The Funeral

So, the NAACP decided to hold a funeral for the N-word. I applaud their intentions, but the realist in me says that it is nothing but a publicity stunt. I mean, really when was the last time anyone even thought about the NAACP as a group that really helps Black people? (POP QUIZ -Who is the leader of the NAACP now? Even if you know the answer without looking it up, I bet 4 out of 5 Black people don't know.) As for my own personal feelings about the funeral, it seems pointless. People who use the word, myself included are not going to automatically stop because of the NAACP. The group lacks any credibility with most young Black people (perhaps because it still says Colored), and even beyond that, the N word is deeply entrenched in our community. I wrote a paper back in college about the n word and its pervasiveness in our society. I wish I could find it, but basically my research showed that this word is deeply ingrained and has been since slavery times.

But since we are having funerals, why not have some more? I'm sure we can improve the Black community with a few well timed memorial services. For instance, can we get a funeral for crack and AIDS? I mean, they have done more damage to our people than a pejorative that many don't even see as demeaning. Marion Barry and Magic Johnson can give the eulogies. Maybe if we say crack and AIDS are dead, they will go away.

I'm waiting for the funeral for deadbeat dads (and moms for that matter.) How long do we have to wait before we take a stand on this? This is affecting the most innocent in our community. When I hear about men who have 5 or more kids and don't pay child support, it makes me wonder how we as a community can allow this to happen. It also makes me question why these women continue to procreate with these men. At some point, you have to insist on a condom and we have to insist that our men take responsibility for their children.

How about a funeral for Black men wearing women's clothes and acting like Mammy in the movies? Aiight, full disclosure, I liked Big Momma's House, but now with Tyler Perry and Eddie Murphy doing it, it just is getting ridiculous. It seems to me that its crossed the line from comedy to buffoonery, but that could just be me being overly sensitive. At any rate, if you want to have those type of characters in your movies, you can at least let Irma P Hall get a job. She can play a Mammy just as well. Those images of emasculated men can be just as bad as the n word.

Funeral services are needed for those God-awful Comic View, Def Comedy, Bad Boys of Comedy comedians. There's always an outcry about rappers content, but you never really hear anything about these comedy shows. How many times can people perform pale imitations of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy before somebody realizes that its not funny? How many "Black people do this, White people do that" jokes are their gonna be. I get it, your Black mother will beat your ass, and White mother's send their kids to timeout. It's not funny, but even worse than that, its unoriginal. These wack comedians talk about sex, violence and drugs just as much as your average wack rapper, but seem to get a pass from the community since it's entertainment. I even saw Katt Williams on Tavis Smiley's show the other day. Ain't he playing a pimp role? What's so different between him and Snoop? So when's the funeral?

Can we get a funeral for the pig? I like bacon and pork chops as much as the next man, but with all the hypertension and heart disease in the Black community, perhaps we need to lay off the swine. I'm no Muslim, and I'm not going to stop eating ham on Easter, but the pigs feet, chitlins and other assorted pig parts are far worse for our people than the n word. If you want to start somewhere, lets start with what's killing us.

I sincerely hope that the n word funeral has a positive outcome. My worry is that it only brings attention to a word that is used in the Black community differently than it is used in other communities. I fear that with this added debate over the word, you will have people of other races trying to justify their usage of the n word. I understand why the NAACP wants to stop using the n word, although I don't necessarily agree with their reasoning; I just think that there are far more serious problems facing the Black community. I also feel burying the n word is just the first step towards censorship, particularly censorship of hip hop. The next logical step is going to be trying to control the content of the music and that is just unacceptable in America. After all, Freedom of Speech is not just for the enlightened and conscious. And I'm getting off my soapbox now! Have a good day, my nig.. I mean everybody.