Site Meter Reflections on Playboy: John Mayer is a retarded midget for taking back the word “nigger.” That’s gay.

February 23, 2010

John Mayer is a retarded midget for taking back the word “nigger.” That’s gay.

Please excuse my language, but it pisses me off that people get so chickenshit about words these days. It makes me worry about the future of free speech. In America’s endless cycles of outrage over supposedly racist comments made by obvious non-racists, whoever has the weakest sense of irony makes the rules. The inevitable result is, shall we say, mentally challenged public discourse.

In context, singer John Mayer’s use of the word nigger in the March Interview expresses no hostility or condescension towards black people, does it?
Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’”
I’m disappointed by Mayer’s gutlessness in apologizing for his statement on Twitter:
Re: using the ‘N word’ in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it’s such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize [sic] using it, because I realize that there’s no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.
At a recent concert, Mayer broke down and cried during a lengthy apology for his remarks, to which the audience cheered. Oh Lord, please don’t let him help make uptight political correctness look hip and sexy.

Posted by Brian Sorgatz at 4:37 PM

  • Blogger Slappy Walker left this comment at March 6, 2010 9:39 PM  
    I'm assuming he took it back because the backlash probably would have knocked off a little bit of his airplay. But then again people love a good "scandal". He'll probably end up pushing even more sales now.

    Wasn't so offended by his use of the word. He's not the first to use it and sure won't be the last. The comment itself kind of rambled on. He probably could have made his point without even going there.

  • Blogger Brian Sorgatz left this comment at March 7, 2010 3:44 PM  
    I’m glad he went there—if only on general principles of free speech. The human tendency to ascribe magical powers to certain kinds of words needs to be counteracted by breaking the rules of polite discourse occasionally.

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