blogpost Jackie Mag vs Rihanna, when hearing is oppossed to saying and visa versa.
jackie mag vs Rihanna
Alfred Edmond, Jr. says:
December 28, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Chris;
I really dislike when you use the words “basically” and “apparently”, because they seem to signal that you’re about to presume what I am “trying to say” or “mean to say,” as opposed to hearing what I’m actually saying. I do not advocate that anyone, black, white or otherwise, use the N-word. But the fact that I object to it and choose not to use it does not mean that I don’t respect other people’s right to use it, because I believe in freedom of speech–even speech personally offensive to me. Everyone, regardless of race, has the right to use any word. And everyone, regardless of race, has the right to object to the use of any word. Moreover, everyone is absolutely free to make up their own rules for when a word is okay and when it’s not just as everyone is absolutely free to disagree with those rules. And since I distinguish between works of art and works of journalism (I happen to practice both, as a writer, poet and visual artist as well as a multimedia editor), I absolutely differentiate between Rihanna’s music and a Dutch magazine.
In America, no one, not even Black people, has the right to use the N-word freely. Don’t assume that what is acceptable in certain genres of music, television and film is acceptable throughout black culture, or American culture in general. For example, a Black person openly using the N-word on the job will be fired by the vast majority of employers. If I walked out of my office right now and called our executive assistant a “niggabitch,” I’d be out of a job, despite the fact that we are both Black and work for a predominantly Black, Black-owned company.
Also, in America (I can’t speak for Holland), everyone does decide what they will or will not accept in their own homes. What I would not tolerate in my home, my neighbor might absolutely celebrate in theirs. That’s not just the case for the N-word, that’s for everything from what’s appropriate to wear, to whether obscenities are acceptable language, to what faith is practiced. And you are right, I don’t judge what people decide to do in their own homes (illegal activities being an exception), just as I don’t allow people to judge what I do in mine.
Race and culture does matter, and it should. The opposite of racism is not to ignore race or render it invisible. It is to acknowledge and respect race and culture without denigrating or treating people harmfully because of it. Especially with words such as the N-word, the B-word and other slurs, culture and context matter, because without context, there can be no comprehension of meaning and intent. This is the case for every word ever created.
Those unwritten rules you refer to is culture, and it’s real. While I don’t expect the average person in the Netherlands to have “excellent knowledge” of American culture, (much less black American culture), it is absolutely expected of journalists to become knowledgeable, using research, expert sources and other reporting tools, prior to writing on subjects with which they are not innately familiar. The Jackie Magazine writer who wrote the Rihanna item failed to meet that standard, and Eva Hoeke, as chief editor, failed to enforce it.
