Good Ole Racism

Besides the amount of racist speech on though prevalent on campus this term, included but not limited to the upcoming visits of Evelyn and Cornel and the President's Convocation Speech, the Wall Street Journal found some more interesting racist tidbits for us.

Editor's Note: Taken from the WSJ

From Bad to Verse

Did you know New Jersey has a poet laureate? Hell, we didn't know New Jersey had a poet, unless the overrated Bruce Springsteen counts. But indeed, the Garden State has a statute establishing the position, to which a group of arts bureaucrats are supposed to appoint "a distinguished poet from New Jersey." The current poet laureate is one Amiri Baraka, and here's a sample of his work:

*** QUOTE ***

Who do Tom Ass Clarence Work for
Who doo doo come out the Colon's mouth

Who know what kind of Skeeza is a Condoleeza

Who pay Connelly to be a wooden negro
Who give Genius Awards to Homo Locus

Subsidere

*** END QUOTE ***

This "poem," titled "Somebody Blew Up America," carries a 2001 copyright and was obviously written in the aftermath of Sept. 11. It's a puerile, racist, semiliterate rant, but it does have a New Jersey angle: It mentions Bret Schundler, last year's unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor, including him in a list with Trent Lott, Jesse Helms, Rudy Giuliani--and David Duke. This is derivative of the work of Tyrone Green, the satirical jailhouse poet played by Eddie Murphy on "Saturday Night Live" two decades ago, who once said: "I hate white people because they W-I-T-E."

The Newark Star-Ledger reports that Gov. Jim McGreevey is asking Baraka to resign, notwithstanding the boisterous bard's denunciation of the governor's erstwhile opponent. McGreevey objects to a passage that repeats an anti-Semitic lie:

*** QUOTE ***

Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed
Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers

To stay home that day

Why did Sharon stay away?

*** END QUOTE ***

Baraka refuses to quit, and it appears neither McGreevey nor the panel of arts bureaucrats who selected him a month ago has the power to fire him. His term lasts for two years, during which time the law stipulates that he is to "promote and encourage poetry within the State and shall give no fewer than two public readings within the State each year." What a huge embarrassment to poor New Jersey, a state that has enough trouble getting any respect as it is. What to do?

We never thought we'd say this--about anything--but the Saudi model is instructive. As we noted Sept. 17, after Ghazi Algosaibi, Riyadh's ambassador to London, disgraced his country by publishing a poem glorifying suicide terrorists, Crown Prince Abdullah recalled him from the embassy and put him in charge of Saudi sewers. McGreevey should find a similar position in Trenton for Baraka, so that he can put his expertise in "doo doo" to work for the benefit of New Jerseyites.

Posted by John Stevenson at 7:00 PM |