Nigger - the red herring in an honest dialogue about race

Before I even address the video, I need to know. Am I the only one hearing strains of "The Signifyin' Monkey" (Oscar Brown, Jr.'s version or Dolemite's - depending on your sensitivities) in the background of this Rev. Jackson/Sen. Obama thing? I mean, saying what he really feels up in the tree where he's "safe" is one thing (I promise you, he's not alone up there. Talking "amongst themselves," you can be sure there are others. SMDH).

But talking to the brother like he wasn't even on the damn ground, seems oddly akin to that monkey falling out of his tree while jumping up and down gloating, giving Lion a chance to trap him. And trap him he did, resulting in a mainstream media apology and a very public, classless and totally disrespectful admonishment from his own son. Opportunism is a soul-murdering enterprise isn't it?

So Rev. Jackson, what now?

Now, the conversation on this video is a prime example of why the issue of race in this country will continue to be mired in bullshit. I don't care how evolved Elisabeth Hasselbeck or Barbara Walters profess to be, they are not one iota removed from the culture of white privilege that not only gave birth to racism in this country, but continues to sustain it.

Elisabeth, in case you hadn't noticed, it is 2000-and-damn-8! You don't get to tell us anymore what we can and cannot say, when we can and cannot say it, what it should and should not mean. Nor should you expect we will always agree with you in an enthusiastic, "Yass'm Miss Ann, you sho' is right!" Truth be told, even back then, that "Yass'm Miss Ann" wasn't always the deference it appeared to be. After all, "twoness" was, and for many remains, a means for survival.

In the absence of anybody else giving a damn about the trauma slavery and Jim Crow inflicted upon a whole race of people, that race of people developed their own kinds of "therapy" to deal with the psyche-crushing horror that was verbal, physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered at the hands of whites. Whether you, or anybody else for that matter, approve or not, using the word nigger - taking the sting out of it, was one of them.

But if you and Barbara must continue this feigned "I don't understand" shtick, here's a quick word usage refresher for you:

1. Main Entry: de·no·ta·tion: meaning; especially: a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea.
2. Main Entry: con·no·ta·tion: the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes

Black people using the word to each other? CONNOTATION (as defined by US). White people using the word to us? DENOTATION (as defined by over 400 years of foot-on-the-neck YOU).  But quit playin', you knew that didn't you? All this noise about our use of the "N" WORD - to each other - is so you don't have to seriously talk about those pesky little institutionalized issues that disproportionately affect Black people now isn't it?

You want to know how we ever move forward Elisabeth?? Well, let's start with meaningfully addressing that woefully inadequate "E"ducation WORD. Or how about a couple substandard "H" WORDS, like Housing and Healthcare? Oh, let's not leave out those inheritance-robbing "P"redatory "L"ending WORDS, or that lack of comprehensive, innovative "T"reatment WORD (not only for the white meth-addicted crowd, but for the Black crack-addicted crowd as well).
We could also debate the shortcomings of some of those bias-based "J" WORDS, you know, Jobs, Jails, Juvenile Justice. And just to round it out, let's throw in a few arbitrary-decision-making "C"ourts WORDS (local, state, federal take your pick). Let's have a conversation about both the "A"ccountability WORD and the "R"esponsibility WORD - all around - not just in the Black community. Let's be clear Elisabeth, your tears over our use of the word nigger, in whatever form, among ourselves has absolutely no bearing at all on any kind of "moving forward."

And Sherri Shepherd, Don Lemon on CNN might think Rev. Jackson got a pass for using this "racist" word, particularly in light of the mock funeral and burial (more an obtuse display of patriarchy, than any racist hypocrisy in my book), but you know damn well he was using the word the same way you said you use it.

Inherent racism betrays itself often in the language and attitudes of white privilege, much like internalized white racism turned self-hatred manifests itself in the shaming, blaming and looking down of noses readily perpetrated by some Blacks against their own (Adolph Caesar's, Sgt. Waters character in "A Soldier's Story" comes to mind). These two elephants, along with their offspring - pain, fear, anger, disillusionment, disenfranchisement and classism, all sit in the corners of lives in this country bleeding our humanity dry. And no conversation, about if, or why, Blacks should use the "N" WORD, can stop that kind of flow.

My Spin Control is Better Than Your Spin - Why Just Plain Truth Cannot Stand On Its Own

There are so many more takes now on what led to Jena, what happened in Jena and what will happen in Jena. Depending on who’s doing the commentary, the noose-hangers, the DA, the Jena 6, Justin Barker – hell the whole town - are either saints, sinners or somewhere in between. It all depends on the spin. Until a couple of months before the March on Jena, there was no national media coverage - network, print or radio – was even talking about what was happening in that small Louisiana town. That is, with the exception of Howard Witt, the lone American journalist whose May 2007 article in the Chicago Tribune is the reason I knew anything about the Jena story at all (THANK YOU Howard Witt!). I was so angry no one was talking about it much less doing anything about it. I read the story over the phone to my husband who was overseas at the time and said, “A school fight?? You know how this is going to turn out.” Witt’s June article led me to the Friends of Justice website and Alan Bean. As I read the comments from people in ENGLAND about the BBC documentary on the blog, I was absolutely shocked to find out that America’s shame was a bigger story “across the pond” than in her own backyard. Bean’s blog led me to the documentary. The Jena 6 had been arrested, charged as adults and five of them had been bailed out. Mychal Bell had gone to trial (on reduced charges) and been convicted by an all-white jury in virtual anonymity and here in the good ole U.S. of A., most of us were asleep at the wheel. Then, Black talk-radio got hold of the story and it blew up, culminating in that beautiful September 20th day when thousands (yes, THOUSANDS, I was there) marched on Jena for equal treatment under the law. There were national news outlets everywhere. And seven days later, Mychal Bell walked out into the sunlight after almost 10 months, most of which was spent in an adult prison facility. So you’re asking, “What does this chronology have to do with spin?” Let’s first take a look at the definition as it relates to this case. Spin (noun) - a special point of view, emphasis, or interpretation presented for the purpose of influencing opinion. Based on Jason Whitlock’s September 29th column (critical thinking requires I read him whether I agree with him or not), Alan Bean followed the definition to the letter. And not only is he absolutely right, Bean admits it. I’m a “just the facts ma’am” kind of girl - no embellishment, no framing, no spinning. I want to be able to evaluate information for myself and come to my own conclusions. But here’s the thing, were it not for Mr. Bean’s “spin,” there would’ve been no information to evaluate! No one else was writing or talking about these Black kids in that predominately white town which, as one resident pointed out early on “doesn’t have any problems with THEIR BLACKS.” No one else was writing or talking about this D.A., those excessive charges and how what was happening in Jena is happening all over America! Not Mr. Whitlock, not other Black writers like him, not affluent Blacks who hold court on “the problem with Black folks” in the bright media lights - No one!! I don’t know about you, but I prefer the opportunity to evaluate the “spin” rather than being assaulted by the internalized racism and self-hatred manifested in the shame-and-blame game played by Mr. Whitlock, et al. who continue to assist the powers that be in the divide and conquer tactics that are so counter-productive to our survival as a people. Engaging in spin control (noun) - the act or practice of attempting to manipulate the way an event is interpreted by others (after-the-fact) seems more Mr. Whitlock’s style. Do I think Alan Bean “gets” the BIG picture about racism and how it’s affected Blacks in America all these hundreds of years? No I do not. But he gets some very important parts of it and is trying to do something about it. Do I think he has a personal agenda? Absolutely! So does everyone else who’s been a public part of the Jena story. What that agenda is, remains to be seen and as my grandmother always said, “Whatever you do in the dark, will always come to light.” There is, however, one point on which Mr. Whitlock and I agree. Mr. Bean would do well not to underestimate either the gravitas or credibility of the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton. As he said in his blog, “…nobody is going to write a groundbreaking story about Jena, Louisiana simply because some white preacher told them to.” And thousands of Black people will not march nor lend the full weight of their support solely for that reason either. Oh! And why can’t just plain truth stand on its own? Because as Jack Nicholson’s character, Col. Jessep, in A Few Good Men so succinctly put it, Mr. Whitlock –“You can't handle the truth!”