Since yesterday when the video surfaced of Riley Cooper getting his Rush Limbaugh on at a country concert, I’ve been intermittently ranting on this subject. I HATE ranting but issues of race really get me going, but of course yall know that. I figured I needed to stop flooding my poor twitter followers’ timelines with my IMPORTANT thoughts (lol) and act like a real blogger for once.
Right after Cooper was caught red handed hurling the word nigger at a black security guard and threatening to get violent, Cooper held a press conference where he apologized for his actions and claimed that it was the first time he’d ever said the word. Meanwhile everyone else was debating what his punishment should be (the team fined him) and whether or not it was a big deal.
Let me put the debate about the latter thing to rest: YES IT’S A BIG DEAL. Cooper didn’t just say the N word like some hip hopper at a Watch the Throne Concert. He used the word nigger the way that racist white folks intended for it to be used from the beginning - as a threat, as part of a violent display, and as a mark of his white superiority. I stand on the side of folks who know that any time a white person says nigger it’s wrong. I also believe that NO ONE white or black should use hip hop as an excuse to say nigger, I also believe white people know that fact, and any argument to the contrary is willful ignorance on their part. Further, I believe that white people who WANT to use the word nigger are seriously disturbed and need psychiatric evaluation. I would definitely seek help if I had some overwhelming urge to use the word “faggot” a term I despise as a straight person.
To quickly touch on the whole “hip hop made me do it excuse,” I am APPALLED at the recent spate of black folks like Stephen A Smith, Don Lemon, and Roland Martin who suggest that black people are responsible for the moral leadership of white people. That everything we do - how we dress, how we speak or live our lives should all be done with setting an example for white folks in mind. As if we should, before making any choice ever, first consider how it might affect or influence white people. What a disgusting set of beliefs to hold. For God sakes, where is your pride fellas!
When it comes to the Eagles, I was very upset at folks rushing to congratulate guys like Michael Vick and LB Demeco Ryans for immediately expressing forgiveness. I want people to realize something very important — in these situations players have very little choice. As I stated on twitter, black folks have been raised since birth to suppress rage and anger at injustices for some ambiguous greater good. Black people have to be careful when criticizing white folks actions or else they will end up being called “angry” and told that “nothing ever pleases” them. And that’s a very unfair. Moreover, athletes are taught to ignore all “distractions” and to do anything necessary to neutralize media attention on a subject even when it hurts them personally and professionally to do so. I understand it, but in some instances, like this one, I find it to be rather inhumane. When Vick and Ryans mentioned Cooper as a brother and a friend I could tell they were hurt but wanted this situation over with and for people to stop asking about it. Sometimes public forgiveness is the only option presented to you.
That’s why I was glad when my personality soul mate LeSean McCoy spoke up and provided the media with a perspective that was much needed. And I must say he did it very eloquently saying that he can’t respect what Cooper did and wondering aloud whether Cooper had allowed his “true colors” to show.
As a fan of this team, I understand the need for a united public face. But I am hoping that behind closed doors, the players’ true feelings about Cooper’s inexcusable behavior are taken seriously.
Read Geoff Mosher’s post that captures all of Shady’s comments to the media.
