“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.” This, the 9th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which
already has its share of judicial footprints all over it, may soon
be amended to add, “excepting those which may cause offense to
certain groups.”
Those who believe that a right to be free from personal or class
offense is already enshrined in our national ethos, now seek to
further extend it governmentally. Never mind that some states, and
to a certain extent, the federal government have previously adopted
hideous 1984-like “hate crime” laws which seek to punish
the vile thoughts which supposedly cause such crimes, they now want
to punish the hate itself.
As pointed out by our friends at NewsBusters.org,
when the Rev. Jesse Jackson was asked about the injudicious use of
a familiar and repulsive racial epithet, he announced, “I might add
that we’re really going to begin to fight to prohibit that word in
public usage as hate language.”
Not stopping to consider the utter inanity and impracticality of
that statement, let us admit its impossibility. No government in
history has been able to regulate the emotions of its citizens. Not
even God himself has been very successful in regards to legislating
the dark workings of the human heart. No, I don’t give the good
reverend much of a chance either.
His outburst was occasioned, of course, by the Michael Richards
flap; wherein an under-employed comedian was unable to quiet
hecklers at a “comedy” club without delivering an ugly and
out-of-control racial diatribe at his two black oppressors. He was
subsequently forgiven his grievous sin after making the necessary
sacrifices at the altar of Rev. Jackson who, as some might remember, knows his way around a racial epithet
or two.
Oddly, the very word that got Mr. Richards into so much trouble
was the same one that got somebody else out of it. Recall that the
alleged use of the magic word by LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman was
cited by many as a major reason that O.J. Simpson was acquitted of
two brutal murders a decade ago.
It seems no small coincidence then that Mr. Simpson — onetime
football star and second-rate actor — is himself once again in the
spotlight for offending the sensibilities of the American people,
this time for crimes against good taste. The cancellation of a Fox
TV special and recall of his book, deliciously titled, If I Did
It, were the result of howls of indignation from the same
folks who were once slavishly addicted to the daily goings-on at
his trial.
The irony of it all is demonstrated in this from CNN: “One station manager who had said he wasn’t
airing the special said he was concerned that whether or not
Simpson was guilty, he’d still be profiting from murders.” If this
sort of hypocrisy doesn’t offend, I don’t know what would. I mean,
if the media and the American public aren’t interested in the
self-recriminatory tales of washed-up celebrities, or the lurid
details of murders, rapes and kidnappings, what need have we of TV
or Hollywood?
All my life I’ve heard and continue to hear ethnic jokes, many
of them which stereotype Italians as dim-witted greaseballs and
murderous thugs. In polite conversation, these jokes are deemed
repulsive, yet their personification in The Sopranos and
Goodfellas is considered cinematic art, though personally,
I prefer the jokes. Similarly, those who trade in bathroom humor
and spew profanity for pay are said to be purveyors of the
performing arts, proving once again that one man’s trash is another
man’s treasure.
So we will all tut-tut at the insensitivity of Michaels and the
crudity of Simpson while reaching for the remote to catch up on the
latest episode of Desperate Housewives. Meanwhile, we are
left to bear the wails of the perpetually offended like Mr. Jackson
who believe they can restore civility and good manners — toward
some, at least — through legislation. The truth is, the only way
to end the offenses against good taste and common decency in
America is not through the pen but the purse.
If Americans were truly outraged or offended by crude behavior,
bad language, or the glorification of violence to such a level that
one cannot watch even a TV commercial without witnessing some sort
of mayhem, they wouldn’t be satisfied with the apology of one bad
comedian or the suppression of one lowlife’s attempts at financial
redemption. They would speak loudly with their wallets and make a
swift end to it all. But don’t expect that to happen any time soon;
the beast must be fed.
