“It’s about people who take themselves too seriously, any group. It’s not just about gays, I think that African Americans groups sometimes take things a tad too seriously too… If you use the “n” word like Don Imus and say something that’s completely derogatory and disrespectful, that’s understandable. But if you just have an opinion on something that just happens to be related to the African American culture and it’s in opposition, then they have no right to shut you down either.”
– Rapper T.I. calls TMZ to explain his totally not taken out of context comment calling gay backlash against slur users “un-American” and “oversensitive”.
Edwina Ola DUKE
but thats the thing. they’re NOT being respectful about it! it’s not as if they’re all going around actually talking to people giving their opinion. they’re basically yelling and discriminating nd doing whatver they can to bring these people down!
i get his point but they did use the “n” word! all over people are using derogatary terms to insult these people and u expect them to not take it personally?! i’m osrry but if you bite me i fucking bite you back and if i can bite harder i will! it’s like saying that people insult you but still don’t take it personally! and who says that hwen they state their opinion it’s not in an offensive way??
David Ehrenstein
Why is sucha low-life getting so much attention? It’s as if in order to compensate for the obvious — and clearly htreatening — intelligence of President Obama, the World’s Dumbest Negroes — Herman Cain, Tracy Morgan and Clifford Harris Jr. — are bing given spotlight positions.
I’m old enough to remember when James Baldwin was on the tube constantly — his opinions and observations on matters relevant ot whites and well as blacks, sought after by one and all.
Oh, and he was gay too.
With Clifford Harris Jr. we’re WAY below the “Bottom of the Barrel.”
tookietookie
This person has opinions is important again why?
james
It’s ok he’ll be back in jail soon and back to being someones bitch.
Fitz
This isn’t rocket science. Certain words and ideas hurt feelings. Well, tough. But certain words (i.e. “Nigger”, “Faggot”, etc) are often used as permission for violence. That’s a problem.
Do you want to trigger violence?
Do you want that to be your contribution to the globe?
It’s better to not dehumanize people.
Kev C
T.I. swallows warm semen into his throat.
Hey, it’s a joke.
T.I. inserts sausages into his rectum when no one is watching.
Just a joke. It’s funny because it’s true.
Dax
TI is right and I agree with him completely.
Phil
I’m not entirely sure of all the legalities of it, but I think incendiary language makes assault more okay. (Still bad, but less bad.)
That said, I stand by my previous assertion. You have the right to say all the shit you want. Likewise, whoever you insult has an equal right to say whatever shit they want about you to shut you down. That is freedom of speech and that is -entirely- patriotic.
(Let’s not get bogged down by libel and slander.)
And, hey, Don Imus has every right to say whatever hurtful and derogatory thing he wants. But you would be a terrible person to not fault him for it. I am wondering what the difference here is.
quantheory
>The institution allows us, it affords us the right, to speak out peacefully and respectfully in opposition of any point or any topic that comes up
“Respectfully” has nothing to do with it. Satire is a classic example of protected speech, and yet it is disrespectful almost by definition.
>If you use the “n” word like Don Imus and say something that’s completely derogatory and disrespectful, that’s understandable. But if you just have an opinion on something that just happens to be related to the African American culture and it’s in opposition, then they have no right to shut you down either.
What a pointless distinction. If something is “derogatory and disrespectful”, you can “shut it down”, but not otherwise? That’s completely subjective. If you put 9 random people in a room with a bunch of borderline offensive statements, you’re likely to hear 9 different opinions on what the difference is between something that’s “disrespectful” and something that isn’t. I have said “I’m an atheist.” and literally nothing else, and been accused of disrespecting religious people. On the other hand, I’ve gotten long-winded explanations about how it’s not /really/ disrespectful for someone to tell me interracial marriage should be illegal, or to call me hellbound or a faggot.
Truth is, there is no mystical Supreme Court of Defamation, and no sizable group of people really agrees about what’s offensive.
If we’re going to talk about fairness and rights, you can say that people have the right to express their opinion, and other people have the right to be offended and decided they don’t like them as much. Famous people have the right to say anti-gay things, and I have the right to say that, once someone does that, I usually don’t really want anything to do with them afterward. And if a celebrity is so disliked that it burns their reputation to the ground, ruining their career, well, it sucks to be them, but they aren’t victims of censorship. Not that that actually happens to most of the really famous people who say homophobic things anyway.
ADC143
The minute people start using racial arguments as analogies for why homophobia is wrong, I automatically ignore it. I know that it’s a comparison some eat up like cake, but I refuse to indulge people who try and be smug with such a lazy and trite parallel. Save the conversations about race for when the conversation is actually about race. If the conversation is about homophobia, then stay on topic. The same people who have decided to play the ‘Oh yeah…?/N-word/Don Imus” game with TI wouldn’t have thought to use race as a trump card or rebuttal if Daughtry or Jason Aldean had made those same remarks. So as far as I’m concerned, anyone who does pull the race rebuttal on TI is a racist.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
@ADC143:
The same people who were, and are racists in years before, are anti-gay today. It makes sense to use these analogies for the simple fact that the same rhetoric, legal wranglings, and church bully pulpit are being used against queers today, that were used against blacks in previous decades.
CBRad
@ADC143: It’s a stupid comparison, and a very strained parallel. It’s also wishful thinking on the part of those who espouse it. And it totally leaves out the homophobia of blacks.
michael
So he wouldn’t mind if someone said with venom he would stab his daughter and the Negro too if she ever brought one home? Um, yeah, I mean its just an objective opinion.
Phil
@ADC143: You don’t see the parallels between the hatred of an immutable human characteristic and the desire to oppress a group with said characteristic? Okay.
I get that when people use the nigger:faggot argument, they’re often only using it as an acceptable way to finally say nigger but, honestly, is your position any less self-congratulatory and smug?
@CBRad: Sorry, when I confront homophobia, I confront homophobia of all peoples, not just of whites, blacks, hispanics, asians or what-have-you.
(Interracial marriage and homophobia? Unsurprisingly apt comparison.)
jason
How has anyone tried to shut anyone down? Vociferous free speech isn’t shutting down anybody. It’s simply vociferous free speech. We in the GBT community reserve the right to exercise it. If TI is offended by it, that’s his problem, not ours.
Perhaps, like many black music acts, he is homophobic at heart. Those blacks are threatened by us because we expose the homophobia that is at the heart of their music culture.
Trent
Free Speech is given to us in the first amendment. This allows us to say whatever we want, minus words that incite actions (such as- yelling fire in a theatre full of people) That is not free speech.
Thus, I agree with TI; if I want to say tranny faggot; I can; however it is then it is also ok for someone else to serve a counterpoint with words. I do think that the gay community has lost its sense of humour and need to get back to fighting against real villians. Not just be pissy when people say they think we have taken things too far.
@ADC143: I agree with you; there is not comparing racial and GLB issues. I do not read them either; because there is no comparison;
Double Standard
Whoever this loser is (I’d never heard of him prior to all these stories about him), he just illustrated why he’s an idiot:
“If you use the “n” word like Don Imus and say something that’s completely derogatory and disrespectful, that’s understandable.”
A: Imus never used the “n-word,” unless that word is “nappy.” He was fired from his job for calling a women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”
B: Morgan called for “faggots” to be stabbed to death, and boasted that he’d do that to his own son if he was gay. If a racist comedian called his daughter’s boyfriend the “n-word” and said he’d stab her to death “if she came home with one of those again,” would he be laughing? I think not.
This TI nobody seems to think his opinion is relevant. If so, mine is, too. And mine is that stupid Z-list pseudo-celebs who don’t know jack should STFU.
Doug
T.I. doesn’t seem anti-gay to me after listening to this interview. He simply seems to not understand that backlash to free speech by anyone other than the government is also free speech.
Tackle
Yes the people who choose to use racial analogies as a rebuttal to T.I.s statement to some degree, (I would say) do espouse racist tendencies. And such analogies are foolish in this case and does not make any sense to be used. I’m no fan of T.I. But his statement was not about race, ethnicity, color of skin etc…
T.I. did NOT reference his statement to gay white men or any particular race/ethnicity.
he said GAYS. That covers Black, White, Asian, Hispanic/Latino and Blue with dots.
And the main reason why it’s racist, foolish and immature to use such an analogie is that the ones using it do not know T.I. They do not know what ticks him off. they are just assuming. And you know what they say about people who assume?? How do you know that the N-word will offend T.I.?? I have seen many Blacks being called the N-word and let it bounce off them like a rubber ball. Call me that and it wont offend me. You’re not gonna get the reaction you hoped for. Or from anyone in my immediate family. Thats like saying every gay man will be crushed by being called the F-word. Or every Lesbian will be devastaated because she was called a dyke by a straight person. In fact I do not know of any Black person who ever commited suicide because they were call the N-word. Not saying that some won’t be offended, but many will not let such a word offend them. Yes you do have to consider the source. Regardless of sexual orentation.
Many love to believe they have a magic word they can throw like a bomb. Thats gonna cause people (blacks) to be devastated. Hurt. Wounded. Well I hate to burst your racist bubble. For many, it’s not gonna happen.