Hypocritical racism

So by now most people have seen the whole ‘Kramer incident’ and if you haven’t chances are you have heard about it (see it here). Now, while what he said was definently offensive because he was most certainly using the N word to insult the audience member, it made me remember some thoughts I have had for a while now.

Now instead of saying “the N word” throughout this post, I’ll replace it with a less offensive n word, “nibblet”.

There seems to be a lot of hypocritical behaviour when it comes to racism and how some races can get away with being total racists whereas as soon as a caucasian says anything that could be interpreted as a racist slur, they are automatically ridiculed. Think about it, african americans call each other “nibblet” all the time, it’s a term of endearment it seems for them. They use the word in their songs, they say it in public in reference to other african americans, basically they can just say it whenever they want. “But thats ok” I hear you say, they aren’t using it as an insult aimed at another race. Would it be wrong if a white man in an african american neighbourhood with plenty of african american friends lovingly called his mates “nibblets”? Maybe his friends would be ok with it, but outsiders looking in would probably have issues with it. So why is it ok for african americans to use it as a term of endearment, but as soon as a member of another race says it, he/she is ostracized. If the person using the word is not using it in an insulting manner than what should it matter?

Another thing, rappers are using “nibblet” in their songs nowadays. Kids are growing up thinking they can just say it now, but society still looks down upon it. It sends a mixed message to people who listen to this music. Theres a good passage in my favourite show, Scrubs, which goes like this:

J.D. (caucasian): Here’s the thing: TuPac, DMX, Dr. Dre, in most of their songs, these artists use an extremely volatile racial slur…

Turk (african american) nods.

J.D.: [clarifying]…The “N” word.

Turk: I got it.

J.D.: Right. My question is this: if we’re both singing along, and knowing that otherwise I would never use the word, am I allowed to say—

Turk: No.

J.D.: See, that’s good for me to know. I didn’t–I didn’t know that.

I think this is the case in society too, basically, if you are caucasian you can never say it.

Ok, so caucasian people can’t use words that are racially insulting to african americans, but why can they turn around and call us “cracker”. No-one ever gets upset when they hear a caucasian get called a cracker, no matter the tone or intended meaning. It seems it’s ok for other races to be racist towards caucasians, because it apparently isn’t offensive, and since african americans are usually the target of racism (accidental or not), it seems it’s ok for them to be racist towards others, without fear of any repercussions.

I wonder, if caucasians began kicking up a stink everytime one of us was called cracker, if eventually it would be socially unacceptable to utter that word, much like saying “nibblet”…unless of course you are african american, in which case, say it to your hearts content.