Last time I wrote I began with a disclaimer that I’d likely offend some of my feminist sisters.
This time my disclaimer goes a little broader. A lot broader actually. You might find yourself wondering how I can publish the following comments without feeling uncomfortable.
Easy – I’m trying to remove emotion and add some honest debate.
Let’s talk racism.
Recently two of the nation’s top football codes have been in the spotlight (again) for racist comments by some notables. The comments have come from white men referring to black men (for overseas readers the comments were in relation to indigenous Australian men).
One comment particularly generated discussion on the eastern half of the continent; saw one man step away from his beloved game and a chance to pull on a jumper to represent his state - all for maintaining principle; while another man stepped away from his high profile position with the team and some aspects of his media career.
Two words - “black c*nt” are at the heart of all this.
Was it racist? Only you can answer how you feel about that.
Was it rude? Yes. Was it offensive? Yes. But being offensive does not automatically make the leap to being racist.
And it was offensive to some others who haven’t had a mention in this. Most women I know hate THAT word and deplore its use as an insult. We all have one and most of us cringe when a vulgarity for our body part becomes the lowest of name-calling. Thanks guys, really.
But was it racist?
Here’s a definition of “racism”:
“…a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.”
So, is stating an obvious characteristic of a person to be considered racist?
I’m a red head. It comes through my genes and I passed it onto my son, I have no control over it and it will remain with me for life. I have had many years of teasing and insults because of it and it is purely about appearance.
If someone was to call me a “redheaded c*nt”, how should I take that? Is it the same as calling a black man a black c*nt?
If not – why not?
I’m interested in what you think here. Again – remove the emotion from it and the political correctness. What’s the difference?
Is stating a fact about someone when you insult them really racism, or just plain old rude and offensive?
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hrmmm... you raise good points, as usual :)
ReplyDeleteIs the word 'c*nt' offensive? I think so. I've very rarely used it, and never in mixed company.
These days my girlfriend calls me a "potty mouth" for saying 'fuck'. ;shit', 'bitch' and my usual expletive of 'cock' are all banished. I don't mind this.
Swearing is, I think often, a lazy substitute for the inarticulate. As a writer and communicator I should be more creative with language than to reach for the usual grab-bag of expletives, but I digress.
I think to be racist, we need to look at the intent. Andrew Johns is probably good mates with many of those 'black c*nts', both on and off the field. I doubt he sees them as anything else but equals.
So was the phrase offensive? Yes. Insensitive? certainly. But I doubt it was racist.
In the heat of preparing for a huge match my guess is Johns went for some passionate language. I mean these aren't intellectual giants, they're footy players - league players at that. They've commanded more discussion than they deserve in my books.
an interesting observation in our work kitchen just now. I observed something that, now I think about it, is blatantly obvious. One of my female colleagues remarked "of course, you're male!"
ReplyDeleteI said (jokingly) "harrassment!", but she simply replied "it's not harassment, it's a simple observation of fact".
So there we have it - following the same logic, Andrew Johns was simply starting an observation of fact and was not, inherently, being racist.
But since when did facts or logic ever get in the way of a good media story, especially about our footballers? :)