When racial gaffes happen to famous people, I think we should all learn from them. You would think that people would have already learned from past celebrities that saying the N-word for a white celebrity is a toxic situation. It's a no win scenario. I have never heard a white person be able to successfully articulate their point by saying the N-word. Personally, I don't think any race of people should be saying the N-word. It is one of those words that has so much power because of the history behind it. It is unfortunate that some black people have lulled their white friends into a false sense of security by using the N-word around them. Some white people have become so comfortable that they have started to use the word as well. We know the mere use of a word does not make a person racist, but if you don't want to give off that impression, then don't use the N-word.
What disturbs me more than John Mayer's use of the N-word is his utter lack of respect for women and black people. He was so flippant in his speech, that he compared his penis to a former Grand Wizard of the KKK David Duke. There is nothing funny about the KKK. He used the word "aversion" to refer to his lack of attraction to black women. Aversion is a very strong word. There is nothing wrong with having a particular preference when it comes to women, but you don't have to put other races down in your assessment. He said he had a Benetton heart, but Benetton has been accused by some indigenous people in South America of being insensitive to their claim of land. So John Mayer's word selection was bad across the board.
Then, John Mayer showed a total disregard for the feelings of the past women in his life. His whole angle was one of the sexual objectification of women. He came off as extremely arrogant and self-centered. It is one thing to kiss and tell, but he threw Jessica Simpson totally under the bus. John must not realize that people have families that have to read this junk in the newspapers and on-line. So John not only gave a racist interview, but a sexist one as well.
When I said we should learn from the mistakes of celebrities, maybe I misspoke, because all of the mistakes that John Mayer made, we already knew. One lesson that I am learning has to do with the media's uneven treatment of celebrity gaffes. I am completely surprised that this story is not getting more play than the Kanye West /Taylor Swift story. The Kanye incident was light compared to the rudeness of John Mayer. The President of the United States and former President Jimmy Carter got involved with the Kanye West incident. In my book Plain Talk Volume 1, I talk about how the Media is selective in their being overly negative and critical of certain celebrities of color. I call this Media Theory: Piling it on. Since Kanye did not get a pass, nether should John Mayer get one. Sometimes you have to hold someone's feet to the fire for extended periods of time so that they will completely get the message. The coverage of this incident has been non-existent by the main stream media. That was the coverage that I was expecting for the Kanye West incident. Boy was I wrong.
Corey Washington
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