Mammies and Niggers: We Ain’t No Joke

This is going to be one of those rambling, “where the hell is Kev going with this type of posts.” Just so you know.

I’m pissed. I’m pissed off at this thread in particular right now; and no, I’m not pissed at Ilyka for rightfully expressing outrage at the offensive use of a mammy figurine for “preventing drunk dialing.” I’m pissed at the people flooding that thread twisting and contortioning themselves into every possible shape imaginable to try to excuse themselves or their friends of having fucked up. To wit:

One might also posit that there are a literally endless number of more harmful examples of pervasive racism in our current, living culture to get up in arms about — there’s the black man in pop culture having the option of being a musician, an athlete, or a prisoner; or the black woman’s similar pop culture pigeonholing as either the Sassy Best Friend Who Gets Maybe Twelve Lines Total in the Romantic Comedy That’s Out This Week or, simply, the ghetto ‘ho. I would wager any of these stereotypes has a lot more negative bearing on African Americans living today, in the 21st Century, than The Mammy

Oh, you’d wager that, huh? After reading several comments written by people of color expressly stating that they were offended, YOU still know more about what has a “negative bearing on African Americans living today.” Yeah. Right. Gotcha.

But it get’s better:

I know this will convince exactly 0.0% of the people reading this, but Sarah, who has the Emancipatia figure, is a friend of mine, and there is not a racist bone in her body. I think it’s perfectly valid to discuss this, but some of you need to stop patting yourselves on the back. There is a danger that you can look right at real honest-to-god racism and not see it, because you’re too busy being proud that you know Aunt Jemima was a little off-color. Maybe that’s even part of the joke.

Um, yeah. You see, Joshua, this is where, as Tim Wise would say (and really, I suggest that you spend some time reading his work) your “whiteness is showing.” A good number of comments on this thread were written by people of color, and you want to claim that these same people might not know “real honest-to-god racism” when they see it? As if we haven’t lived it our entire lives? Oh, but you thought everyone on the thread was white, didn’t you? Because everyone on the intertubes is white, right? And we just don’t get the joke. No, trust me. We get the joke, and it’s not funny.

And then we get what I was just waiting for: the “I’m sorry if” non-apology:

I want to say that I do feel embarrassed for not realizing that not everyone would know the context here, for just assuming the rest of the world would know that Emancipatia was purchased, given, named and displayed with total knowledge of how gross it was that she was ever manufactured. The purchase was not a smug hipster joke, it was someone being so horrified that this thing existed that they had to show it to someone else, one of those so bad you have to laugh to keep from crying situations. And the joking commentary from my friend Brian was his attempt to distract me from something awful happening in my life at the time, nothing hateful. I don’t think this thing symbolizes someone choosing to wait on me or any of that other nonsense previous commenters suggested. I do regret putting that on the internet without any context or explanation, and I apologize if I’ve offended anyone. This was thoughtless and foolish on my part, but definitely not racism.

First of all, if you haven’t yet, I want you to now stop reading and follow the link to the mammy figurine picture and commentary. Now, notice that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that suggests any sort of horror or condemnation. Nothing.

I don’t buy it. The center does not hold.

I want to be clear here, however; NO ONE is calling anyone a white-sheet wearing, cross-burning white-supremacist. You just fucked up, is all. You were blind, is all. You can get past that if you just stepped back for a minute and actually LISTENED to what people are saying to you and just owned your shit. We all know that you meant no harm. That’s not the point. The point is that the harm was done when you didn’t mean it. That, often, is more hurtful than when the harm was intended. Get it?

And I just have to say, I cringe every time I read “I’m sorry if…” It rings so false and so condescending that I’m inclined to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt the minute I read it. So what? Are you saying that if you didn’t happen to offend someone then you’re not sorry? Again, own your shit. If you mean it, say “I’m sorry THAT I offended you.” Otherwise you can just stfu.

Now, on to Dog Chapman.

What does Dog Chapman have to do with this particular rant, you ask? A hella lot, actually. You see, it really pisses me off that people are so willing to dismiss legitimate claims of grievances, that people are so willing to say, “just get over it and focus on the important stuff” when it is so obvious that all of this is connected. One thing leads to another. Let that racist mammy figure slide, and the next thing you know you’ve got Dog Chapman or Michael Richards. Next thing you know….

“But really, it’s all just a joke. Don’t you get it?”

Again, yes. I get it. It’s not funny. And I’m not going to get over it. It’s time for you to deal. This matters and I applaud those that are willing to call it for what it is.

So, if any of you Emancipatia owners still don’t get it, I would like you to think long and hard about Dog Chapman. I would like you to realize that you’re feeding into this same bullshit, regardless of your intentions. Think about how Chapman and his supporters are making THE SAME EXACT ARGUMENTS OF INNOCENCE as you are.

Really, just think about it (listening helps too!)

This post is my contribution to the Day of Blogging for Respect in Media. If this mess pisses you off as much as it does me, then you should consider hitting them where it hurts, their pocket books.

Other Bloggers for Media Justice:

1. Purple Zoe purplezoe.blogspot.com/
2. Kevin slanttruth.com/
3. Yobachi www.BlackPespective.net
4. Tolu Olorunda www.yourblackworld.com/blogs/yourblackpolitics.htm
5. Aaron www.politicalseason.blogspot.com/
6. She Codes blackwomenvote.blogspot.com/
7. Francis Holland francislholland.blogspot.com/
8. Dr. Boyce Watkins blog.boycewatkins.com/
9. Villager electronicvillage.blogspot.com
10. Vanessa Byers www.vanessabyers.net/
11. ChangeSeeker whyaminotsurprised.blogspot.com
12. Jerome kid-kidfunkadelic.blogspot.com
13. Hawa fackintruth.typepad.com
14. Bluelinchpin bluelinchpin.blogspot.com
15. Deborah msladydeborah.blogspot.com
16. newblackwoman.blogspot.com
17. Sojourner’s Place sojournersplace.blogspot.com/