Let's Talk About It!!!

The July 2007 issue of Ebony Magazine which has an unusual and imaginative cover...takes an indepth look at the issue of the widespread use of profane language especially in the build-up that occured as a result of the furor over the remarks made by Don Imus to the Women's Basketball team of Rutgers University. In her editorial review called- A Serious Look at Ourselves - President and CEO, Linda Johnson Rice writes -

There are at least two sides to this debate: Those who view the language as pure artistic and creative expression, tightly wrapped in the context that "it's just music, a way of keepin' it real": and the other side who sees it as demeaning, degrading and hurtful portrayals that incorrectly paint a picture for the world to shape its concept of Black women.

This is a situation that has no easy answers, no easy approaches, no diagrams for an easy solution. In fact, this is a complex social issue that requires some deep internal evaluation, especially since there are many Black women who embrace the language - and even use it themselve, reveling in the derogatory descriptions to the point that they accept them as a badge of distinction.

Ms Johnson-Rice goes on to say that -

...it is by no means only about rap and hip-hop, TV and movies...it's about some everyday language that is inappropriate but has become an acceptable part of the lexicon. It has gotten to the point that even grade schoolers who still pay with Barney and Elmo are spewing adult-sized offensive words - using them with the same cadence, purpose and intent as adults!

The latter part of the editorial which appears above is what I find very uncomfortable. The fact that it profane language has become so widespread in its use to the point that generations to come might find that it is not unusual to use language profanely...is this the sort of legacy we want to leave for our children...is this the legacy that was left for us...let's talk about it!!!

Keeping It Real

When I first read the mail from S.O.A.P and decided to send this article, I decided I will try and play the devil's advocate. It is easy to write off people who indulge in the habit of using coarse language or engaging in lewd talk. But I will rather not take the easy walk. I will rather ask, "why the habit?"

Well, you could blame it on the Americans. Nay, the western way of life. Their music, films and literature do not just regularly depict obscenity and lewdness, it sometimes actually glorifies it. But that can only be correct to an extent. Actually, you can be lewd in any language. Obesere and some other fuji musicians have all proved that to a fault.

Then you could try and blame it on commercialism in the arts. It is not easy to achieve renown as an artiste; you need to stand out. Some try unconventional dressing, body marks and hairdo. Many try to shock us by spitting out four letter words, singing lewd lyrics and cracking lousy jokes. But, as the saying goes, it is only kinky the first time. A lewd artiste will only attract a lewd audience and soon fall out of favor. Rarely can you reach the peak, even in Hollywood, by starting out with porn. So you find that with time the showmanship of true professional must mature to leave lewdness behind.

And then there are those that say they are just trying to Keep It Real . They come from the ghetto and the language of the street is coarse, just like the life of its brow beaten, wretched inhabitants. That almost had me, if not for the lack of village roots of the speaker. Being vulgar might be representing alright, but it represents nothing but the shallowness of the mind of the speaker. As a native of a culture where respect, in all its ramifications, is a valued attribute, you certainly can't convince me that you're keeping it real by using slang that refers to men by their color, two hundred years after slavery was officially abolished. Or calling our mothers and sisters whores. Crudeness isn't cool; it is just verbal terrorism.

Now am all for free speech and abhor censorship. We still thank God for our God granted freedoms everyday. The prevalence of obscenity is a threat to that freedom. Freedom of speech should engender cross fertilization of ideas. Obscenity on the other hand kills creativity, since it seizes the attention of its captive audience by appealing to our lowest common denominator, that which is base and demeaning. It is a threat to true freedom because its popularity is the best argument for censorship.

For the vast majority of people who resign to the interruption of profanity in our daily communication, it is just something we have learnt to ignore. That silence is not social proof. Unfortunately, that silence encourages the easily influenced to accept the use of profanity as part of the attributes of a free society.

In my view, using vulgar language is really nothing more than the outwardly vocal a sign of an unstable ego and poorly developed personality. It is like wearing a T shirt with " Despise Me" written on it. Now, why would anyone do that?

© Kiibaati
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Set Adrift on Memory Bliss

Sampling Spandau Ballet's True and Eric B and Rakim's Paid in Full...PM Dawn released this memorable hit in 1991 taken off the album - Of the Heart, of the Soul and the Cross: The Utopian Experience