Tuesday on “Piers Morgan Live,” Morgan invited on the Thought Police to discuss the fallout from Alec Baldwin’s latest homophobic slur, who could use the F-word and the N-word, and in what context.
The result? Contradiction and confusion all around. Baldwin was forgiven, mostly. We're told that the N-word and F-word should probably not be used in the workplace (except if you’re Charles Barkley), but in most cases are okay in the company of people who all could share the same derogatory label...
If nothing else, the segment did produce some decent one-liners and a transparently political exoneration of Baldwin.
CNN correspondent Don Lemon about when it is and isn’t permissible to use the N-word:
Sometimes it's just right there, it's just that simple. Like your grandmother would say, “Don't use the word, boy. Don't do it in public. Don't do it in the workplace.” It's just that simple.
New York Times op-ed columnist Charles Blow on hurting people’s feelings:
Let's get rid of all the words that hurt people's feelings. We still have to deal with the issues that hurt people's lives, the things that are kind of below the surface.
Blow also at one point argues that the racism and bigotry inherent in the F-word and N-word are subconsciously infused by society, but then seems to suggest that we should somehow still be individually responsible for that socially-constructed, unconscious intent...
And, finally, Noah Michelson, editor of Huffington Post’s “Gay Voices,” who Morgan singles out to provide the final judgment on Baldwin:
Morgan: Noah, can you forgive Alec Baldwin?
Michelson: Oh yeah. Easily. I don't think he's homophobic. I don't think he's a bad guy. He's done great stuff for the gay community.
Apparently, Michelson agrees with Dan Savage, who made a similar statement last week: “I would rather be called a c***sucker by someone who supports LGBT equality than called a nicer name by someone who works against it.”
What’s surprising about Michelson’s easy forgiveness of Baldwin is that his recent HuffPo piece, “A Few Words from a Real, Live C*cksucking Fag,” posted just a day before appearing on CNN, strictly forbids all straight people from “ever” using the F-word:
If you are a straight person, you do not get to use the word "fag." Ever. You just don't. Even if all your friends are gay and everyone in your family is gay and they all say they're fine with it (more on this below), it's still not OK. Sorry. Choose another insult.
So the take away: Obey your grandmother, don’t hurt people’s feelings, and forgive Alec Baldwin because he’s a liberal.
