |
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No...It wasn't. B/c it was two guys. It wasn't a bunch of non-Arab people hating on Arab people. It was two Arab guys clinging to their heritage who felt oppressed by their fellow Americans.
The Un-Americans were racist b/c they were Non-Americans who hated Americans. That's racism. But Chavo complaining about his heritage as Kerwin White wasn't racist...so Hassan and Daivari weren't racist. |
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Obviously people found it racist and offensive, otherwise Hassan would still be here. |
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I didn't know Americans were a race. |
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Jesus, 'NIGGA' what's the big deal, Vince was just being Vince, he wasn't aiming to offend anyone. 'Honkey' is used in the Simpsons and in various other childrens programmes, and although I think it's stupid, why can't Vince say 'Nigga' if other people are allowed to say 'Honkey'?
Granted, there's never been a black WWE world champion, but then again there's never been a British World Champion, at least not in the last 20 years, and there's been several British wrestlers more than capable of being Champion. But no-one complains. Hell there's 'racism' against everyone, British people being posh, The Mexicools, La Resistance, Kaientai... it's always gonna be there, just laugh and don't get all pissy about it is what I say. |
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See, racism is a tricky thing.
More people are actually afraid to be considered racist than actually ARE racist. Hassan got taken off UPN b/c the network was afraid of being conceived as racist, not b/c they WERE racist. In this case, the term "perception is reality" is apparently on trial again, b/c such is not the case. You know that part in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', where Jack is trying to explain Christmas to the monsters, but the monsters don't get it, so he says "I may as well give them what they want,"? Well, Hassan's character was doing just that. "If they're going to call me a camel-riding Anti-American terrorist Arab, then, by Allah, I'll show 'em what one really acts like!". That was his character's mentality. So he was fighting back against alleged racism with what the people made it clear they didn't want him to be. He was using what they disapproved of to get back at them. He became...what they said he already was. It was not racist. It was racIAL, I'll give you that. It revolved around prejudice. Nationality, religion, that bullshit. But racIST, it was not. |
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"Nig-GA", not "nig-GER". Huge difference. Nigga's all friendly-like. Nothing ever could come close to the horrible nastiness of saying 'nig-GER'. |
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Well, Mr. Limit, Perhaps I"ve simply been awake too long (and I"m sure I have) but I fail to see how Hassan was so obviously meant to be nothing but an offensive, hate-driven corporate plot. I see how he was a heel, and how his character was planned, but I don't see how he was an instrument of Vince's Middle-eastern-based loathing. I also don't see why Hassan was even brought up in a discussion about the word 'nigger', but as I said, I"m very sleepy. I concede to you the victory, as I"ve lost interest in trying to make my point.
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If you did, you probably wouldn't see him much longer. |
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This niggah thing is ridiculous. People use it all the time...OMG a rich white guy is using it...big fucking deal.
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I'm also a sexist, a homophobe, and I hate all forms of faith. :D |
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Are you saying that racism had NOTHING to do with this character? Are you saying that the WWE booked the terrorist angle thinking that NO ONE would find it offensive and racist, even though they looked and acted like terrorists? Whether they were planning on them NOT being terrorists later in the angle is moot, because at that time, they were clearly trying to get cheap heat by running something that can be very real, and something that a lot of (stupid) Americans see as what a real Arab is like. |
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