You Say Tomato . . . I Say
I'm so through with the whole Isaiah Washington controversy, I could only come up with one formula to, hopefully, get folks to think about the gravity of the entire situation. I'd also like them to see that what's good for the goose ain't necessarily good for the gander.
Euphemism: Homosexual, Gay, Lesbian
Dysphemism: Punk, Faggot, Sissy
Euphemism: Black, African American, Negro, Colored
Dysphemism: Nigga, Nigger, Coon, Monkey, Baboon
While I don't see Isaiah as representing a lynching, burning or murdering danger to another race, or him grabbing a rod and beating down every gay man he sees, I believe that men like Richards—who has so conveniently been taken out of the limelight by all these shenanigans—can be seen as such and have been known to do these exact things. So, when is he going to check himself in, along with all the others who think as he does?
Yes, Washington would have fared better to keep his thoughts to himself, but so would his co-star whose statement of "I'll do everything in my power to bring him down," was completely ignored. Should not SHE apologize? Or does her racial legacy absolve her of this responsibility? Can we see it as her just standing for her friend, or her saying what she wanted to say all along?
We can't ignore the fact that a certain segment of the population would like nothing better than to see the black man as the docile, skinnin' and grinnin', bent-back, p****-faced, plow-pushing man of yesteryear.
Another thing is that we have to ask ourselves, How many times have I used a dysphemism to label someone and have I given a public apology or any apology at all? If you're grown and you say things, you should be able to stand up to the consequences of those words or actions. Backpedaling doesn't look good on the record, if you ever want to be taken seriously.
Look at Bush, a f*** up to the core, but he'll never backpedal. Right or wrong, he's taken a stand—even if it kills thousands more of our children and the innocent children of Iraq.
I'll leave you with one thing, when such controversies are deposited at your doorstep—was it a lie?
Comments
Michael Richards hasn't been on television or in film in a while. Isaiah is still acting and he can't afford to lose that steady gig now. Am I mad that Richards hasn't taken any sensitivity classes or sought out any counseling? Sure, but I know Isaiah is doing the right thing by doing so because of the position that he's in. Albeit a bit late.
Thank you for this post.
@DarrenKeith, you're right, and when it's convenient for the ones causing the controversies in the first place, they hunt for the black or Hispanic man or woman to make their case seem less significant.
This Knight guy on GA--which I don't watch either--put himself out there. From all accounts, this took place in the studio. He decided to go to his "friendly neighborhood" media and make a big hurrah about it. I say he wanted to admit his "gayness," but just needed the right opportunity to do so.
I'm sorry, but I can't see myself panting after gay organizations to make up for what I said. If a simple apology--that I really mean--doesn't suffice, I'm not going to counseling because to do so, would mean a whole lot of white folks in America, South Africa, Russia, Belgium and wherever else they might be, need to do the same thing.
Washington saying this, doesn't mean he has mental issues or anger management issues as they so love to pen on the black man. It means he's human and, in the heat of the moment, we say and do things that we might not be too proud of later down the line. And to hold him to a certain standard because he's a popular actor is just grasping for straws.
Do we really think they would have made a big stink about it if Washington had said this to a black man? I venture to think not. Thanks for much for writing in and welcome to my neighborhood!
Euphemisms and dysphemisms are often used in an adolescent attempt to gain power at anothers expense. I can completely relate with Washington in the 'heat of the moment' while grasping for straws to strike out at anyone willing to be hurt by what is heard.
We have all said things we regret, but I can only imagine an apology from him would feel genuine if it wasn't simply offered up as a means to dodge a controversial bullet. I wonder if he wished for a time travel gadget in order to ‘go back’ to refrain from the rants he fired off to anyone and everyone that would listen.
It is my hope Washington will step up as the diplomatic leader he was once upon a time. It takes a very powerful individual to exercise restraint instead of lashing out. I feel truly ashamed (and embarrassed) for him. I know if it were me, I would want everyone to hear the words spoken which were meant to heal these wounds with equal vigor. Real feelings, however, require a real heart felt apology. Sometimes real words are spoken with actions as well as more words. I hope he continues to take notes from his mentors.
As an experienced soldier of regret, my advice to him wold be to try to convey his apology with an initial summarization of thoughts. He certainly has a lot of time to reflect while recovering from the amount of humble pie he swallowed. Maybe this would be classified as a ‘gut feeling’?
1. Regret + Guilt + Embarrassment = Denial
Attempt to dodge blame or address his actions like the man he should be only further endorses pain inflicted.
2. Heartfelt = A true apology will only be felt by actions along with words.
3. Irony = New meaning here - he attacked them in the most hurtful of ways using
specific words underlined with tone hatred in nature to hurt them as much as possible.
Can you imagine? Was this how he was to say ‘Thank You’ to them?
A new level of sincere regret – they were trying to help save him.
You might be interested in reading this article written by my friend, Andy Humm. He points out the hypocrisy. Here's an excerpt...
"...African-American lesbian blogger Jasmyne Cannick, however, launched a petition to save Washington's job in response to an online petition to have him fired. "Make no mistake about it," she wrote, "the f-word is just as detrimental and derogatory as the n-word." She is concerned, however, that for "far too long, gay has been synonymous with white and power" and that "the gay mafia has done a disservice to the gay community by putting the message out there that all gays are calling for Isaiah Washington to be fired, when indeed they are not."
She accused gay whites of "hypocrisy" in not vigorously supporting protests against Charles Knipp's "Shirley Q. Liquor" blackface act as a welfare queen nor "last year's horrific hate-crime that claimed the life of 29-year old Michael Sandy," an African American in Brooklyn.
African-American gay blogger Kenyon Farrow wrote, "I am sick of the white gay community's self-righteousness, especially when it comes to dealing with black homophobia."