Forget Apologizing to Obama, Jackson Should Apologize to Blacks for His N Word Hypocrisy

Guess who said this on November 26, 2006 at a press conference in Los Angeles: "We will challenge and urge all artists and comics to stop using this (N) word. What other group is subjected to such a degrading terminology?"

And then guess who called for this action: We will go after TV networks, film companies and comedians and demand that they stop using the word. We will boycott sales of the DVDs of Seinfeld's seventh season TV show. The speaker of course was Jesse Jackson. The offender who dared utter the dreaded N word was comedian Michael Richards.

Now we hear that Jesse did a Richards like imitation with the N word in his infamous unguarded open mic dig at Obama on Fox.

Jackson's pound of Richards and saber rattle of the entertainment business was strong stuff. In fact it was vintage Jackson; a denunciation of the N word, railing against the entertainment industry and entertainers for their racial insensitivity, and, of course, a threatened boycott. Jesse was riding tall on his moral and racial high horse at the time and had thousands revved up to go after Richards and anyone else who used the N word.

The problem is that the "anyone else" Jackson had in mind was not simply a white bit part comedian and some off color comics and filmmakers, but any and every black who used the word. Jesse would settle for nothing less than a total ban by blacks on the N word.

Jackson's press conference tirade against the N word was hardly the first time he had hit the warpath against the word. He had spent years lecturing, hectoring, and admonishing blacks to dump the word from their vocabulary.

So that makes his N word slur even more unpardonable than if it had come from a rapper or comic. They're trying to make a buck off of using the word as cutesy shock value so at least there's logic, commercial and twisted, but logic nonetheless to their spew of it. In Jackson's case that doesn't apply.

He committed two serious offenses in casually and recklessly using the word. Though he didn't call Obama the word, by knocking him ("cut off his n...ts") and tossing in the word to describe blacks who Obama allegedly offended, Obama by inference became an N... too. Jackson's bigger offense was his tar of blacks with the word. If a white celebrity, personality or politician slandered and disrespected blacks with the word, guess who would be the first person to charge the barricades demanding their head and then that they be banned in Boston for perpetuity. The chances are pretty good that Jackson would have gotten their head and the ban. But in this case, the famed personality that offended with the word is not a white notable but Jackson himself.

So what should we do about him? He's already apologized to Obama, and since he wasn't the target of Jackson's loose lip slur, Jackson should immediately apologize to blacks for not only trashing them, but also apologize for his hypocrisy. That's not all. Since Jackson called for a boycott of the DVD's of the Seinfeld show for Richards N word offense, then turn about is fair play. In this case, listeners to Jackson's national radio show should consider a brief tune out of his show to show that the N word is just as offensive no matter whether it drips from the lips of a tired white comedian, gangster rapper, blue room black comedian, radio shock jock, or a one time civil rights icon.

Jesse has taken a much deserved hit for his intemperate personal rap of Obama. Now he should take an even bigger hit for his far worse racial rap of blacks and in the process himself.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

Comments

[hankandted]

Great post, because these are the facts and what cause the frustration with Jackson so often. Jackson has done great things. He helped with the great voter registration drive that elected Harold Washington. He paved the way for Obama in the 80's when he ran for president and provided a place for progressives in the Democratic party in the bad Reagan years.

But, when you compare Obama and Jackson, Jackson is much more of a corporatist. Jackson's organizing is very much centered on getting in the door and pressuring corporations for inclusion. Obama has been much more interested in building an involved electorate and letting the corporations have one of the seats at the table.

[PumaAnn]

Good grief, the man has apologized over and over. He's prostrated himself.

Either forgive him or don't.

But enough. Nobody need grovel this much. Either people accept his apology or they won't, but more apoligies isn't the solution.

Many people just never forgive.

[jackie4444]

Absolutely right. And every expression of 'righteous' indignation just adds fuel to the deliberate fire that Fox started by leaking it in the first place, a fire directed toward undermining Obama. If you don't understand why that is, Mr. Hutchison think about it.

[allonfla]

Es Verdad!

[MariaHopeful]

For the first time ever, I completely agree with EOH.
Well done!

[MzTexas]

Fox is the group which should be vilified . . . they took an off the record, private conversation of their guest and made it public. Should Jackson have said what he did? Probably not, but it was not intended for public distribution.

[pottery]

Whoa! EOF, I happen to agree completely. It's a common hypocrisy we reserve for ourselves.

[MyNameIsJames]

Dear Mr. Hutchinson,

The way that Jackson used the word could easily be construed as IRONIC in light of how Obama was lecturing African Americans as IF they were N*****S. That is how I took it.

"Obama is talking down to Black people, Telling N******S how to behave" was the accusation that Jackson leveled at him. Jackson used this nasty word to depict the way that Obama's speech would be perceived by many in this society. In no way can YOU spin this to imply that Jackson feels that Black people are N******S

I didn't like Obama's lecturing and neither do multitudes of other Black people ESPECIALLY since Obama doesn't lecture other groups about their shortcomings.

If he does - he gets his hand smacked and he has to apologize.

Ask Obama to repeat his characterization of rural Pennsylvanians and watch his eyes "BUCK" out of his head! Better yet, go to AIPAC and lecture Jewish people on human rights in Palestine. His candidacy would be terminated the next day

Yet somehow he feels "safe" talking to Black people in a way that diminishes them on the NATIONAL stage.

I have never seen a Black neighborhood in this nation where the" bi-racial" kid gets to lecture all the others in his hood about THEIR inappropriate behavior.

Obama if you are going to lecture ethnic groups about responsibility then you had better start spreading the love around Buddy!

[Geoffreys]

I get what you're saying about using a perjorative term in an ironic way to better convey a point. I do it within my own minority group all the time. The point I think you're overlooking is that Rev Jackson did not give irony exemptions when calling on the death of the word. The hypocrisy is still there.

That said, regardingthe rest of your post, it appears to me that you're more offended that Obama aired some dirty laundry than anything. If a member of a community cannot discuss a problem within that community, then who can?

Never mind that I think as a society we've become awfully thin skinned whenever a criticism is made of a segment of society (especially if we belong to that segment), one should be permitted to discuss issues affecting one's peers.

If I were to point out that black men need to be better father figures, then I would be offbase since I'm not black and I could realistically be seen as making a racist statement. I would be more prudent to lecture absent fathers in general (as a man, I'm ok there). If I was to lecture the gay population on being superficial and disengaged, then I'm lecturing to my own people and that should be permitted ...

[MyNameIsJames]

Geoffreys,

The offense is NOT about "dirty laundry" per se. It is no secret that Black Americans have a high out of wedlock birth rate. The problem is that politicians, in this case Barack Obama, is exploiting this fact to score cheap political points with the larger society.

Public scolding, ridicule, and vilification of Black Americans has been national past time for many many years. Black Americans SHOULD be sensitive about public scolding because this community has suffered far more than any other group in the USA due to negative images whether deserved or undeserved. This isn't a new phenomenon and therefore it cannot and will not be trivialized by Black Americans.

Has Barack done this with any other group? The answer is no. Black Americans should not be singled out for criticism especially since he doesn't have the political COURAGE to do this to any other group in the nation. Somehow he should get a pass with Blacks Americans? He isn't a Black American just because he is married to one.

[cam]

I hadn't thought about it that way before.

I found Bill Cosby's criticism of gangsta culture refreshingly direct.

Obama appears to have personal integrity, but I agree, he needs to stop lecturing the black community on its failings unless he has the courage (idiocy) to address the white community's failings. When he's president he can take us all to task.

[lawchic]

I think your characterization of Jesse's use of the word is highly probable, but inappropriate nonetheless. As the article pointed out, he has been campaigning against the use of the word for a while now, and since he didn't make any exceptions to how it was used by other people, none should be made for his use of it either.

[lawchic]

Sorry, I meant to comment on the other part of your post.

People who disagree with Barack's statement in his Father's day speech, seem to bring up the fact that he doesn't "talk down" to other groups. First of all, I don't think he is trying to "talk down" to anyone, but second of all, he has gone to other forums and talked about the same issues he said in the church on Father's day: shared responsibility. He has spoken to labor unions, teachers unions, corporate America, etc. And did you ever stop to think that maybe the Pastor asked him to speak about this particular topic, on Father's day? Since he has in fact talked about these issues before.

And I think you diminished your whole argument, by implying that his "bi-racialness" precludes him from speaking out on this issue.

[jackie4444]

There is something a bit paternalistic, patronizing about his approach, something of the 'AA as child' mindset of the racial past. So maybe he's speaking partly for white consumption. And then again, to be honest, Obama has proved himself more than capable of being condescending and tone-deaf across racial lines, such as with his FISA vote. So it seems to me its also possible that he just considers himself, his thoughts and his opinions to be oracular. Which is why, I suspect,
that he is starting to make a lot of folks a bit nervous. We, after all, have had not so good results
with the oracle who was installed in 2000.

[JohnFromCensornati]

I'm not a big fan of censorship or euphemisms in general.
I really don't understand why (N) word is better.
It's still two syllables and it conveys the same idea.

[Emancipator]

If your feelings are the same towards the (F) word, (B) word, etc. then your comments bear merit but in any case the two syllables conveys profanity and if you have a problem with profanity you should understand­...unless of course you feel that the (N) word isn't a profane word.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Do (F) word and (B) word convey the same message as their "profane" equivalents?
If not, why not?