Monday, Nov. 03, 2008
The View over use of the N word
Really, is there any better place for probing cultural analysis than daytime television? Tempers flared when the co-hosts of ABC's The View discussed Jesse Jackson's off-air use of the "N-word" while preparing for an appearance on Fox News. Elisabeth Hasselbeck disagreed with Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd about the use of the word. Hasselbeck made the case that it's a slur and should never be used, Goldberg that it's OK for African Americans to say it. Then the two women argued about whether they live in the same world, Hasselbeck started to cry and Barbara Walters snapped, "Take a breath, let someone else talk." And the wounds of a nation were healed.