Racism: Is It Dead?

Copyright Quintara Tucker, 2011– All Rights Reserved

 

Racism: Is It Dead? 

When was the last time you were able to watch a late night comedy show without getting
offended or feeling as if someone else might be? Maybe even watch the news without feeling as if certain stories were biased? To most people, it's not clear that the news, comedy sketches, television shows, music, and other pop culture media is a trap for racism. Media is allowing children to not only laugh at what they do not understand and unintentionally offend others, but it's allowing them to think that racial slurs and stereotypes are approved in today's society. Many people claim that racism is no longer a problematic issue; however, it's still present in the media and is destroying our youth.

Michael Dyson's short essay titled, "Frames of Reference" is a great example of how racism is present in the media. Dyson breaks down how the news portrays blacks during one of America's largest disasters, Hurricane Katrina. He explains that, "The media framed black survivors as lawless thugs while ignoring the social condition that made their lives hell” (Dyson 151). The article then goes on to explain how the media will do anything in their power to gain good reviews, even if that means belittling and offending others. Dyson also mentions that while trying to survive, blacks looted their food while the whites found theirs. To me, not only is that racist, but it's unprofessional. Everyone was up for survival themselves that day, and had to find food and other necessities to live. No one will ever know why the whites "found" their food and the blacks "looted" theirs, but I believe that shouldn't have been the topic of conversation that morning. This proves that racism has yet to cease, and shows its face in the source we Americans trust the most, the news.

Racism doesn’t only appear on the news, it’s also present on television shows and social networking sites. A popular YouTube video titled "I Hate Black People. But I'm Not Racist"1 is a perfect example. The video consists of a young white girl stating her dislikes about blacks using rude stereotypes in just forty-five seconds. She constantly states how much she hates black people, refers to them as “niggers,” and explains how it annoys her that: she can't find them in the dark, they eat all her chicken, and explains how she wishes a plague will kill them all. My best bet is she laughed hysterically at the South Park episode2 in which a contestant of the hit show Wheel of Fortune had to solve the puzzle with the letters N _ G G E R S and the clue, "People who annoy you." By looking at the clue and the letters already given, the first word that comes to mind isn't "naggers," in fact, my heart stopped as I was watching both this South Park episode and the YouTube video.
The South Park episode is just a classic example of ignorance, not humor. Not only is the show meant to offend others with the use of satire, it’s intended for mature audiences. I'm not sure if the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are aware that children and immature adults watch the show religiously, therefore are going to laugh and think its "okay" because it's on South Park. On the other hand, the girl in the YouTube video is not only the result of how the media is affecting our youth, but she’s living proof that racism is not dead, and still thriving in some households. Out of the 10,772 ratings the video received, 1,843 were likes, which proves  she’s not the only on who feels this way. She states there should be a plague to get rid of just black people; however, the government has already tried that with AIDS, and failed.

Bell hooks, author of the short essay, “Learning In The Shadow Of Race,” experienced racism first hand when she attended a predominately white women’s college. When hooks arrived, she witnessed the “terror in her roommate’s face . . .” that appeared when she realized that she was “going to be housed with someone black” (hooks 317). In addition, hooks requested a change, and in response to her request, the school gave her a small room to herself by the stairs. After that, hooks distanced her self for the rest of her stay at that college and felt ashamed of her time there. Now, having received her PhD, hooks is a professor at Brooklyn Community College and a racism activist (316). She speaks at certain ceremonies, private interviews, and schools about her views on racism it self, and where it appears most; pop culture media. During one of her interviews3, hooks discusses racism within rap music and why today, it’s topic of discussion. Hooks begins by making it clear that rap music is very diverse, and does have different styles and contexts. She then begins to explain that young, suburban, white males take out of rap music what ever they please. Therefore, the most popular rap music, is the kind that expresses misogyny in lyrics and videos, obscenity, and pugilism. Rap music it self is destroying our youth with the videos and lyrics. The first mistake is many people confuse rap music with hip-hop and it’s two totally different genres. Hip-hop consists of the four pillars MCing, DJing, break dancing and graffiti; Whereas rap music consist of naive people who know that they will quickly make a million dollars rapping about how much they want to have sex with a woman, or how bad they hate a person and want to shoot them.

When children listen to this, they don’t know any better but to think that it’s okay. In result, crime and birth rates within the youth sky rocketed in the past couple years, and many people are walking around like they don’t know why. Rap music is leaving young whites, or any other race of that matter, to think that going around saying the “N” word is acceptable. I honestly believe that the word shouldn’t be used at all! All you hear is every one saying, “That’s our history, we can say it, we’re black!” Honestly, why would you want to revisit your ancestors’ past. They didn’t like to be referred to by that term, but today, every black male can’t finish a sentence without using it. Why? Because it’s all around us in music, movies, and television shows. However, if the term should be used, that’s a black conversation, and I feel as if anyone who is not black, should just stay out of it.

Many think racism is not as prevalent but there are times when intellectual awakening must be encouraged. Racism is present in the place children refer to during their free time, the television. Therefore, what is shown, listened to, and regurgitated is destroying our youth. Michael Dyson proves that racism is present on the news during one of the most tragic days of American history. After Katrina hit, the media quickly belittled blacks in order to get better reviews. Instead of comparing how the blacks and whites got their food, the media should have been providing it or helping them locate it! On the other hand, the flat out racist YouTube video is an example of how rap music, movies, and television shows, such as South Park, are destroying our youth. There's a 50/50 chance that the girl in the video grew up like that due to the way she was raised, or she watches the late night comedy shows that are meant to offend, and listens to rap music and repeats the obscene lyrics, and laughs. America has come a long way, but we have a long way to go.

Works Cited
Dyson, Eric. "Frames Of Reference." Acting Out Culture:Reading and Writing. 2nd Ed. James S. Miller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2008. 147-157. Print.

Hooks, Bell. "Learning In The Shadow of Race and Class." Acting Out Culture:Reading and Writing. 2nd Ed. James S. Miller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2008. 316-323. Print.