2003-12-08|11:09 p.m.
I should be pumping out a paper explaining the Confucian and Neo-Confucian theory of law and justice, but you know me by now.
I slept until late afternoon because the night before I was up late arguing with MK (my new friend who lives near my work and now is my work lunch buddy) about bio-pics on artists. He hates them because he thinks they�re overly dramatic and I like most of them because, well, artists are usually dramatic. It comes with the trade.
After looking at the news about Rosa Parks suing Outkast, MM and I discussed the theory that there are generational conflicts in the black community that create differences in how they both view their own societal roles and also how they react to racism around them. For instance, I think from what I have observed the older generations are a lot less likely to approve of the use of the word �niggah� than the younger generations are. As most people know �niggah� is derived from the word �nigger,� adapted to reclaim and reverse its negative power. Where calling someone a �nigger� was and is meant to be insulting and hurtful, the word �niggah� is used within the black community in an almost friendly sense. It�s a lot like how gays can use the word �queer� and feminists can use the word �bitch.� You take the power from the oppressor and make it your own.
I think a lot of the differences between the black generations are based on how racism has changed over time. Racism was much more explicit in the past here in the US. And now it lurks in hidden places like in job application processes (studies show that people with black sounding names are less likely to get positions they are equally qualified for against other applicants). So the reactions to racism are different. Rosa Parks can sit in on the �wrong� section of the bus to confront racism. But what do young black people do to make a statement? Some make more overt statements like Public Enemy's �Fight the Power.� Confrontational is necessary because the discussion is almost mute. If something is delivered subtley, now, it is almost lost in the noise of the rest of the world. In fact, many Americans, as I have even heard it myself, will tell you that racism is no longer an issue. Ghost World, the movie, did a really nice job of explaining this. Racism is covered up by social standards, but people still hate each other. It takes exaggeration to make us think about where it exists and what it affects. But in all the new ways to deal with racism, the older generations are maybe not as likely to agree with the ways in which it is done. The older generation knows the word �niggah� to be related to its more original meaning of �nigger� and might just see it as furthering the power of the initial meaning. They faced the word and its meaning in a present sense. A younger individual might still understand that; yet, s/he also might not have shared the experiences felt by the older generation.
Plus, MM said that it isn�t only generational. And to some degree he is right. Some of it is just the way we look at things individually. The movie, Do the Right Thing, is really good about exemplifying that. On one side, you have those who are much more moderate and strategic about how they deliver their message like Martin Luther King Jr. On the other, you have someone like Malcolm X who in his earlier years was more likely to call to violence to deliver one�s protest. This can be seen in other communities or groups as well. Liberals fall prey to both sides. Some are really confrontational and demand change right now. Others are much more patient and are willing to find compromise within their communities to have their own agendas pulled through.
I tend to fall into the second group of more prudent individuals, but that is something I work to be because really my passions can sometimes get the best of me and I can become less likely to think and more likely to get upset.
The rest of my evening was spent looking on eBay and getting sad about the cute clothes I cannot buy. But MM got me the most awesome x-mas gift.
So, I am very satisfied for the moment.
Back to paper writing!
P.S. Outkast, though I know that everybody and their mother already knows this, is freaking awesome.