You might have seen this video floating around the web...
I'm not gonna even start on the visceral disgust I felt watching a fat wannabe Chuck Johnson MAGA moron mouthing the n-word and doing rap hands; let's focus on the content and the fact that this seems to be getting universal praise for its message.
So, what is the message?
The message is supposedly that we're just not listening to each other. We're not coming together to hear each other out on the important issue of race relations. If we did, we'd understand that our differences are just simple misunderstandings. Hug it out bitch!
I feel like I'm missing something when I see the praise for this video. It seems to me that people are just so thirsty for racial issues to go away that they'll applaud anything that remotely addresses the issue and proposes that deep-rooted, systemic white supremacy isn't a major issue that requires more than an argument and a hug to solve.
I think Joyner Lucas has a lot of skills as a rapper, but I think he missed the chance to truly say something meaningful. Here are some issues I have with the song and video.
1. The white guy is racist as hell.
2. The intent of the video is supposedly that we should listen to each other. But this guy is simply spitting out every well-worn stereotype about black people. There is nothing insightful here. We've all heard this bullshit before. Now it's just centered around Trump.
3. Maybe it's meant to be irony. There's a moment that almost has to be ironic. The white guy screams the n-word (with an "er"!!) and then immediately says "I'm not racist." That's funny, ironic, and true! There are definitely people who feel this way. But then the verse ends with a sincere, "But there's two sides to every story, I just wish I knew yours." That cancels any claims of irony, and reality, because no white guy with those beliefs wants to "understand" black people.
4. The hug at the end completely kills any chances that this was meant to be ironic. But it gave me a good laugh. Honestly, a hearty belly laugh. Not as hearty as that MAGA guy's belly, but pretty hearty.
5. The black guy doesn’t dispute the claims strongly enough.
Here's a section from the white guy's verse:
"I see a black man aimin' his gun
But I'd rather see a black man claimin' his son.
I work my ass off and I pay my taxes for what?
So you can keep livin' off free government assistance?
Food stamps for your children, but you're still tryna sell 'em
For some weed and some liquor or a fuckin' babysitterFood stamps for your children, but you're still tryna sell 'em
While you party on the road 'cause you ain't got no fuckin' goals?
You already late
You motherfuckas needa get your damn priorities straight
Wait, it's like you're proud to be fake
But you lazy as fuck and you'd rather sell drugs
Than get a job and be straight, and then you turn around and complain
About the poverty rate?"
Wow. Ok. So here it all is. The typical racist belief that all black people are lazy, gun wielding, welfare recipient, drug addict deadbeat dads cheating the system, while white people work their asses off to support them. And Lucas barely refutes him! In the black guy's verse, he says the White Man is keeping black people down so that's why he sells drugs, and he doesn't pay taxes because he doesn't make money. Huh? If you're gonna give the first two minutes of the song to those bullshit ideas from the white guy, you have to dispute them much more forcefully than that. At least tell him that more white people are on welfare than any race. Tell him that black people and poor people pay taxes. Oh, and all black people aren't poor! And all people on welfare don't cheat the system! And fuck you MAGA dork! What the fuck Joyner?!
5) The black guy actually says, "You don’t know about fried chicken and bar-b-q.” What? Did you see the white guy's gut? He knows about fried chicken and bar-b-q.
6) But seriously, he makes some legit claims justifying black people's anger (which is a problem in and of itself; why are you accepting the premise that all black people are angry?) then he starts talking about black culture, which consists of fried chicken, loose change, 2 Chainz and...Kool Aid? Seriously? Ok. Then he yells at the white guy, "You don't know!" But what he just described as "black culture" is the exact thing a racist white guy would say! It just makes no sense.
6. Jimbo would’ve shot Jamal when he flipped his MAGA hat. (Wait, am I racist for calling them those names?) And on a more fundamentally flawed level, Jimbo would never want to hear Jamal’s side, so the whole concept is flawed. He sure as hell wouldn't hug him.
7. That hug provided a damn good laugh, though. Damn good laugh.
8. At this point into the Trumponium Error, the bullshit idea that if we just hear the other side out we will all get along simply pisses me off. What black person hasn’t already heard all the racist shit the MAGA says? And do you think MAGA morons haven’t been told about systemic racism and white privilege? They have, they just don't believe in it!
9. The song, and the video especially, makes racism about "both sides." The two views expressed here are not equal and should not be treated as such. Racism is not about “both sides.” That’s literally a Trump line of logic. The fact that several Trump supporters attacked me on Twitter for criticizing it only proves my point.
There are definitely people of all ethnicities who enjoyed the video, but the only people who attacked me and told me I was "missing the point" were Trump supporters. Dudes with Pepe profiles love this video. One dude literally tweeted 5-6 times about how great the video was, right after he retweeted Ann Coulter shitting on immigrants. The video has basically given MAGA morons a pass for their horrible beliefs. They are literally posting #ImNotRacist while calling for a border wall and a Muslim ban. They want to be able to say all this racist shit with the assurance that they are not racist, and that's essentially what the video does. I hate to break it to you MAGA morons...you might not mean to be racist, but you are.
10. People want a fairy tale world where all our differences can be solved with a hug. Well, we can't hug away racism. We've fought a war over it; we've had several social movements dedicated to stopping it; we've talked about it and written books about it and made Disney football movies starring Denzel Washington about it. Yet it still exists. I know Mr. Lucas isn't proclaiming to stop racism with this video, but the idea he puts forth here that both sides just need to hear each other out is naive. We, white people specifically, need to do a lot more work to dismantle individual and systemic racism.
11. The pseudo-intellectual statement at the end of the video reinforces the idea that this is all just a big misunderstanding (we're all just humans underneath it all, man!) and that's simply not helpful in any way.
12. Fuck Trump and his stupid red hat minions. Ain't no hugging up in here.
13. Watch Joyner Lucas's video for Ross Capicchioni or any other video. He is talented. This song and video miss the mark. When you have MAGA morons praising you, something has gone terribly wrong.
14. If you want to hear a great song about unifying the races, check out this classic:
7. That hug provided a damn good laugh, though. Damn good laugh.
8. At this point into the Trumponium Error, the bullshit idea that if we just hear the other side out we will all get along simply pisses me off. What black person hasn’t already heard all the racist shit the MAGA says? And do you think MAGA morons haven’t been told about systemic racism and white privilege? They have, they just don't believe in it!
9. The song, and the video especially, makes racism about "both sides." The two views expressed here are not equal and should not be treated as such. Racism is not about “both sides.” That’s literally a Trump line of logic. The fact that several Trump supporters attacked me on Twitter for criticizing it only proves my point.
Trump is what happens when you shut up arguments like the ones Joyner brought up in the video by whining about racism. No I don't want to hug you I'd rather send you to Canada so you can have fairy ski instructor yoga practicing cuckboy Trudeau and be happy. pic.twitter.com/1Gs8pPpPFL— James Portocarrero (@ShaktipatSeer) December 1, 2017
Don't ask me to explain what is going on here. All I know is that this guy loved the video.
Clearly I am right about this.
Clearly I am right about this.
There are definitely people of all ethnicities who enjoyed the video, but the only people who attacked me and told me I was "missing the point" were Trump supporters. Dudes with Pepe profiles love this video. One dude literally tweeted 5-6 times about how great the video was, right after he retweeted Ann Coulter shitting on immigrants. The video has basically given MAGA morons a pass for their horrible beliefs. They are literally posting #ImNotRacist while calling for a border wall and a Muslim ban. They want to be able to say all this racist shit with the assurance that they are not racist, and that's essentially what the video does. I hate to break it to you MAGA morons...you might not mean to be racist, but you are.
Here is a typical MAGA moron's response to the video, along with his stance on sexual assault victims.
You don't want these guys as fans of your racially charged video.
10. People want a fairy tale world where all our differences can be solved with a hug. Well, we can't hug away racism. We've fought a war over it; we've had several social movements dedicated to stopping it; we've talked about it and written books about it and made Disney football movies starring Denzel Washington about it. Yet it still exists. I know Mr. Lucas isn't proclaiming to stop racism with this video, but the idea he puts forth here that both sides just need to hear each other out is naive. We, white people specifically, need to do a lot more work to dismantle individual and systemic racism.
11. The pseudo-intellectual statement at the end of the video reinforces the idea that this is all just a big misunderstanding (we're all just humans underneath it all, man!) and that's simply not helpful in any way.
12. Fuck Trump and his stupid red hat minions. Ain't no hugging up in here.
13. Watch Joyner Lucas's video for Ross Capicchioni or any other video. He is talented. This song and video miss the mark. When you have MAGA morons praising you, something has gone terribly wrong.
14. If you want to hear a great song about unifying the races, check out this classic:
I Love You All (Not You MAGA Morons, though)...Class Dismissed.
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