I once remarked to a friend that somebody must be watching Steven Seagal movies; otherwiswe, they wouldn't keep making the damn things. I feel the same way about "The View," although the demograpics of its audience would probably scare me to death.
"View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was in tears Thursday after a discussion about the use of the n-word, in which fellow co-host Whoopi Goldberg told her the two "don't live in the same world."
During a segment covering Jesse Jackson's recent use of the n-word while preparing to tape an interview on FOX News, Whoopi and co-host Sherri Shepard, who are both black, contested that the word has a different meaning for black people.
"It's something that means something way different to me than it does to you," said Shepard. "I can use it as a term of endearment."
Shepard also said to co-host Barbara Walters: "I don't want to hear it come out of your mouth."
[. . .]
Goldberg, who used the n-word repeatedly during the broadcast (it was bleeped out), said that "We don't live in the same world. What I need you to understand is the frustration that goes along with when you say we live in the same world. It isn't balanced."
Goldberg and Hasselbeck can fight over what worlds they're in all they want to, as long as they stay off my planet. (Here's video if you can stand it.) The dual use of racial and ehtnic epithets has long been the subject of the debate. I've gone back and forth on the issue, but I find this persuasive:
Still, despite the best intentions, critics argue that using the N-word, particularly in entertainment, does more harm than good and gives others -- whites and minorities alike -- the impression that it's no longer offensive in every context.
And don't call me hillbilly, unless you're going to buy me dinner first.
