"But You Guys Say It All The Time"


Fall out from the Don Imus comments is dominating news sites, chat rooms, and water coolers all across America. Many, however, fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation and the larger issues at hand. TV Personality Al Roker(formerly known as "Big Al") came out publicly saying "It's time for Imus to go." Reading his readers comments, as well as many on the radio and tv, the general sentiment from white people seems to be "What's the big deal? You guys say it all the time".
And it's true.
The "nappy head", "ho", the "n-word", "you people"- all red flags that some racist comments are about to go down. The question is, why is it ok for Black people to use these terms, but not anyone else?
The answer is, it's not OK.
We as a people need to stop tolerating and participating in the self-derogatory vernacular that has become considered normal, especially in the entertainment industry. Yes, it is hypocritical to despise a white person who calls you "nigger", if you say it to other people all the time. (No, there is no difference between "nigger" and "nigga"- same definition, just different accent.) We cannot disrespect and degrade each other daily, then express outrage when others do the same. We have to change our ways, and treat each other the way we want to be treated. (It's not called the "golden rule" for nothing)

But a message to all those who say "you guys say it, so why can't we?":
When someone does wrong, pointing out the victim's imperfections does not justify anything. And a black person degrading a black person is definitely wrong, but rarely racist- and racism is the reason so many people were upset. And if you don't understand why racism upsets people, then why are you even reading this, you sociopath? (not that you care, but I was kidding)

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