{"id":919,"date":"2008-06-23T11:47:06","date_gmt":"2008-06-23T15:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/?p=919"},"modified":"2008-06-23T11:50:51","modified_gmt":"2008-06-23T15:50:51","slug":"george-carlin-1937-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/?p=919","title":{"rendered":"George Carlin, 1937-2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lettin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

To a great extent, George Carlin is being remembered today for his “Filthy Words” routine, from his album, Occupation: Foole<\/em><\/a>. In 1973, my radio station, WBAI-NY \/ 99.5 FM, played the bit over the air, resulting in a complaint and, ultimately, in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on free speech and the First Amendment. (“Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,”<\/a> on the 1972 album, Class Clown<\/em>, is a similar piece. Its live recitation on a Milwaukee stage got the comic arrested in that year.)<\/p>\n

To me, however, Carlin is possibly most significant in that he was the only white comedian I ever heard use the word nigger<\/em> in a joke who actually made me really, deeply laugh. (The piece appears in his 1990 “Euphemisms” sketch<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

This is less a testament to his hipness or coolness\u2014he had none, from my perspective\u2014or any acceptance I reserve for white people using that word. All I reserve for any white person, without exception\u2014including Carlin\u2014is the suspicion of racism.<\/p>\n

Instead, I think my reaction has to do with Carlin’s propensity for surgical blade-level dissections of language and syntax; the intelligence to jumble, throw, and follow multiple targets weaving within his comic vortex; and the appropriate lubrication of words with the precise timing, aggressive physicality, vocal stylings, or whatever it is that makes saying something funny.<\/p>\n

As well, when he told that joke, he was elucidating an understanding I have about this word, the so-called “N-word,” based on an my beliefs about racism.<\/p>\n

Here’s the joke:<\/p>\n

For instance, you take the word “nigger.” There is absolutely nothing wrong with the word “nigger” in and of itself. It’s the racist asshole who’s using it that you ought to be concerned about. We don’t mind when Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy say it. Why? Because we know they’re not racist. They’re niggers<\/em>! Context. Context. We don’t mind their context because we know they’re Black.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Part of my conception of racism holds that:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Racism is a global system<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Racism has a sole functional form: White supremacy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Race, racism, and white supremacy are the same phenomenon. That is, <\/strong>Race = Racism = White supremacy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 White supremacy dominates all other forms of people relations in the known universe.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 All non-white people are, at all times during racism’s existence, victims<\/em> of white supremacy (racism).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The chief weapon of a racist (white supremacist) is deceit<\/em>, and the chief tool of deceit are words.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within this worldview, then, it is important to think about words, what people do with words, what words mean, but, most of all, to use one’s own words in a way that is effective<\/em> against white supremacy; i.e., in a way that, directly or indirectly, eliminates racism, by revealing truth and producing justice and correctness.<\/p>\n

I call this way of thinking and speaking counter-racism<\/em>. To be more precise, I call the phenomena this type of thought, speech, and\/or action is designed to produce counter-racism. (In truth, counter-racism has yet to exist, as counter-racism is, or will be, whatever ultimately eliminates racism [white supremacy]).<\/p>\n

Under counter-racist logic<\/em>, a nigger<\/em> is any non-white person who, directly or indirectly, tolerates, submits to, and\/or cooperates with, White Supremacy (Racism), in any form, in any areas of activity, including Economics, Education, Entertainment, Labor, Law, Politics, Religion, Sex, and\/or War.<\/p>\n

That’s it.<\/p>\n

Ponder that for a second or so, then rapidly expand it. Within such a definition, there’s little room for the affectionate use of “nigga”; debates about “nigger vs. nigga”; the nonsensical, racist term “wigger”; etc.<\/p>\n

All there is is a hard, unbreakable link between the word and the condition of non-white people under the global race system.<\/p>\n

Carlin’s “joke” is the closest I’ve ever seen a white person get to this analysis, utilizing humor.<\/p>\n

Perhaps he would have found it endearing that a Black person, using Carlin’s humor as a launching point, might lead to an examination of his own condition, and\/or oppression, and a discussion about race.<\/p>\n

Of course, I couldn’t care less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To a great extent, George Carlin is being remembered today for his “Filthy Words” routine, from his album, Occupation: Foole. In 1973, my radio station, WBAI-NY \/ 99.5 FM, played the bit over the air, resulting in a complaint and, ultimately, in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on free speech and the First Amendment. (“Seven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46,51,42,56,8,43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/harryallen.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}