The View and the N-Word

So, I saw this clip on The View and the only thing I could think of was, "Here we go again." Then before I knew it, Elisabeth Hasselback had a Hillary Clinton moment and was brought to tears. Was she actually crying because she couldn't use the "N-word" when she wanted without being labeled a racist? As if some great power of privilege had been taken from her as a white woman?

I do not think that.

However, I must admit, I did feel the pain of her frustration as just a person trying to do the right thing. Multiply that same type of frustration by most Black people of this country since its inception by a million and then one can begin to get a glimpse of what it is like to be Black in America.

Long ago, here on this blog I said the sins of this country's forefathers as it relates to slavery and the history of the mistreatment of Black people haunts not only Black people, but white people as well. Yesterday's discussion on The View proved me right. It also demonstrated the value of having a balanced panel to include Black people like most shows had not done up until now when discussing issues as they pertain to Black people.

For more, visit Diary of a Content Black Woman. In the meantime, see an example of how the word is used in a fashion for entertainment:

Jesse Jackson Uses the "N" Word in Mic Gaff Aimed at Obama

The mystery has been cleared up about what else Jesse Jackson said last week when he made his crude remarks about Barack Obama.

The previously unreported comment, disclosed Wednesday morning by the TVNewser blog, was:

“Barack ... he’s talking down to black people ... telling [black people] how to behave.” Only Jackson used the plural form of the “n-word,” not “black people,” in the second part of his comment.

For the remainder of this story, visit the Los Angeles Times Blog.