This stems from a piece of music, so it's in this forum, but really goes beyond just music...
I've been having an argument with a friend of mine about whether the lyrics to a particular song are racist or not.The song is basically a rant, a litany of disgust, where the singer reels of a list of things he's sick of... so we get "i'm sick of my dog, sick of all the popstars, sick of politicians, sick of the cunt who lives next door, sick of drinking beer... etc etc". It's sung by someone who I'm fairly sure is white (not that it makes much of a difference).
Within this list there are the following phrases:
"I'm sick of all the Arabs, sick of all the Jews"
which I didn't find offensive, just a bit bad taste..
and
"I'm sick of all the niggers..." and "I'm sick of all the pakis, sick of all the greys" and "sick of all the queers"
Which I did find offensive.
My immediate response was "that's racist (and sexual preference-ist)".
I've been discussing it with a friend of mine, who has offered the following arguments :
-it's ironic, which somehow makes it ok (which I flatly disagree with)
- It's a rant which lays into everything - which might be some kind of argument, except that the only negative racial epithets are "nigger" and "paki". I don't find the use of "Arab" and "Jew" offensive. He also says something about being "sick of the greys" - which as far as I know isn't a racial slur, except possibly against aliens with big bulbous black eyes and skinny little grey bodies.
- it's designed to shock, the singer is looking to generate a response. Which I think is a flimsy and cheap way to do so.
- the narrative voice could be taken as being someone else's, a nihilist or a racist.
So, is it ok to use terms and phrases like that? Are they inherently racist? Are there some contexts where it is acceptable and not others?
Obviously I have picked up a couple of phrases that I found offensive, so they are taken a little out of context here. If people want, I can post more of the lyrics..
Edit friday: Here's the link an mp3 of the track: http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1G04E6LBEOQSV2BHXGE1S36JYS
I've been having an argument with a friend of mine about whether the lyrics to a particular song are racist or not.The song is basically a rant, a litany of disgust, where the singer reels of a list of things he's sick of... so we get "i'm sick of my dog, sick of all the popstars, sick of politicians, sick of the cunt who lives next door, sick of drinking beer... etc etc". It's sung by someone who I'm fairly sure is white (not that it makes much of a difference).
Within this list there are the following phrases:
"I'm sick of all the Arabs, sick of all the Jews"
which I didn't find offensive, just a bit bad taste..
and
"I'm sick of all the niggers..." and "I'm sick of all the pakis, sick of all the greys" and "sick of all the queers"
Which I did find offensive.
My immediate response was "that's racist (and sexual preference-ist)".
I've been discussing it with a friend of mine, who has offered the following arguments :
-it's ironic, which somehow makes it ok (which I flatly disagree with)
- It's a rant which lays into everything - which might be some kind of argument, except that the only negative racial epithets are "nigger" and "paki". I don't find the use of "Arab" and "Jew" offensive. He also says something about being "sick of the greys" - which as far as I know isn't a racial slur, except possibly against aliens with big bulbous black eyes and skinny little grey bodies.
- it's designed to shock, the singer is looking to generate a response. Which I think is a flimsy and cheap way to do so.
- the narrative voice could be taken as being someone else's, a nihilist or a racist.
So, is it ok to use terms and phrases like that? Are they inherently racist? Are there some contexts where it is acceptable and not others?
Obviously I have picked up a couple of phrases that I found offensive, so they are taken a little out of context here. If people want, I can post more of the lyrics..
Edit friday: Here's the link an mp3 of the track: http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1G04E6LBEOQSV2BHXGE1S36JYS
Last edited: