{Editor's note: The following column contains many many stereotypes and racial slurs which may be offensive to some. In spite of this, I have chosen to post the article as it was originally written, because I understand the desired effect. This article is intended not to offend in itself, but rather to to attack offensive material on the part of WWE. If you question my decision to print this article, please contact me at pete.lamont@mopsquad.com.}
Oreo. Talking white. Uncle Tom.
Some people perceive these statements to be insults. Teenagers and adults, for generations have used these supposed insults as ammunition to tear down Black Americans that tried to ?disassociate themselves from the ?hood.? But what is worse being told that one ?acts White? or having someone show you how Blacks should act?
Everyone has biases and prejudices. Acting on them can get you in a heap of trouble that the finest litigators in the world cannot talk their way out of. Yet, the fuel for these racial, hate filled fires is as free as oxygen and as plentiful as drops of water in the Pacific Ocean. Wrestling is supposed to be an escape from the harsh realities of our lives. Yet it seems that the decision makers at Titan Towers have one track minds that erase any benevolent actions they take because the magnitude of their hate is too busy stoking the racial divide that continues to exist in the United States.
Long ago a column appeared in this series titles, Who Spilled the White-Out? It was a challenge to the WWE to elevate deserving Black American talents in the ring. Prior to Booker T?s title reign, there was only one Black American world champion, Ron Simmons in World Championship Wrestling, in major professional wrestling history. Blacks have done well in most major sports yet never warranted a spot as the number one wrestler in a WWE ring. While the WWE used to have a problem putting a single championship on a Black wrestler, they had more of a problem refusing Black dollars. Hip hop culture helped fuel the Attitude Era as rappers had been used often to create songs for their favorite wrestlers. The WWE private slogan probably sounds something like, ?We can take your money, but it can?t break through the glass ceiling.? While the WWE is not alone in this line of thinking, they seem to be the only major wrestling promotion that has a problem high lighting what Blacks do positively.
Booker T was forced to stand in a ring prior to Wrestlemania 19 and tell the fans that he had been to jail but has since recovered from that lifestyle. Shelton Benjamin?s athletic abilities were cast aside as for weeks a vignette was shown documenting his ascension from the tough streets of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Koko B. Ware, Mabel/Viscera, K-Kwik, the Nation of Domination. If your only dealing with Blacks comes from WWE TV, you must think that we are all bird having, super charged sex machines that come in one shade of dark brown. All of these embarrassing displays put on by the WWE seemed like they might never end. Then it apparently did.
Bobbly Lashley, a real life hero and veteran of the United States Army has been a major presence in the WWE. King Booker earned the world championship that he has so richly deserved. Shelton Benjamin was able to shake loose from his ?Mammy? and return to displaying his fine athleticism. It seemed that all of the wrongs had been made right. But living the life of a Black man should have taught me better.
Cryme Tyme debuts on RAW
September 4, 2006
Monday night on RAW, Cryme Tyme was introduced to the RAW audience. In an effort to humor and entertain our fans, the tag team known as Cryme Tyme will parody racial stereotypes.
Shad Gaspard and JTG do outlandish, outrageous ?stunts? to ready themselves for tag team action on RAW. This attempt at Saturday Night Live-like humor is bound to entertain audiences of all ethnic derivations.
We hope you enjoy the weekly adventures of Cryme Tyme.
Source ? wwe.com
http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/tvshows/raw/200609/3262126/090406crymetyme
There are several things wrong here.
Eating watermelon in excess and enjoying fried chicken are examples of stereotypes. Being a great athlete or having large penises are stereotypes. Robbing stores is nothing more than painting one group of people with a large, gigantic brush stroke that is straight out of post-Reconstruction Georgia. Parodies require humor. What the hell was funny about watching two men rob a store and then plot to do it again? Where was the laugh track that Saturday Night Live employs? Robbing banks is now a way to train for a wrestling career, according to the vignette.
My god, the WWE still thinks that Black people are niggers.
Did the WWE think I was a nigger when I plunked down $130 for my ringside seats for the September 11 Raw that is upcoming? Will they think I am a nigger when I refuse to stay at Madison Square Garden if this act, which I refuse to name in this column series, makes their way to the stage?
I have been called names like Oreo and Uncle Tom. I have been accused of talking White. My pants do not sit below my ass and I do not wear baseball caps backwards. I listen to rap music, right after I am done listening to jazz, classical tunes or the light FM station.
But I still have to live my life in the skin I was born with. And for some people, that means that I must embody every stereotype that they have encountered.
If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. When Booker T won the title I should have smelled a rat.
But at least I do not need the WWE to tell me how to think and feel. Though I wish more people were resistant to mindless brainwashing, I know now that there will be more purse clutching, street crossing, rudely staring people that are not able to see me as a Chinese speaking, high IQ educator that has traveled the world. Thanks to actions like the creation of this ?parody team? to them I will be nothing more than the nigger they already think I am.
