So as many of us know, Facebook has begun showing TikTok reels in clips. I enjoy scrolling through them. I particularly go for cake decorating, tumbling, home decor, and fitness clips. Well, don't forget about those, "America's Funniest Home Video Nut Shots" that come across every so often. But I digress.
Recently, I was watching a reel which showed an anchor team sitting at the big desk on camera for something I can only imagine is a news show, but clearly do not watch. On the list of anchors, there is one African American male on the right hand side. The two on the left side are white males. There are two more in between that I believe were a woman and another white male, but I didn't get a good look. The camera focused on just the first three back and forth. The male on the far left states that African American rappers are using the n-word here and there, but he as a white man cannot. When the camera panned to the African American gentleman he had his head in his hand as he massaged the bridge of his nose, clearly unhappy about the conversation. When the first person stops talking, the African American says, "So say it!" The response made to the African American coworker is, "I can't say that." It is repeated. "So say it. Go ahead. Say it." The second white guy joins in now, "You know we can't say that..." It almost felt like he was ready to say, "on air," and left off that bit. It was really upsetting for me to see that video. The words they chose were "I can't." There should not be a discussion of can't. The word they needed to use was WON'T. Think about what the difference in those words imply. I can't - There is something prohibiting me from saying this word. I won't - I respect you and your community too much to say that word. It is offensive and I would never think of doing that. I don't know what show that was. I don't know who they were. But I can honestly say that I have no respect for men that would choose the word "can't" over "won't." You could say I'm playing semantics, but I simply see the reality. They felt they couldn't say the word because someone would be upset, not they wouldn't say that word because it would upset. There is a huge difference. Color me, disgusted.
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AuthorI have a lot to say about a lot of things. Archives
May 2023
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