When the race wars come, what side will you be on?
February 28, 2008 – 3:26 pmFor a couple of years now, Bill Cosby has been making public statements concerning the African American community which would cause him to be labeled a racist if he were white. Instead, I think the word used to describe him is often times Oreo. I do not agree with everything he has said about the African American community, but I have to respect the mans sheer bravery for saying what he has about his own race (for lack of a better term).
Recently, a white man said much the same things Bill Cosby did. Guess what. Yep, he was declared a racist. In fact, writers in his business community used the term to describe the things that he had said.
“What i heard was racism,…” - Mitch Joel, co-publisher of two music magazines and a freelance writer for the industry.
I am speaking about singer Phil Anselmo of the band Pantera and the tirade he unleashed on an audience at a Pantera concert.
Although I am very limited in knowledge of modern bands, I recognized the name Pantera from the concert in Columbus, Ohio where former band member Darrell (Dimebag) Abbott was murdered on stage in front of his audience. Nathan Gale killed Darrell Abbot and four concert goers at the Alrosa Villa on December 8, 2004. I remember the incident well because the murders took place just a few blocks from a pagan book and gift store, which I owned and operated at the time. So in a sea of videos and news events, the recent rise of interest in that Youtube.com video peeked my curiosity.From what I can tell, the video is not recent at all. I believe it was filmed at a March 4th 2005 concert in Montreal, Canada. It seems odd that just a few months after Nathan Gale leaped onto state, killed former band member Darrell (Dimebag) Abbott, and then murdered 4 others during his retreat that nobody would mention such in commenting on the statements made in Montreal.
http://pages.infinit.net/dimebag/review1.htm
I don’t know about you, but if someone I had worked with for years had recently been assassinated on state I might be in a less than hospitable mood for months to come. I think that is what happened with Phil Anselmo. I think he expressed legitimate concerns, but those concerns were expressed in a less than constructive way because of his state of mind at the time. He was angry so his words came out in a way which expressed more anger than perhaps they would have without the murder just a few months before.
Many will say that such is no excuse for the racist tirade, but those who do seem not to have listened to what the singer said. He was very clear that if you look at the whole of Pantera’s lyrics, you will know that the band is not racist. That if you knew the band members on a personal level, you would know that they are not racists. That they embrace all cultures, all tribes, all people.
Although he did not express it very elegantly, what singer Phil Anselmo observed is alive, well, and growing within a community he identified as black rappers. The same phenomenon is alive, well, and growing within a community of white performers. Each side fuels the other. Phil Anselmo was right, there are black rappers who are promoting a hatred of all white people just as there are white groups promoting hatred of all black people. The problem, as I see it, is that these two groups feed off of each other leaving those of us in the middle to wonder if we do not have to choose sides.
When the race war comes, which side will you be on?
White people tend to say they will be on the side of the white race. Black people tend to say they will be on the side of the black race. Rational people tend to say they will be the side of the human race. I say I won’t be on any side. This is not because I am not proud of my heritage or humanity, it is because I believe both sides are being manipulated by the true villain in this matter. That true villains being those who promote the division of culture for exploitive purposes, those who promote hate for profit. Black people tend to be quick to buy into the words and CDs of musicians who tell them their problems exist because white people put them down. White people tend to be quick to buy into the words and CDs of musicians who tell them their problems exist because black people put them down. Hate grows as do the profits of corporations which promote and sell those CDs. The bottom line is hate is profitable.
The lead singer for Pantera was right when he said there is a growing hatred for the white race. He could have been more accurate if he had included mention of the growing hatred for the black race. He would have been dead on if he included that additional information and reframed from pointing his finger at performers.
There is a culture of people who blame all of their problems on white people. To call that culture black, or even black rap artists, is not accurate. There is a culture of people who blame all of their problems on black people. To call that culture white is not accurate. But because those terms exist, I will use them in saying there is White Culture, there is Black Culture, and then there is American Culture.
I am an American. Fuck black culture. I am an American. Fuck white culture. When the race war comes, I am on the side of the United States of America.
