Letters from North America
by Peary Perry
Are
we now destined to have
to have a national Word
Police force?
Last weeks stink over
shock jock Don Imus has
produced an outrage from
sea to shining sea. But
my question to everyone
is simply this….why all
the fuss?
Now, don’t get me
wrong…I’m not defending
what he said because it
was out of line and did
not need to be said by
anyone in the first
place. He made comments
which he now regrets and
has suffered for it by
losing his job. If you
say things that hurt
people or degrade
people, then you can
expect or should expect
bad things to happen to
you.
I don’t like or
appreciate people
calling me names or
labeling me, and neither
do you.
But, do we really need
to have a national
debate and censorship of
certain words which
shouldn’t be used in the
first place? Are we now
going to carry this
issue to the point where
it will become a crime
to even utter certain
words or phrases at the
risk of fines and
imprisonment?
Are we to be fearful of
mimicking Santa Claus
when he says…”Ho, Ho,
Ho”? Should the Seven
Dwarfs be sanctioned for
singing ‘Hi-Ho,
Hi-Ho…it’s off to work
we go”. Are we banned
from ever saying the
words…Gung-ho or
Tally—ho? When we go to
the hardware store and
ask for a certain garden
tool used for
weeding…will we be
reduced to just pointing
to the object without
ever calling it by its
real name…? And what
will Libby Foods do
about the Jolly Green
Giant…I suppose he
cannot ever say “Ho, Ho,
Ho…Green Giant” without
being suspected of being
a racist.
Surely not.
All of us in this
country deserve equal
amounts of respect no
matter who we are or
what position we occupy
at any given time.
Having said this, I
believe it is our
responsibility to act
accordingly and not use
words, phrases or
descriptions that are
offensive to anyone. I
don’t believe we need a
national police force or
set of laws to make
certain this happens.
Personally I view the
Imus incident as the
starting point for
something positive in
this country that has
been way overdue. I
would like to see this
outrage over this
incident to be
redirected to other
aspects of our society
which have demeaned
women, advocated
violence and drug usage.
I’m not certain if the
correct terminology is
hip-hop, rap or
whatever. All I know is
that the lyrics and
videos produced for
musicians such as 50
Cent, Killer Mike, Young
Buck and Young Jeezy do
not, in my opinion,
promote the kind of
values that I would like
to describe my daughter,
if I had one. I find
their terminology to be
offensive, insulting and
generally disgusting. I
do not think this is the
correct and proper image
or role model for young
adults to follow or to
try and emulate.
What I cannot understand
is why these so called
‘artists’ have been
allowed to portray women
in such a negative way
for so long. The record
producers have defended
their positions by
telling us that the
language expressed in
their music and their
videos is ‘their’
language and is
‘entertainment’ which is
to be used by those
living in their culture
and their culture alone.
Does this mean that if
I’m not Irish, I should
not observe St.
Patrick’s Day or I
should refrain from
saying something like
“Adios Amigo’ since I’m
not Hispanic? Am I to
only use language that
is indigenous to my
specific culture?
And what culture would
that be?
My grandmother was
German, My Grandfather
originated from
Ireland…. Others came
from Scotland and
England….so what does
that make me?
I’m clueless; I think
I’m just a plain old
American. Shame on me
for becoming this way. I
suppose it’s my fault. I
am the result of the
great melting pot that
is the United States.
Well, I happen to
believe that we should
be free to enjoy,
celebrate and learn
about every nationality
that makes up this great
country of ours. We
should have enough
common sense and decency
to respect all of our
countrymen and women and
not portray them as
anything with a
derogative meaning or
connotation. That’s just
plain wrong, no matter
what nationality or race
you happen to be.
We don’t need any type
of national law to
enforce this matter; we
just need to speak out
when we see this taking
place. I’m hopeful that
we’ll see some changes
for the better in the
days and weeks to come.
It’s way overdue.
