First it was Michael Richards at the Laugh Factory and then Don Imus with his degrading comments about women on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, and now comes “Dog the Bounty Hunter” who let fly a “B” and “N” word laced rant and borderline threatening oaths at his son for having the temerity to date a Black woman.

His shown on A&E Television has been temporarily pulled.

That is without question a good thing, but when will we as Black people make a statement for ourselves about words and languages that “we” frequently use in our every day conversations.

From our rap artist to our Black comedians and in most of our neighborhoods where we live and our children attend school, the use of the dreaded “N” word is as common a practice as sagging pants.

There was a time in our history where White folks could used it to degrade us, but we have since brought the word out and with an attitude to grow with it.

How can we demand that someone not call us a certain name and then we go about and use the name against each other in random acts of conversation.

Respect starts within and if one respects themself, then others will recognize that and follow suit.

However, when we have stoop to levels where we are not respecting ourselves, our community, our family, and our history, how can we demand that others not use those types of words and respect us?

It is clearly our responsibility to make a statement for ourselves. Stop making someone rich who degrades you in his or her music, movies or on television.

It’s not cool anymore for us to call each other the “N” word, but are you willing to make that stand. Or are you willing to fall for anything!

So, whether you agree or disagree, now more than ever, I really need your input. I need to hear from you. I need to know what is going on in our community. I also need to know what other stories we need to tell, and what is on your mind. I really do want to hear from you. I want you to “Talk to Danny.”

Sincerely,
Danny J. Bakewell, Jr.
President & Executive Editor

Published in : Executive Editor Blog, Talk To Danny