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| O'Neil said a bad word. Big fucking deal? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
The reaction I observed on Twitter last night made it seem like O'Neil had just sharpened Darren Young's afro-pic into a shiv and stabbed Sheamus in the neck. People feared that he "screwed the pooch" or that he might get "Abraham Washington'd" because of it. I laughed it off, but it bothered me because in the back of my mind, I could see WWE overreacting to a curse word on television, even one that was scrubbed out from the audio feed. The reactions, both real on Twitter and imagined by me, typify what I feel like is the most backward notions regarding language in this country.
The Federal Communications Commission has famously set up a code to prevent such "foul" words to be spoken on television. George Carlin made it famous with his "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" bit. There's one curse word in there with vile implications, another that has a negative connotation only because of sheer homophobia, and a third that should be innocuous but that has been co-opted by those who wish to keep women as second-class citizens. In my opinion though, four of them are completely innocuous and refer to normal, natural things. "Fuck" and "tits" are both sexual in nature, and the puritanical values that crush most of America say that sex is bad unless you're married (and even then, it's not for pleasure, it's for procreation!). "Shit" and "piss" both refer to natural bodily functions without which we wouldn't be able to survive. Why is it that the FCC is so gung-ho about making sure people don't say "fuck" over the airwaves, but really don't care if someone utters the n-word? One word only stings the ears because we've been taught that it's bad for no reason. Another word has been part of systematic oppression of a minority group with roots back to slavery. I honestly don't think any speech should be banned so to speak, but if we were going to place monetary fines on one word, it sure as shit shouldn't be the word "fuck," that's for damn sure.
Obviously, the FCC isn't the only thing in play here. Sponsors play a much bigger role in what words can be said, and no one wants to be associated with harsh racial language, which is why the only shows where you even hear the n-word are ones where black people use it as a familiar colloquialism. Of course, there's a double standard in play, but honestly, it's one I don't have a problem with. Still, the fact that the FCC cares more to fine people for saying "fuck" on TV than "n*****" is still royally fucked up if you ask me.
Words like that are propped up as boogeymen to perpetuate the foolish notions that class and dignity come from artificial constructs like language. Actions and intent are far more damning, which is why it baffles me that people can equate O'Neil to Washington. The last time I checked, Washington didn't even use a curse word when he said what he said to get himself fired. He equated what the Prime Time Players did in the ring to sexual assault, and he committed slander against Kobe Bryant by implying was guilty of something he was acquitted of. You're damn right that I might cut ties with Washington a lot sooner than O'Neil.
By even connecting the dots between the two incidents, people gave too much power to the one word that was scrubbed from the broadcast. The best way to take power from a word is to normalize it, at least in this case (I don't think there will be any pan-racial normalization of the n-word, nor do I think there should be). You don't want to be offended by the word "fuck?" Then don't get offended by it. It's just a word, one that's outgrown it's "icky" sexual origin anyway. It's easier for you to change than it is for you to make everyone else do the same. In the interim, while WWE has a right to police what is on its airwaves (and since WWE's sponsors have a right to pull their advertising for whatever reason, as dumb as I might find it), I think they know the difference between a slip-up and a deliberate verbal atrocity. I doubt O'Neil will be punished too severely, but the best way to make sure he doesn't is to stop raising a shit-storm whenever a simple little four-letter word is uttered on a cable telecast, whether scrubbed, bleeped, or left virgin for us all to hear.