No Sense on Twitter
Hayden Black, writing on Twitter as his Goodnight Burbank character, Gordon W. Smythe, crossed the line for me today.
Here’s his “funny” Tweet:
GordonWSmythe Kanye West’s mom dies. Peace out you ho b[deleted] n[deleted]. (at least I think that’s highly complimentary). 6 minutes ago from web 
With all of the news about Dwayne Chapman, you’d think people would watch the racist comments, just a bit.
Admittedly, I don’t know that much about Kanye West’s mother, but from what I’ve read, she was a prominent Chicago English Professor. Dr. West appears to have been a good mother who nurtured the talents of her famous son.
The Tweet wasn’t funny. It was disrespectful and incredibly racist. I’m not a fan of Kanye West, but I’m definitely not a fan of Hayden Black any more.
Jennifer said,
Wrote on November 14, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
I’m sorry but I think you are being overly sensitive here. It was clearly not racist and was meant to be funny and even endearing. You have completely taken this out of the context in which it was written. I happen to watch “Goodnight Burbank” a lot and find it hilarious. Have you even listened to anything that he has written for his co-host where she pretends to be Hispanic? It’s meant to be tongue in cheek. Besides that…have you even heard Kanye’s lyrics for goodness sake! Kanye’s biggest hit “Gold Digger” uses the word over and over and over again. Along with his other songs. If you are going to take this so literally and out of context, does that mean I can’t sing Kanye’s songs out loud for fear that because I’m white I will be labeled as racist? I’ve dated an African American and two of my best friends are. I am very aware that there is still prejudice out there…I’m not saying that there isn’t. I just believe you need to be careful about where you are calling it out.
Shannon Whitley said,
Wrote on November 14, 2007 @ 11:33 pm
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for the comment.
Hayden’s comment was written on Twitter — 140 characters of ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’. I reposted his comment in its entirety. It was not taken out of context.
Kanye West is Black. He can use the N* word. I wish he wouldn’t, but that’s his choice. White people have no business ever using the N* word. You shouldn’t use the N* word while singing (speaking, really) Kanye’s songs.
As for being overly sensitive, try having your child called the N* word at school. Sit in the back of a room and listen as someone refers to the N* at the front. If anything, we should all become more sensitive.
…and there are so many things wrong with this ‘tongue-in-cheek’ humor. The woman just died and Hayden used her to make a point about racist lyrics. Talk about reducing the value of a life. Shouldn’t we honor her life a little better than that? Do you really think it’s funny to refer to someone’s dead mother using those words?
You’re the second person who has said to me, “I date Black…” or “I have Black friends.” So what. You can still be a racist. Again, I’m not calling you one, but associating with Blacks doesn’t mean you’re not a racist. It doesn’t give you a license to use the N* word.
Good people can say dumb things. Hayden may be a great guy and his show may be fantastic, but this comment was plain wrong.
Nicole said,
Wrote on November 16, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
I agree with you completely, Shannon.
Shannon Whitley said,
Wrote on November 19, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
Thanks, Nicole.
Houston "Glass Jaw" Alexander said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 9:47 am
You are full of shit. Either it’s OK to use the word or it’s not. Saying it’s okay for blacks and not for whites is, in itself, racist. Fuck, this attitude makes me want to puke.
Anil said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Culture is a sacred thing, and nobody has a right to mess with it.
I’m not an American, but have been in America for three years now. I see a lot of black people in my school using N word in an extremely brotherly way. It’s like they feel proud when a fellow black man says “Hey my N*” to them. What is amazing is the same word can leave such a big hurt when a non-white says it to them.
Morale of the story for me: When in doubt, better keep silence.
Houston "Glass Jaw" Alexander said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
No. The moral of the story is if you want the word to be villainous, stop fucking using it yourselves.
Curtis said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
i have absolutely no problem with white people, or anyone for that matter, using the n-word if that’s what they choose to do. if black and hispanic people can throw it around and it’s not a problem, then whites should be able to do it just the same. it may sound stupid (and well, that’s because it is; the word shouldn’t be used at all, but i’m pretty sure it’s not going away any time soon), but if black people want to remove the offensive nature of the word, they shouldn’t take offense when a white person says the n-word while singing a kanye west song. if a white person thinks he’s “down” and goes around calling his friend “my nigga,” black people that don’t discourage such usage of the term among blacks or anyone else that is “allowed” shouldn’t get mad, if they do get mad, they are being racist, by judging what a person may say by the color of his or her skin.
by the same token, anyone that uses the n-word with the intent to offend, black or otherwise, is wrong. using it as an offensive term is just plain racist, whether or not the person using it is black. this is why Black’s tweet is so wrong: especially read without the knowledge that he is making commentary against the language used in rap lyrics, the (i assume) intended sarcasm of the tweet is completely absent to the reader; it just seems like he’s calling kanye west’s dead mother a bitch ass nigga (i’m assuming he spelled it that way). now there are a lot of dumb things about this tweet aside from the racism; if a person that speaks using this type of language were to say this, they most likely wouldn’t be referring to a female, since guys usually only refer to other males as “niggas.” in that light, the n-word wouldn’t even be the offensive element; it’s just being used to refer to the person. stupid, right? well, that’s why i hate hood language…it would be much simpler if we just threw the word away, but if we’re not going to, then we can’t put any race-based restrictions on its non-offensive use either.
i don’t know if any of that made sense, but i hope it did. i agree with everything else shannon said though, btw.
Curtis said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
oh, and you just don’t crack on the dead. especially not the recently deceased. or poke fun at those that survived the dead. that’s just wrong.
The Twitter Hall of Shame - NMSU Alamogordo said,
Wrote on June 20, 2008 @ 7:17 pm
[...] Twitter Racism: Hayden Black posted a surprisingly rude tweet about Kanye West’s dead [...]
swhitley said,
Wrote on June 26, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
@Houston “Glass Jaw” Alexander et al.
About twenty years ago I probably would have used the same logic. “They can use it. I should have the same right to use the word too.”
However, I’m 38 years old now and I’ve learned a lot about people during that time. If you understand how complex race relations are in the US and the history here, then that simple logic doesn’t hold up. You have to ask yourself, “Why would I want to use that word?”
For many people, that word can be *very* hurtful. Even if you just want to use it with your buddies, people overhear you. It’s a powerful word, especially for people my age and older. It conjures visions of some of the worst atrocities that people have committed against one another.
Honestly, I wish we’d all stop using it.
People have been lynched and burned alive while being called that word. The word has been used to intimidate and reduce people to being less than human.
Really consider the effect of the words you use. Get over the immature thinking of “they can, why can’t I?” Think how you might hurt someone, including young children, with that word. Language can have a different meaning depending on who uses it. That’s just how language works, and this word, with its history, shouldn’t be used by whites.
Curtis said,
Wrote on June 26, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
@swhitley
i agree, i wish we would stop using the word altogether, at this point, every use of the word is stupid and useless. there’s nothing empowering about using it to refer to your friend, no matter how much some idiot may want to argue that the way the word was “turned around” by *some* of the black community should be embraced and appreciated by everyone. let’s be serious, the same people that use it with each other refuse to let others use it. you can’t have your cake and eat it too. something can’t be half taboo. it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t work, and in this particular sense, it’s racist. it’s either universally usable granted you did not mean to offend, or it’s not, period. at this point, since the word insists on hanging around, we should go by the former.
that said, just because you have the right to do something doesn’t mean it’s appropriate all the time. just like one wouldn’t go cursing up a storm in church (…i hope…), there’s no reason for one to go around dropping the n-bomb randomly. most people would just sound stupid. actually, there are probably very few instances in which usage of the word could be argued to be appropriate, so if we all take that discretion usage should limit itself a lot. yes, if someone jokes around with the word someone might overhear, but that’s not that someone’s fault, and they clearly didn’t do it with the intention of offending. sure it’s unfortunate that person has to think about such horrible times, but that’s a personal thing. if i hear a group of people making fun of the name prudence and that happens to be the name of my friend that died two weeks ago (not a true story by any stretch btw, thank goodness), it makes absolutely no sense to go off on them about what they’re saying based on your connection with the name (though it would make sense to tell them to shut up, since they are speaking maliciously…not the best parallel, i know, but i hope you get the point).
God said,
Wrote on February 11, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
This Hayden fella is a tragically unfunny douchebag. Also, someone needs to tell him his “George Lucas” beard isn’t fooling anyone.
Fat ass.