April 22, 2004
Lessons learned from American TV
I have satellite TV, and can therefore watch LOTS of low-brow American entertainment on TV. I like The Practice, and Boston Public, both of which my friend Peter ridicules for being unrealistic. Well, I'm going to show you how these shows sometimes are realistic.
1)On Boston Public, there was a photography contest, and one student took nude pictures of the neighbourhood kids he babysat. The pictures were charming and innocent, but when a teacher saw them, she spoke to the headmaster/principal, who called in the local authorities and the police. The mother of the children came to thank the children for saving them from this 'beast'. As you know, if you read the British press, there have been 2 instances recently where pressure has been put on art galleries to ban exhibitions which show naked children. In one instance, the gallery stood up for the artist and told the police to get lost, in the other case, the gallery caved in to pressure. Boston Public is perhaps not SO unrealistic...
2)Boston Public again. A white teacher played by Michael Rappaport talks about the origins and uses of the word nigger in his class (apparently this word was, for a long time, not an insulting term). The black principal, enraged, threatens to fire him, stating that he does not have the right to use this word because he is white. A huge debate ensues, which results in the principal, who is black, teaching the class himself. If a black man teaches this material, and uses this word, it is apparently OK.
Ron Atkinson (centre) with football legend John Barnes. Do his parents live in a tree as well, Ron?
Fast forward to the real world, where legendary British football manager and pundit Ron Atkinson is fired by the TV company ITV for remarks he made off air. Apparently Big Ron, who has been known to put his foot in his mouth, said that the Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly was well-known as 'a lazy nigger'. These remarks were not heard in Europe, but in the Middle East, the live coverage was still continuing, and some viewers complained. In the 1990 World Cup, England luckily beat Cameroon after the Cameroon defenders gave away 2 penalties in the last 15 minutes or so. Atkinson said that one of the defenders had 'no brain'. When the other commentator jokingly suggested that the said defender's Mum probably would not like to hear that, Atkinson (off-air, but again, on air in some countries) replied 'well, if she is watching TV up a tree in Africa'.
A couple of things seem clear. Firstly, Atkinson is either a racist, or someone who sees no problem using racial stereotypes. Secondly, unlike the teacher in the drama show, Big Ron (or Big Wrong, as the tabloids screamed today), was not attempting to educate people and get them thinking about the way different races address each other. He is, basically, a fool, and a rather simple one at that. So why the mention of Boston Public...? Well, the debate I read about this issue on a British webpage focused on the use of the word, more than the meaning behind it. Some people even tried to defend Ron by using the etymology argument (it didn't used to be an insult, black people use this word amongst themselves etc...).
I think it is a sad day for English football. Atkinson has brought great pleasure to me and many others with his witterings, but there is no way he should be allowed to continue broadcasting if he is as bigoted as he appears to be.
UPDATE
I listened to Big Ron on the radio this morning - he said that his remark was "unintentional". I think what he meant was that saying it while still on air was unintentional. He lost his job writing for the Guardian as well.
One argument being used in his favour is that he regularly used balck players in his teams when he was coaching. Mmmm. Bit like a record shop owner, circa 1982 or 1983 saying that because he stocks Michael Jackson records, he is not racist. For years, many of the top players in the English game have been black, so I am not sure that this argument holds water...
*I have chosen to write the word nigger here on my page. I could have written n***er, or 'the derogatory n-word used about black people', but since I feel that the power is not in the word itself, but in the feelings and thoughts (often hatred) of those using it, I have chosen to use the 'full' word. If any of my regular readers has a problem with this, please tell me, and I will consider re-writing it.