"....Say As I Say, Not As I Say..."

Since being offended seems to be the new cultural pastime, I've decided that, being a tax paying member of said culture, I'm entitled to my shot at it.

So, I'm offended.



The controversial saga involving Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper's unfortunate use of a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert took an interesting turn on Friday. According to a statement released on the Eagles' official website, Cooper has been excused from team activities to seek counseling for the incident:

"...As we have said, Riley Cooper will be seeking counseling and we have excused him from all team activities. This is all new territory and we are going to evaluate this timetable every step of the way.

He will meet with professionals provided by the Eagles during this period of time to better help him understand how his words have hurt so many, including his teammates...."


This isn't the first time I've done a little wailin' on the subject of lamentable language.

For those who enjoy the prequel approach, here's a link to that piece.

http://scottedwardphelps.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-name-game.html


I've long been a believer in what I call the displacement substitution theory.

Yeah, okay, it's a pretty uber-nerd name for what actually boils down to a simple intellectual premise.

That when we cannot, for whatever reason, find a way to control the things in life that we wish we could control and might, even, be reasonably said to be in need of controlling, we go in search of things that we can control, no matter how banal, inane, superfluous and/or superficial those things might be.

For example, the general manager who can't actually manage his or her way out of a wet paper sack who zeroes in on those in egregious violation of the policy regarding the use of bottled water in the break room.

I once actually worked in a place where a sign  posted on the bottled water dispenser warned,  "Do not use for making coffee", the apparent goal being cutting down on the weekly water expense.

My anarchistic response was "...uh, okay, so we're allowed to drink the water,  we just cant first run it through a paper filter with coffee grounds it it, is that the deal...?"

My irrefutable, albeit rebellious, logic was not, as you might imagine, particularly appreciated.

The suddenly fashionable, even fanatical, obsession with turning those who use the word "nigger" in conversation into social pariahs reminds me of bottled water.

For a more detailed explanation, I refer you, once again, to the earlier blog.

Not being of African descent, I can only imagine the emotion that this word stirs up in the hearts and minds of people who have experienced, first hand, the viciousness and cruelty in generations past, resulting in mistrust and suspicion and hostility

And anyone naïve enough to think that mistrust and suspicion and hostility have been overcome,  giving way to wisdom and understanding need only think back to just a few days ago and the bile flowing up and out during the Trayvon Martin trial.

So, there's no lecture coming, or worthy, from this writer on the heat the word generates.

For me, it's not about the heat, its about the hypocrisy.

Yes, Riley Cooper obviously put his pinkies in his pie hole.

And considering that a lot of the guys he shares his days with, both on and off the field, are of African descent, he certainly didn't do himself any favors by showing his dark side.

But, again, I can't get past the nagging question that no one seems to want, or be able, to answer to all parties satisfaction.

How many of those very same teammates who are showing their contempt at Cooper showing them disrespect by using that word have addressed another or each other with that very same word in the last few weeks?

Or days?

Or even as Cooper was talking trash to his fellow bubbas there at the Chesney concert?

How many celebrities of African descent, in any celebrated profession, are not only casual users of the word, but continue to profit from the usage?

The ever classy, highly regarded role models Jay Z and Kanye West and their recent offering "Niggas In Paris" comes to mind.

Oh, the printed title reads "Ni**as", but I don't think a Rhodes scholarship is required to read between the vowels, not to mention the actual recording itself.

So while Jay Z drops by the White House to have a nosh with Barack and Michelle and the girls and Kanye and Kim cuddle little Nori for the exclusive People Magazine photo shoot that will put little Nori through a couple of colleges, Riley Cooper is in the doghouse, off the roster and on his way to counseling.

It's this kind of deafening double standard that continues to give life to mistrust and suspicion and hostility.

In every community.

Of every color.

And, I won't speak for you, but...

that offends me.