Black Slang in the Mouths of Whites
2/21/03
Editorials
Editorials
Our View: We do not think that it is funny for whites to imitate black slang in the media or elsewhere.
Black people have long accused Whites of "stealing our culture." From Eminem selling more rap albums than any black man ever has, to white girls spending hours in tanning booths to get the dark tone that comes naturally to those descendants of Mother Africa, Whites have taken what we deemed "ours" and ran with it.
Well, if those examples are not enough for you, lately it has become uncomfortably clear that certain aspects of black culture are being imitated by mainstream white America. Specifically, it is our language being emulated now.
Need proof? Did you happen to see the CNN headline that read, "What's the Dealy Diddy?"
Well, if that is not enough, late night talk show personality, Conan O'Brian, recently uttered the words "Fo' sheezy my neezy," on his show. There is a real problem with this. First of all, he has no business saying "my neezy."
Sugar coated or not, it is still an offensive and derogatory term, particularly when coming from someone who is not black. Second of all, it was a lame and disrespectful attempt to cause amusement at the cost of making black hip-hop terminology seem stupid.
As much as we hate to admit it, it was almost too easy for his imitation to make us look stupid. After all, by us using the word "nigger" as such a socially accepted term, we dress it up to appear endearing ("neezy"). We are in fact making ourselves look stupid.
Perhaps we should keep in mind that this was a word that served as a main tool in the degradation and humiliation of our forefathers.
We should be careful of what we say and we should think about the deeper meanings behind our everyday colloquialisms. White America is watching us, and unfortunately, it is not for the purpose of copying us to make us look good.