The Chris Moeller Archives

Rap Albums That Caused Slavery

The exceedingly-brilliant center-right hosts and panelists on Morning Joe, forced to fill 15 hours a week with mindless jabbering, continued their discussion this morning on how black people are responsible for their own oppression. This particular segment tackled the racist nine-second video of a fraternity function at the University of Oklahoma. Because rap music.

Incidentally, I don't get Morning Joe's point about white people watching Empire. I'm one of the supposed 70 percent of the show's white viewers (Empire is the first series in recorded television history to add more viewers for each of its first nine episodes) and not once have I heard the word in question. Plus, I don't think the two students were expelled because they said a particular word. Capturing that on a viral video is easy enough. But they also loudly vowed that they would never have an African-American member of their fraternity and declared that black people should be strung up by their necks. They didn't get that from a Lil Wayne song.

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African-Americans can use the word. Life's just not fair. To borrow a line from Ta-Nehisi Coates over at the Atlantic: I call my wife "Honey." That doesn't mean that you can.


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The fraternity brother that starred in the racist video issued a statement saying he's sorry for his behavior. Says Parker Rice, "I know everyone wants to know why or how this happened. I admit it likely was fueled by alcohol consumed at the house before the bus trip, but that’s not an excuse. Yes, the song was taught to us, but that too doesn’t work as an explanation. It’s more important to acknowledge what I did and what I didn’t do. I didn’t say no, and I clearly dismissed an important value I learned at my beloved high school, Dallas Jesuit. We were taught to be ‘Men for Others.’ I failed in that regard, and in those moments, I also completely ignored the core values and ethics I learned from my parents and others.”

The good news for a young person like Rice is that he has the rest of his life to prove who he really is.

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I do support the man's expulsion from the University of Oklahoma, however. It had to be done. Before he becomes a senator or congressman.

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Only six months ago, everybody was sucking up to new NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Now we're on the verge of an NBA labor "war".

When will people realize: A sports commissioner is not an independent arbiter between owners and players. He is an employee of the owners. He serves at their whim.


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Justified quote of the day:
Raylan: "I gotta admit, there's a small part of me that's going to miss this when it's over."
Boyd: "Well, don't eulogize the past till the future gets its turn."

posted by CM @ 9:54 PM