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As
many of you know by now, Morgan Wallace, the country music star,
endured a torrential downpour of backlash after Wallace hurled the
N-word all too often used by White people, NIGGER, to a Black person
during a dispute. On February 2nd, TMZ posted a video showing Wallen
loudly returning home with friends. A neighbor, apparently annoyed by
the racket, started filming the scene and caught Wallen using the
despicable racial slur.
He
was dropped by several music stations, declared all but dead by many
radio disc jockeys, and was dragged through social media with the
force of a prisoner being dragged on a 120-degree gravel road, and a
bumpy one at that. It was a fall of epic proportions.
Cumulus
Media and I Heart Media, the country’s top two radio
conglomerates, immediately pulled his music. SiriusXM (which owns the
streaming service Pandora), Country Music Television, ceased playing his music on all television
and digital platforms, and the Country Music Association employed
similar action and Deadline.com reported: "BMI Sends Gospel Icon BeBe Winans On Outreach Mission To Epithet-Spewing Morgan Wallen".
The Academy of Country Music has also prohibited him from being
nominated for any awards for the time being.
To
his credit, which is not saying much, considering the situation at
hand, Wallace did not attempt to deflect blame, dance around the
controversy, react defensively, or pass the blame onto others. He
quickly took responsibility for his retrograde actions and did not
attempt to offer any lame, half-assed, or pathetic excuses for what
he said and did.
He deserves some credit for admitting that he engaged in a ferocious
level of idiocy.
It
did not take long for some of Wallace’s fellow country
musicians to weigh in on the controversy. While a few stated that his
comments did not represent country music, not everyone agreed. Black
female country star, Mickey Guyton, went to town on Twitter,
declaring that the callous and bigoted antics of Wallace were the
epitome of the genre. Moreover, she made it clear that, as a Black
female country musician, she is inundated with vile and vehement
racist comments on
a daily basis.
As
we all know, Morgan Wallace is hardly the only White person or other
non-Black people to have spouted the word “nigger” in the
public sphere. Paula Deen, Ted Nugent, and Bill Maher are just some
of the other White men and women who have done so. Who can forget
comedian Michael Richard’s vile, crude, and viciously racist
rant in 2006? Arguably, the most memorable, and disgusting example is
Michael Richards spewing his racist N-word diatribe toward a group of
twenty-somethings who he felt were overly loud and “disrespectful”
to him.
Whether this was, in fact, the case, one thing is certain: Richard’s
response was the epitome of racial hostility and disrespect.
What
was noteworthy, downright disingenuous, though hardly surprising was
that many bloggers were posting feverishly protective defenses of Mr.
Wallace and touting the usual argument as to why it is permissible
for Black people to use the word “nigger” not others. As
can be imagined, the usual comments and whataboutisms were plastered
all over various blogs:
The
word is used in rap and hip-hop songs all the time.
What
about Black people who call one another that word all the time?
Look
at all the Black comedians who use it in their stand-up routines.
What
about all the Black athletes who say the word?
And
on and on and on.
My
response to such misguided commentary is that, if you are so mentally
and emotionally stunted, thickheaded and blinded as to why the White
people or even other Black people should not use the word “nigger,”
then I have to surrender to the fact that there is very little I can
do to persuade you to think otherwise. You are a lost soul. There is
likely very little one can do to change your retrograde mindset.
Perhaps you are willfully ignorant about this issue, which, if the
case, makes you more pathetic.
What
is notable, at least to me (and I am sure to some other people as
well) is the fact that the Nashville branch of the NAACP and gospel
singer Be Be Winans met with Morgan Wallace to discuss with him why
using the word “nigger” is unacceptable! Yes! You read this correctly! When I first became aware of this news,
my reaction was WTF? Are you serious?!
To
be sure, all of us human beings are flawed; none of us is perfect,
and most people are worthy of some degree of redemption. But the fact
is that Ms. Winans and the NAACP felt that it was worth their time
and effort to attempt to persuade a grown-ass man, a post-millennial,
nonetheless, who is not even 30 years old, a person who is a part of
the most racially diverse and pluralistic group of Americans in the
history of our nation, someone who must be aware of all forms of
racial tolerance whether it be from television, music, literature or
other avenues of popular culture.
Call
me cynical, misguided, judgmental, but I am damn sure I am not that
naive! Nor was I born yesterday or last week for that matter! Could I
be wrong? Of course, I could. But I highly doubt it.
I
do not doubt that both parties are well-intentioned in their efforts
to what is considered as rehabilitating the seemingly racially
bigoted Wallace in the hope that he will learn the error of his
hate-filled ways, “turn a corner” and “see the
light,” so to speak. However, truth be told, Morgan Wallace
already knows all too well that the use of such a racially
inflammatory word by a White or a non-Black person is pitifully
insulting and dreadfully inappropriate. Please!
The
esteemed gospel singer and members of the nation’s oldest civil
rights organization, it seems to me, would be better served directing
their energies toward individuals who are genuinely sincere or causes
that will produce long-term, tangible results. In this current era of
political, social, and cultural upheaval and frantic economic
despair, such altruistic efforts would undoubtedly be heartily
welcomed.
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