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Fredric is a web developer based in Chicago who hopes to one day start a foundation to support young, Black males in programming and computer science.

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naggers annoy me too

March 11th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

Young Black Professional Guide South Parkmaybe it’s because i’m still ‘hungover’ from my vacation and can’t really absorb all the deep thoughts from the blogosphere, but i wanted to share a little video i found perusing today, trying to get back into the swing of things.

while i am not an avid fan of south park, i do recognize its genius in certain sound bites and clips. this is one of them.

aside from its usual ‘wtf’, the mere expression on the faces of the black audience members and cameraman echoed my same sentiment, expecting the worst. sometimes, in the attempt to navigate the landmine to self-exploration, community progression, and black professional purpose, laughing at one’s self, and others, allows discussion and reflection. call it the chappelle theory.

enjoy!

and yes, that is supposed to be a south park version of me. you can make your own here.

[updated]: case and point.

Viewing 3 Comments

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    a little jaw dropping that they actually said the word instead of the usual "BEEP"...definitely funny in an ironic sort of way....
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    I started off annoyed at the beginning of the episode, during the Wheel of Fortune bit, but then gradually warmed up to the approach they were taking. Depicting him as experiencing a feeling of isolation and a dejected self confidence was a very honest statement of the effects exclusion has on a person.

    I found it humorous when he was at the beatnik comedy club type venue and he went off on some Jack Kerouac / Saul Williams spoken word and the people in the audience looked at him like.. say what?

    Then came the moment when he was addressing the group of black educators and it took a turn for the worst. I mean, I understand poking fun at a thing, but at the same time, there are people out there that just don't get it, and it becomes a furtherance of negative stereotypes.

    The end result was the message that even if we were able to walk a mile in another man's shoes, in the end, we set empathy aside, and come out of the experience thinking that we have it worse than anyone else. But then again, people are pretty darn selfish.

    I have very mixed feelings over this episode.
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    dave, i appreciate you expressing your sentiment.

    i didn't see the entire episode, just the snippet above and can't comment about what happened before and after the incident.

    i guess my main goal with posting the video was to highlight the importance of the art form of comedy. black people, especially educated black people, have a hard time laughing at themselves and any 'skit' depicting deplorable behavior because it is a reminder of how 'real' the world views us. whether it be an outburst by a bigot comedian, mysigonistic rap video, or 'slip of the tongue' by a pundit, blacks are viewed at these bogus levels constantly.

    as chappelle has shown us, putting it out there in a comedic dialogue offers a discussion and exposure often missed by a typical discussion because of the anger associated to the event. while south park probably won't ever be labeled genius, the mere fact that someone watching the video would automatically assume the word 'nigger' instead of 'naggers' shows how in this 'pc conscious' world, we often forget what is common sense.
 
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