Dutch magazine slurs Rihanna, and gets offended that she was offended
I am almost loathe to write about this, because the feedback could be brutal. But I must.
Apparently, some Dutch fashion magazine called Jackie thought it would be nifty and funny to do a fashion spread about how to dress just like Rihanna. I know lots of people who would love to dress like Rihanna. But they might not want to if they knew that dressing that way makes them look like a – and I was not aware that this was a thing- a “n—ab—h”. Yes. That happened. And Rihanna is apparently “the ultimate n—ab—-h”.
The best part of this is the response of the magazine. The editor responsible for the story quit, saying that she was sorry that she hadn’t realized that it was OK to call somebody that, and that it was a joke. Ha Ha. And then the publishers wrote a statement saying that, essentially, they were sorry that their now former editor had apologized, because they aren’t racist, and they didn’t do anything wrong and “they will not be silenced.”
Oh, lighten up, Jackie. No one’s burning down your office or stealing your printing press. They just said that they reserved their right to be offended by something offensive you said. Funny how that happens. And your editor quit because she made a joke whose blowback she couldn’t handle. You have every right to say offensive things. And we have every right not to like it. Funny how that works.
And as for the blog commentors who have said “Well, rappers say that all that time”:
- That doesn’t mean you have to.
- It’s ignorant no matter who says it, no matter what race they are. Or what gender. I have never even heard that phrase written that way, although those two unfortunate words are found all through hip-hop. And they’re ugly. No matter who says them. So stop. I don’t care if you’re a rapper, a rocker, a blogger or just someone who likes pushing people’s buttons. You say that, someone is likely to fight back. This is how it works.
- Stop hiding behind other people’s ignorance. I am not thin-skinned for being offended by something that anyone with sense might know was offensive.
So one more time. That’s a bad word. If you didn’t know that , it is. Don’t call anybody that, OK? You don’t have to ask anyone else. I don’t speak for black people, or women, or black women, or the easily offended, very often. But on this I feel confident about saying definitively. DON’T EVER SAY THAT TO ANYONE.
Apparently, some Dutch fashion magazine called Jackie thought it would be nifty and funny to do a fashion spread about how to dress just like Rihanna. I know lots of people who would love to dress like Rihanna. But they might not want to if they knew that dressing that way makes them look like a – and I was not aware that this was a thing- a “n—ab—h”. Yes. That happened. And Rihanna is apparently “the ultimate n—ab—-h”.
The best part of this is the response of the magazine. The editor responsible for the story quit, saying that she was sorry that she hadn’t realized that it was OK to call somebody that, and that it was a joke. Ha Ha. And then the publishers wrote a statement saying that, essentially, they were sorry that their now former editor had apologized, because they aren’t racist, and they didn’t do anything wrong and “they will not be silenced.”
Oh, lighten up, Jackie. No one’s burning down your office or stealing your printing press. They just said that they reserved their right to be offended by something offensive you said. Funny how that happens. And your editor quit because she made a joke whose blowback she couldn’t handle. You have every right to say offensive things. And we have every right not to like it. Funny how that works.
And as for the blog commentors who have said “Well, rappers say that all that time”:
- That doesn’t mean you have to.
- It’s ignorant no matter who says it, no matter what race they are. Or what gender. I have never even heard that phrase written that way, although those two unfortunate words are found all through hip-hop. And they’re ugly. No matter who says them. So stop. I don’t care if you’re a rapper, a rocker, a blogger or just someone who likes pushing people’s buttons. You say that, someone is likely to fight back. This is how it works.
- Stop hiding behind other people’s ignorance. I am not thin-skinned for being offended by something that anyone with sense might know was offensive.
So one more time. That’s a bad word. If you didn’t know that , it is. Don’t call anybody that, OK? You don’t have to ask anyone else. I don’t speak for black people, or women, or black women, or the easily offended, very often. But on this I feel confident about saying definitively. DON’T EVER SAY THAT TO ANYONE.
