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http://www.theweek.co.uk/us/51477/rappin-jesus-makes-pastor-jim-youtube-star-video
http://now.msn.com/rappin-for-jesus-video-uses-n-word-likely-fake
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Regarding controversy over use of the 'n' word.
Be sure to listen to the audio in the right panel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigga
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And, here's one English teacher who had to offer his own explanation to differentiate the two words:
...one more to challenge how this word gets used:
2 Nigga or Not 2 Nigga
The defense for using the slang 'nigga' is usually based on the notion that the black culture is entitled to reclaim the word and that they alone have that right because it has been used abusively against them.
On the other hand, for non-blacks who are raised by families who educate their children about the history of slavery and racial violence, the derogatory word 'nigger' or 'nigga' is considered profanity and is offensive, regardless of who is using it. Accusations of racism directed towards such individuals are highly offensive and liberal use of the word 'nigga' or 'nigger' can be considered insensitive and even a form of racism, as though the logic is that a profane word can be used in their presence simply because they are white (or non-black), as though they deserve such disrespect because of their guilt by association.
Whites have even been accused of voting for Barack Obama based on "white guilt". For some so called 'liberals', this may be true - the fear of being accused of racism by mere association - to the point of bending themselves into submission rather than assuming a position of integrity, whereby they begin aggressively accusing others of all forms of discrimination and finding ways to employ the line of attack for political gain. Democrat or Republican, both parties seek out voting blocks and pander with whatever symbol people will buy. Republicans are really jumping on the Latino vote. Nothing against Latinos, but what's the real agenda? Power?
But, back to 'nigga'...
Is the assumption by blacks who use the word 'nigga' in front of whites that all whites are racists who need the word taken from them? Or that they deserve disrespect as a form of emotional reparations for the wholesale acts of abuse committed by members of their race? Is it really that conscious an act of defiance? It always sounds so casual. Is it possible that blacks use the word 'nigga' because it means black and they identify with the word culturally in the context of living in a largely white country? It's comical when I hear a black person saying 'get your black ass over here' or 'you're as black as the ace of spades' - there is certainly a cultural preoccupation based largely on being a minority, a different focus from being oppressed.
Further, racial accusations made for gain - aka "playing the race card" - are doubly offensive. For an English teacher whose job is to correct language and make those who are uneducated conscious of their use, I think this guy has some balls, common sense and humor, but the system doesn't know how to address this issue formally without fearing lawsuits. In this case, the guy was suspended for ten days.
And that's how institutions and countries can be controlled, that's how the British Redcoats who marched in rows out of convention of honorable warfare were picked off from behind the trees by Americans in buck skins. What Somali pirates? We look the other way when we run the risk of overstepping our territory or infringing on others, sometimes at great costs. Sometimes we have to pick our battles. Discernment. Hostility. North Korea makes threats and we ignore them or the UN 'strongly condemns'. China? Tick tick tick.
OK, back to 'nigga'...
To put everything into context, the use of the word 'nigga' is largely recognized as popular jargon by people of any race or ethnicity, so with a little common sense and a sense of humor, one can afford to take it for what it's worth -while also keeping it in context - and should not be offended, right? Yet, the double standard erupts into question constantly, and calls for reconciliation. Muslim extremists never took an ambiguous stance on making cartoons about Allah, only to go off and run a strip or gag panel in Al Jazeera. It's the elephant in the room, and depending on which generation someone is born into, I've encountered whites who do not understand the pop reference and who find the videos outright offensive. I could not adequately explain how it could possibly be justifiable or funny, the word is so taboo. But new generations move forward and we adopt new practices and perhaps this represents progress.
I must admit, I find the fist bump self-defeating, but it gets offered up daily by people of all races and ages, though it is associated with street culture and hip-hop. At times, I've offered a handshake and have been met with a closed fist in response, which frankly reads as a form of 'no agreement'. Granted, if someone offers the fist first, I've been inclined to respond in kind, or even simply lay my hand over the fist in some vain effort to symbolically turn the tide of disconnection. Is it really about not having clean hands on the street, so I've heard, or is it more about the symbol of the fist? Wasn't the intent of the handshake to establish a means of demonstrating safety and trust between strangers, that each party is not holding a weapon in their right hand? Or is it simply the less gushy form of a hug, as people suggest when describing the proper amount of pressure to exert in a handshake. Maybe I'll start toting some hand sanitizer and we'll all begin bonding again, because clearly as Americans we all just want to cuddle. Wiki has a few ideas about how fist-bumping came about. Maybe the East has it right - just bow, but be sure to keep your eyes on the other person.
Regardless, words and gestures are all part of the meme pool and people adorn themselves with these expressions largely without thinking because they are constantly surrounded by the requirement to make such exchanges. How much thought really goes into collective behavior afterall?
For the sake of establishing a public standard of use, if blacks truly want the word 'nigga' all to themselves, they should only use it in front of each other or around non-blacks they know well, and should otherwise be respectful of non-blacks around them, some or even many of whom have been raised with values that shun the word altogether, else they are just as guilty of insensitivity or racism.
This rule-making is no fun, I know, but what's a non-nigga gonna' do in this politically correct society? I propose we form our own society for reform to stop using the word altogether. Nigganonymous (Nigganon).
I must say, being such a forbidden fruit and such a funny sounding word, once you take a bite out of the nigga apple, it's hard to stop. Just rattle of a few lyrics from whatever popular album and you're on the hook, beats and all. Nigga-Naks - bet you can't eat just one (hypothetically speaking, not me of course, I'm just sayin').
Otherwise, we will continue to turn to pop-culture to dare and beg the question, to hash out the parameters of what is or is not offensive, to decipher whether it's OK to laugh, and to set a standard as to whether we should remain so serious as to bring law suits and violent threats on just a hair trigga.
