A group of young white women were caught on an Instagram video dancing and singing along with a Kanye West song entitled “Gold Digger.” Controversy has ensued since the video went public and became viral due to the girls singing the “n-word” when it came up in the song. This event happened at an Alphi Phi sorority party at the University of New Hampshire. A racism “watchdog” type of Facebook group entitled “All Eyes on UNH” featured the video on their page with a caption that was none too friendly. Allegations of racism and bigotry were bandied about. The reality here is that while racial slurs are always taboo, labeling these young girls as racist for singing along to popular music is absurd. Especially when referring to rap music, where words like what were sung in the song by these girls is very common. There are other racial slurs used to describe other races that usually never get uttered in a way that can be deemed offensive if not meant to be. And the reason for that is the fact that people of other races do not use racial slurs for themselves in a friendly way. If black people want people to stop singing racial slurs in music, then it’s up to them to stop using the words in their music. Very simple. University of New Hampshire has not announced any type of investigation or punishment for the girls. Which, of course, is the right thing to do. There are much more important things to be concerned about such as teenage pregnancy and underage drinking or cases of assault at these fraternity/sorority parties on college campuses. To make a mountain out of a molehill on a witch hunt is much ado about nothing.
Sunday, December 22
