After reading Jarvis DeBerry’s recent editorial I have to say I agree with him on most points. Then he pulls out the race card out at slaps it on the table.
I think it’s been forced into the ground that Ralph Lupin made a mistake and should feel embarrassed by his own actions. I myself have had more than my fair share of fun ridiculing a man who has accomplished more in his life than I have. But when someone attempts to force the comment into a racial one, as DeBerry did in the closing paragraphs of his commentary, then they should be embarrassed as well, embarrassed for diluting the serious subject of racism.
It wasn’t a racial comment. It wasn’t. Sorry. There are dozens of other words Lupin could have chosen if he was attempting to single White out for the color of her skin rather than the content of her character. It was probably a little sexist, and certainly stupid.
DeBerry can use VH-1 and Amos ‘n’ Andy as his references all he wants to but they don’t hold water. One may even go so far as to employ many different hip-hop artists who use the word as both of term of defamation and affection. But all that is beside the point.
If Mr. DeBerry has a problem how black women are depicted in American culture he should address those depictions directly in his writing. Instead, he is using them as an instrument to make his case, thus proliferating them. Something wrong here?
I use the word a lot. I see some of my female friends and say, “you bitches are crazy” or “bitch please” or “that bitch doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.” And all these girls are white. The use of the word should be judged on a case by case basis and in this case, Lupin employed it to mean obstinate. He even used the word “obstinance.”
And what’s up with DeBerry admitting that if Lupin had called a white or Asian woman a bitch he wouldn’t have been upset? Isn’t that a racist statement?
If you need to know why many people are beginning to recognize the race card is often utilized for political rather than social advancement, look no further than Deberry’s asinine ending paragraphs.
Look, racism exists in America. It exists in the South and it exists in New Orleans. It needs to be addressed by blacks and whites. But every time it is used in the manner that DeBerry used it in yesterday’s paper, it just weakens the cause when it truly does rear its disgusting head. And it widens the chasm between all of New orleans communities who should be working together to rebuild the city they all love and cherish.
Typical DeBerry. He’s always been a Nagin apologist for what can only be described as (woefully misguided) racially based reasons.
I remember once when I was twelve years old I called my sister a bitch, she pulled out a copy of “Gone With the Wind” and predicted that in a few years there would be this TV series called “Dynasty.”
DeBerry really is a shameless hack. When I criticized some of his columns in the past, I was hesitant to call him lazy because of the racial stereotype (well, I did say that some of his factual errors either showed laziness or dishonesty), now I feel like any criticism of DeBerry is fair game.