We learned an important lesson in the past few weeks in regards to the cover of our March issue.
As those of you who are old enough to remember, in 1972 George Carlin did a monologue on the “seven words you can never say on television.” Those were shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits. He updated that list in a performance at Carnegie Hall performance that appeared on HBO in their 1982-83 season and the list grew substantially.
But those words were way, way before cable television came along and brought those “filthy” words not only on to TV, but onto radio (listen to the radio lately?) and into the common vernacular.
We caught some severe flack—and rightfully so—for the usage of the words “Strange Fruit” on our March cover, that depicted the band MyNameIsJohnMichael hanging from a playground monkeybars. The idea was conceived innocently as a young band hanging like fruit from a tree, waiting to be picked by a record label.
Well, the photo in conjunction with the headline “Strange Fruit” hit lots of raw nerves. It recalled Billie Holiday’s song that described the bodies of black men’s hanging from trees who had been lynched by Southern racists—a really awful connection and mental reference.
We removed the photo and cover from our website, apologized publicly as well as to the band. We’ve reprinted covers for the magazines we’re sending to SXSW in Austin. We made a dumb mistake, really dumb and insensitive.
But thinking about all this retrospect, it struck me that many people caught the reference, but weren’t offended. And many didn’t catch the reference at all. Strangely enough, there was a lot more outrage from the white community. I was incredibly freaked out and upset when the blogosphere exploded in a mushroom cloud of ranting and screaming about OffBeat and how racist the cover was. God, if anything, OffBeat certainly can’t be considered racist. Insensitive, for sure.
So I started thinking about when, why and how words that have had very negative meanings have either ended up in common speech or have been rendered innocuous over time, and how that happens. How long does it take before we get over horrible incidents—tied to a few words—and shrug and move on (like Carlin’s filthy words). Do those offensive words ever become acceptable to use?
Over a decade ago, Bunny Matthews, who was then our editor and the OffBeat cartoonist, did a cartoon for our Jazz Fest issue that compared the Jazz Fest security folk to a bunch of Nazis because of the way people are herded in and out of the Fairgrounds. Some security people aren’t exactly pleasant about it, either (IMHO, they’ve improved a whole lot since we ran that cartoon). But at the time, it was a joke. Unfortunately, the Jazz Fest sure wasn’t laughing, neither was the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. All we could think about at the time was that even television shows like “Seinfeld”–which truly exposed Jewish culture to a mainstream audience–used the word “Nazi” to describe a very disagreeable person during their show (everyone surely remembers the “Soup Nazi”).
My question is, do our sensitivities run so deep that certain words can never be used in politically correct American society? Can no one use the word “Nazi” without a mental reference to the Holocaust coming to mind? Is any reference to the South’s nasty Jim Crow racial history—as egregious as it may be—off-limits as a literary or a visual reference? Can African-Americans use the “n-word” to each other, yet if it’s used by a non-African American—even if it’s used in a playful way—should it necessarily be construed as unacceptable and loathsome? Are we still that divided by race? Are white and black people still that far apart?
Again—we didn’t mean to offend anyone. The people at OffBeat have a unique perspective when it comes to skin color: we really don’t care. Music is color blind. Our eyes and ears are color blind.
Surprisingly, many young people we talked to about the cover didn’t even know about the Billie Holiday song connection. How long does it take before people begin to forget how horrible racism is? Should we ever forget, even in times where interracial dating and marriage is acceptable?
But the wounds are still fresh, and we are truly sorry. We just didn’t think it through. We have to comfort ourselves with the fact that OffBeat’s body of work, which if investigated, would certainly have revealed to anyone who deemed the cover “racist,” that they were reading into our cover a sentiment that wasn’t there to begin with.
The questions remains: Do we continue to refer to our negative past, and by doing that perpetuate racial, religious, ethnic, anti-gay and other inflammatory connections? Or do we try to get to a space where we can move beyond the hatred and distrust that some humans seem to thrive upon? Hatred and distrust that stems from something that happened a long time ago? How long does it take before subsequent generations are themselves color blind?
I wonder: Will it ever be possible for us to love each other regardless of our skin color, our sexual orientation, our ethnicity? Can it ever really change?
[...] Can We Ever Change? :: offBeat :: Louisiana and New Orleans Online … [...]
[...] Can We Ever Change? :: offBeat :: Louisiana and New Orleans Online … [...]
What an odd apology – if that's what it is. “Dumb and insensitive” just about nails it. You goofed. But rather then leave it at that, you drape the issue in a disingenuous, pseudo-philosophical “question”, at the same time implying that anyone who took issue with your, uh, inattentiveness is basically a hate-monger. Nice turnaround! Let's face it: “Strange Fruit” is rather specific as references go. Sure, you can make light of witch burnings in Salem and, centuries later, some people will call you on it. But while there are still people living who witnessed lynchings or survived a concentration camp, you sound very naive, not to mention dumb and insensitive, asking when they'll get over it.
If one were to research every single phrase before righting a book , said book would never be completed.
I happen to think that Billie Holiday`s song , “Strange Fruit” is a chilling metaphor, however, I also think a picture of a group of kids, white, black, yellow or plaid, hanging from a set of monkeybars depicted as strange fruit, is hilarious. I`m not racist, but I`ll bet that someone replies to this post as rascist. Sometimes rascism charges are as murky as Sen.Mcarthy`s commie accusations.
If we remove every single “offensive” phrase then we will have nothing left to describe the hun.
sluggo
Good stuff Jan Ramsey.
You really should quit. Your rantings are absurd. Blah blah blah is all I hear from you.
It seems you are a part of this nation that chooses to be divided, segregated, if you will. This is your choice…just like all these other ranters.
Even twistier: “Strange Fruit” was written by a Jew from New York.
I'm surprised you did take any hits from the gay community.
I caught the reference and found it very inappropriate. Your above comments also seem clueless especially post-Katrina. Moving beyond this country and New Orlean's negative past will not be easy, and like what occurred in Nazi Germany, some things should never be forgotten. I have also perceived that you seem to be covering New Orleans rock now more than rap or r'n'b. How about a feature article on Lil Boosie or other Louisiana rappers? How about a cover story on younger New Orleans brass bands?
The reference as you point out was inappropriate for sure. Moving on will not be easy but if we don't move forward together we won't move at all. Of course the holocaust and America's terrible history of slavery and racism must never be forgotten, but we have to find a way to live together and stop fighting the same battles over and over. As for your “perception,” when was there a mandate that any specific kind of New Orleans music is the music OffBeat covers? An examination of the 20-plus years of coverage will show a balance that probably favors R&B and traditional jazz over any other genres covered. Hip hop has not been as well covered but no local magazine has done more hip hop stories than OffBeat. In fact there's a piece on New Orleans hip hop in the current issue. So what are you really saying? Your comment sounds vaguely racist to me.
wow, my advice is to quit while you are behind- I can understand some younger readers not getting the reference, but you should certainly have been familiar with that song. Again, it reads like there is something wrong with the people who were offended, and why is it so strange that it was mainly white people who were offended? Do we not have the right to be? And, if so many people saw nothing wrong with the cover, why could they not take the few minutes to post? In my book, the n-word will never be playful, no matter who uses it, since I cannot control everyone, I will just control myself on that one. And, if you think that Seinfeld is truly exposing Jewish culture to the mainstream- wow, you need to get out more.
By the way, the cover is still visible in the body of Offbeat Weekly, where I just read how you are removing it!
wow, my advice is to quit while you are behind- I can understand some younger readers not getting the reference, but you should certainly have been familiar with that song….
Sheer assumption on your part…you are assuming because you were aware of this phrase, “Strange Fruit” that everyone should be. Also , you assume that everyone should have the same impression of the phrase that you hold …We have to be very careful of what we wish for…censorship, for one is evil…assumptions aren`t much better…I`d rather see things out in the open, because discussion is fruitful..
I applaud ms. Ramsey for for her work….
sluggo, you are correct, that was an assumption on my part. I am sorry. Period. I am not too sure I heard anyone calling for censorship, just a little sensitivity. But I do applaud you for taking the time to write in defense of Ms. Ramsey.
I was more offended by this patronizing editorial than by the cover. But having now read more of the comments elsewhere, I understand it as a purely emotional response. I don't doubt that Jan Ramsey is a very hard-working, well-intentioned person. She obviously feels that the accusation of racism is being directed at her personally – which is ridiculous – and is deeply hurt and upset over it. So, on that level, I feel for her.
My oh my, sometimes I'm glad I'm not a citizen of the USA (although most New Orleanians aren't either, cfr. the dictum of Gabriel Garcia Marquez). I'm glad for instance that here in Europe we have decent human Health Care systems based on solidarity (and that's not to be confonded with communism). And I'm glad we don't have to walk on eggs if it comes to racial questions.
Please, please, when will rigid political correctness finally make way for a cool, easy-goin', respectful and understanding conviviality ? Jokes, teasing and innocent unintended mistakes permitted ?
That said, of course I'm lookin' forward towards my 12th FQF !
You folks are doing a great job. I didnt like the “Strange Fruit” cover either. Mistakes will be made in this life. P.S. when you get figgured out, you know the being perfect thing please holla at me!
“Blogosphere” is the reason for all complaints. If one had to type a letter and mail it, or take up a writing tablet and pen a letter to the editor, you would have gotten far less complaints and reminders. Emailing has allowed even the most vacant brained whiner a chance to beef about something. I wasn't offended, but Billie Holiday's song was the 1st thing I thought of when I saw the cover. That's a good thing
I saw it and it got by me. But I'm not the type to take things so seriously that it causes uproars. Like most things, people with forget about it in the end. Move on. You guys are a great element to the music scene in NOLA. Don't let the rantings of others slow you down.
You made about as sincere an aplogy and mea cupla as could be made. And that is something rare in these days of non-apology apologies. I guess that will not be enough for some people but I think most of your readers took it as such.
“My question is, do our sensitivities run so deep that certain words can never be used in politically correct American society? Can no one use the word “Nazi” without a mental reference to the Holocaust coming to mind? Is any reference to the South’s nasty Jim Crow racial history—as egregious as it may be—off-limits as a literary or a visual reference?”
Making references to Nazis and lynching is not off-limits. Making references that are completely oblivious to the pain and horror and suffering THAT YOU ARE REFERENCING is thoughtless in a way that denies the pain and horror and suffering in question. And modern racism is no longer a matter of setting dogs on schoolchildren, it is a matter of saying 'Well, we don't set dogs on schoolchildren anymore, so now everything is ok, and we don't need to be sensitive to the past.”
You ask when we can “shrug and move on” – and the answer is, we can't. We can't ever stop recognizing what happened (and continues to happen – James Byrd, Jr. died barely a decade ago) in our country, because ceasing to acknowledge it is the same as denying it. And being thoughtless is the same as denying it. These things happened and we shouldn't ever dismiss them, ever stop honouring the lives that were limited, damaged and lost.
All the crap aside – i just thought it was a very uncreative, and poorly shot cover, coming from the long line of interesting quality covers lately, i was dissapointed.
This just popped in my head – but political correctness really gets under my skin. I would rather the world did not follow prescribed rules of “what is suppose to be” and instead, “just be”. Then it would be so much easier to know who and what you are really dealing with; whether it is racism, sexism, narrow mindedness, or just plain bad manners. I prefer authenticity to pretend correctness. If we spent less time censoring everyone letting them express themselves honestly, then we might have the time and energy to try to understand them and their motives.
That aside, I do find it embarassing that not one person who works at a music magazine in New Orleans caught the Billie Holiday referrence, I am a white girl from the Northeast and am very familiar with the song.
How is this a question of political correctness? Do you think Offbeat doesn't have any self-imposed standards of decorum? Isn't that part of an editor's job? Is this comment box put here only for the purpose of expressing approval? Not picking on you in particular, but I for one am really sick of people misapplying the term 'politically correct'. It's nearly as overused and abused as the word 'racist'.
It appears I did not express myself clearly enough. This was asked in the editorial:
“My question is, do our sensitivities run so deep that certain words can never be used in politically correct American society?”
My response was not about offbeat in particular – but about political correctness in general. It is my contention that people should spend less time trying to tell each other how to be and more time trying to understand where they are coming from. That way you would know people's true intentions bad or good. In my opinion, what we have going on in our society is people making innocent (although sometimes uninformed) choices and being condemned; while people who may have less scrupulous agendas become undetectable to others because they know how to cloak their intentions behind fronts of political correctness.
How this idea translates to offbeat in this situation is that people should have asked the intentions of the cover design instead of just attacking it. If they would have done that and got the answer, then they would have seen that there was no malice intended, just a lack of musical reference knowledge. Seeing as there was no offense or inflammatory statement trying to be made by the cover, it should have remained in place. It was merely someone's artist expression about an entirely different topic than assumed by some of the audience. Just as I am afraid, you assumed my response was an attack.
I guess you helped me to make my point…we should ask more, and assume less – and to strive for understanding over quick draw condemnation.
In defense to you, I did make a slight attack, but it was about a music magazine, not having musical knowledge; which I think is fair to point out.
I understood what you were saying, and it's true and has been long before the term 'politically correct' came into common usage. And I agree that a lot of people react without thinking too much beforehand. But you were not the first to bring up political correctness in the present context. We're all self-editing and self-policing to the extent that most of us don't make jokes about cancer in the presence of someone suffering from it, or yell out “nigger” in the middle of a crowd if we're so inclined. Depending on our upbringing, education and motivation, we know what's appropriate and what isn't without being told. Jan Ramsey knows damned well what “Strange Fruit” means – not an unwarranted assumption to make of a music editor. She made a poor choice. I have no problem with that. I just don't understand why she had to dilute her apology to those she offended by musing on the half-life of racially charged words. If she had pondered on this before her editorial slip-up, she might not have been caught unawares by the ensuing shit storm. But as an afterthought, this editorial strikes me as pretty dishonest and self-serving.
Hey jackhole…where are you looking?? December's issue featured a VERY talented young musician named Kermit Ruffins and January featured the GREAT Deacon John. Not to mention the article in the March issue that was ALL about the New Orleans Hip Hop scene. Open your close-minded eyes…we will NEVER be able to move forward with people like you spewing negativity FOREVER. As one very interesting blogger wrote, “Why do we continue to major in these minor issues?”
I also cringed at the “Strange Fruit” cover. As a music magazine, you should have known better than to use this reference. Maybe “color blindness” is a worthy goal, but we are so not there yet.
People need to get a grip. So many have become overly sensitive little weenies. The ones who complain the most know the least.
How manyof these folks who whined about the title “Strange Fruit” lived in New Orleans in the nineteen sixties and early seventies? How many remember when Tips was the 501 Club and had a pass through window to the outside where black folks were handed their beers? That was racism.This is much ado about absolutely nothing.
Those of us who came up in those days who remember when conservatives created a complete societal structure of de jure segragation know the difference. The rest of you are a bunch of Johnny Come Lately know nothings who have no clue about racism and merely parrot the cri de jour ……..still exploited to this day for political purposes by the very same racist conservatives of yore………….. of “It's racism!”.
OffBeat shouldn't play along. grow some huevos
All of this discussion and this “music” magazine can't get the facts on this song correct. This is not a Billie Holliday song, she performed it yes, the fact is”Strange Fruit” began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan. Meeropol wrote “Strange Fruit” to express his horror at lynchings, possibly after seeing Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. He published the poem in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union magazine. Though Meeropol/Allan had often asked others (notably Earl Robinson) to set his poems to music, he set Strange Fruit to music himself. The song gained a certain success as a protest song in and around New York. Meeropol, his wife, and black vocalist Laura Duncan performed it at Madison Square Garden. Barney Josephson, the founder of Cafe Society in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated nightclub, heard the song and introduced it to Billie Holiday.
I find it fascinating that this magazine can't get the facts correct, perhaps this is the reason this whole mess happened in the first place.
I dont think the analogy works. Strange Fruit is a specific song about lynching. It is necessary to know the history of things that happened in the past. WHO came up with that idea – do they know the song? Understanding that song means you respect the past enough to realize what a loaded decision it was to put the title on the cover – not that you cant get past racism.
So if your're so over it – why all the intense anger over the rest of us “whiners”? Also you need to learn how to spell…
oops – and so do I.
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