Political correctness hits the black entertainment industry

Remember last year when Bro. Michael Richards, the actor who played Kramer on Seinfeld, went into an on-stage rant, repeatedly using the word "nigger"?

(I don't normally use that word, but I'm not going to be politically correct and call it the "n-word." The word appears again in this article, so be prepared. News and commentary shouldn't stoop to euphemisms. It's not intellectually honest. And it can be confusing.)

The world was righteously, and perhaps rightfully, offended at Bro. Richards' stage-rage. We didn't hear much from the Masonic world on the issue, though.

Back when it was in the news, and all over the blogosphere, some people were asking, "Why can't he use that word, when black comedians and rappers use it over and over without catching any heat?"

The heat has finally been turned up on black entertainers. Last Friday, black comedian Eddie Griffin, who has appeared in movies such as Undercover Brother and Date Movie and the TV show Malcolm & Eddie, was performing at a Black Enterprise magazine event in the Miami suburb of Doral when he was cut off after using profanities and the word nigger.

"We believe that ending the performance was the appropriate action," Andrew Wadium, a spokesman for the magazine said.

The CNN article doesn't say whether the crowd of approximately 1,000, whom I assume were mostly black, were laughing at the comic or booing him for his choice of words.

Bro. Al Sharpton, who attended a meeting with Black Enterprise executives but not the performance, said the crowd applauded when the performance was stopped.

He and fellow Mason Bro. Jesse Jackson have been urging entertainers for months not to disrespect African-Americans by using the word.

Bro. Jackson, you may remember, showed his respect for cultural diversity by referring to Jews as "Hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown" in an interview with a black reporter in 1984.

(See what I mean about how being politically correct can be confusing? If I'd said the "n-word" instead of the real word, then to be politically correct and racially fair and sensitive, I would have had to refer to Bro. Jackson as having called Jews the "H-word" and NYC as "H-town," and no one under 35 would have known what the "other H-word" I was talking about.)


Words | Politically Correct | Eddie Griffin | Michael Richards | N-word | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Are celebrity Freemasons a public relations risk?

Unless you've read the Scottish Rite's "Strategic Plan," you may not realize that the use of "celebrities" who are Scottish Rite members is a part of the overall plan to "build a positive public image of Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite."

A key strategy of Strategic Objective II is to "establish means to utilize well-known members to accomplish the objective."

I've noticed that the SR has in recent years promoted to the public the fact that country music stars Roy Clark and Brad Paisley, NASCAR driver Brian Conz, actor Ernest Borgnine, and comedian/actor Michael Richards are Scottish Rite brothers.

In the case of Bro. Richards, I think the Scottish Rite got a little egg on its face after his racist stage-rage last fall. Richards had been featured prominently on at least two AASR magazine covers, and was well known to be a Freemason.

Do you think celebrity endorsements of Freemasonry is a good idea? Given that the objective is to "build a positive image," do you think the risk that any given celebrity may one day become a liability rather than an asset is worth taking? Do you think that promoting celebrities as being Masons will attract new members? Do you think that elevating certain individuals to a "higher status" goes against the Masonic ideal that all Masons are equal, or "on the level"?

Image: Roy Clark

Masons | Masonic Celebrities | Brian Conz | Freemasonry | BurningTaper.com | Roy Clark | Ernest Borgnine | Brad Paisley | Michael Richards | Burning Taper

NASCAR, Michael Richards, and reality

A new blog called Scottish Rite Nascar Freemasons: The Bogus Self-Proclaimed Freemasons has popped up in the last few months decrying the NASCAR sponsorship as evidence the Scottish Rite has blatantly turned their backs on their stated Creed, which says:

"Human progress is our cause, liberty of thought our supreme wish, freedom of conscience our mission, and the guarantee of equal rights to all people everywhere our ultimate goal."

A February 5th post states that there will be a protest rally held at the House of the Temple (HOTT) in Washington, D.C., but no date or other information has been forthcoming.

Another article on this blog has also re-focused attention on Scottish Rite 33rd degree brother Michael Richards with a story about his refusal to attend a "mock trial" over his racial outburst last fall.

I applaud Bro. Richards for refusing to attend. What kind of lunacy would that be? It's simply "anti-publicity" by attorney Gloria Allred.

Bro. Richards has already been tried in the court of public opinion, or actually, in the press, which these days pretty much tells us without asking us what "public opinion" should be on any particular issue. He doesn't need to be berated for it in a "non-binding" mock trial which only serves to drum up publicity for Gloria Allred and the "aggrieved" patrons who should "just get over it." If Richards had gone on a tear about "kikes" or "beaners," you can bet those offended black people would have been laughing out loud.

The "trial" was scheduled for last weekend, and there is probably more news on it I haven't seen [Read E! News update from Saturday, Feb. 17, here]. A spokesman said the "trial" would go on, with or without Michael Richards.

One of the three "judges" who was to have presided over this joke of a "trial," Armand Arabian, a former California Supreme Court justice, said last week, "The use of racial epithets and labeling people in a racial way is a very relevant issue today. It's instructive for the public to have a view of what this is like for someone who is a recipient" of racial insults. Sounds like Justice Arabian has already made up his mind, doesn't it?

Part of the tribunal's job was to determine how best Bro. Richards could "mend his ways."

Why am I railing against this? No, it's not because I particularly agree with what Richards said in that nightclub last fall.

It's because I particularly DISAGREE with the existence of a kangaroo court, played out in the media (the public itself is not welcome — there were no seats for you or me). It's not just a mock trial, it's a mockery of our legal traditions.

Yeah, I know, Judge Judy and The People's Court and other television judges have made a mockery of the judicial system for years, but at least all the people involved in those "cases" agreed to be there, and got paid, or got their fines paid, by the producers of the programs. We know it's entertainment, not justice.

If we're going to drag Bro. Richards through something "not real," why not push for and televise a Masonic trial over his unmasonic actions? It may not be "real" to most Americans, either, but to Masons, who voluntarily placed themselves under such a jurisdiction, it would be real enough.

And it would show what Freemasonry is really about, at least better than sponsoring a freakin' race car does.

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On a related note, if an anti-political correctness tirade about race and mascot names is in fact a related note, be sure to read Patrick's "Mascot Madness" at The Pagan Temple.

Masons | Masonic Trial | Scottish Rite Freemasonry | Freemasonry | BurningTaper.com | Michael Richards | Gloria Allred | Burning Taper