Anglo comedian Michael Richards was seen on TV by the entire world going on a racist tirade after he was heckled during a stand-up comedy routine. Afterwards, his excuse was: "I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."
More recently, former NBA player Tim Hardaway, an African American, said on the radio: "Well, you know, I hate gay people. . .I’m homophobic." In a later interview, Hardaway backpedaled, saying: "I don't hate gay people. I'm a good-hearted person. . . I respect people."
"I'm not that kind of person," seems to be the spin phrase of the moment, fitting any situation in which a public figure finds that he or she has exposed their true nature for the whole world to see. How can they possibly believe (and how can their publicists possibly convince them) that such an excuse is remotely appropriate or effective?
What makes that phrase particularly insidious is that it ascribes the racism or the homophobia or the sexism or [insert any other type of discriminatory action here] as an outburst that happens only when the person "isn't" him or herself.
What that phrase doesn't acknowledge or face up to or handle is the fact that we live in a pervasively racist, homophobic, sexist and [insert any other type of discriminatory action here] society and that until everybody owns up to that very fact, not much is going to change. Cherríe Moraga, a Latina lesbian feminist writer, warns us that it's the "enemy within" that we must come to terms with at the same time that we struggle against all other enemies of justice and equality out there.
Racist tirades are racist, whether the person meant them to be or not. That's why they're called racist tirades. Saying that you're not a racist after you've proven the contrary with your actions only makes you look like a hypocrite and a fool. Saying that you hate gay people (any kind of people not like you, for that matter) immediately takes you off the already short-list of good-hearted and respectful people, precisely because such people make it a point not to insult those who are not like themselves. That's the whole point of cultivating good-person-ness and respectfulness.
What Richards and Hardaway, and so many others forget, and what we need to remember always, is that old and never-failing axiom: Actions speak so much, much louder than words.
4 comments:
And also that words are their own actions. I was about to write "especially hateful words," but I don't think that's necessarily true. Impassioned, truthful words--whether they're animated by hate or love--are their own strong actions, and once they're spoken, they can't just be unspoken again.
Spoken like a true flaming sword. :)
Hace algún tiempo, mi novia tuvo un Freudian slip y me dijo algo como: “él es bien negro pero es tan elegante.” En el acto la acusé de racista (in hindsight, quizá debí haber tenido más tacto) y eso nos causó tremenda pelea. Ella me dijo exactamente lo mismo: “no, eso no era lo que yo quería decir.” Y yo le comenté que lo importante ahí no era la intención sino el discurso. La pelea fue bien larga, pero creo que al fin y al cabo entendió mi punto. Le expliqué que tod@s tenemos nuestros destellos y nuestras resacas racistas, sexistas [o cualquier otra] porque se nos ha criado en sociedades que son discriminantes por naturaleza. Yo creo que ninguno de nosotros/as puede cantarse libre de prejuicios porque eso, creo, es imposible. Lo que sí podemos hacer es estar pendientes de todas esas sutilezas y tratar de corregirlas tanto en uno mismo como en los demás. Esa es la diferencia entre una persona que desea igualdad y justicia y un/a verdadero/a racista, sexista, xenófobo/a, etc.
En el caso de estos individuos, no hubo siquiera un “Freudian slip”; eso fue un full-blown attack. Decir “I hate gay people” no es un slip-up de la lengua. Llamarle nigger a una persona más de 10 veces (habría que contarlas pero definitivamente tiene que haber sido más de 10) no es un “error”; es algo deliberado y que sale del alma. Esas supuestas “disculpas” no son más que eso que tú misma haz dicho, una táctica de los/as publicistas (a.k.a Satan’s minions) para hacer control de daño. En este caso esas primeras palabras se convierten en una acción…su acción habla más que sus palabras huecas (las disculpas). Coincido contigo en todo esto. Muy bueno!
Raúl, Me gusta mucho tu idea de que hay es que estar pendiente de toda sutileza discriminatoria y corregirlas en uno y en otros. Por éso yo no soporto ni permito que me hagan chistes étnicos de ninguna clase. Una vez vi cuando estuve en Harvard de que nosotros los boricuas éramos el "butt" de los chistes étnicos de los estadounidenses no pude reconciliar jamás el yo hacer un chiste étnico contra otro grupo de gente. Como dicen por estos lares: If you're going to talk the talk you've got to walk the walk. :) Gracias por tu post.
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