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Racism Is Still Alive, Folks
This week I’m beginning to lose faith in my fellow Americans. Between New York mother Janelle Ambrosia verbally harassing a black man and the release of not one but two videos of Justin Bieber making n***** jokes, I literally can’t even.
Why are these instances related? Because both Ambrosia and Bieber are setting examples for young, moldable minds. Even worse, when given the opportunity to apologize, Ambrosia refused and tried to use bipolar disorder as a scapegoat. On the other hand, Bieber said he had to take responsibility for his actions, and seemed to show remorse for his four- and five-year old mistakes.
* [This video contains vulgar language, definitely NSFW]
Though Buzzfeed recently classified Justin Bieber as my “arch nemesis,” I must say I was glad to see a remorseful reaction out of the celeb. Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun, both posted images to Instagram conveying messages of forgiveness for grave mistakes. In an interview with The Hollywood Report, Bieber made an important point:
“I just hope that the next kid that age who doesn’t understand the power of these words does not make the same mistake I once made years ago.”
By no means are Bieber’s words forgivable or justifiable. But he makes a point that Ambrosia could stand to learn from. While the mother of two relentlessly screamed at the man, self-identified as Narvel, she set the example for her children that calling a black person the n-word is acceptable. Ambrosia received a wide array of backlash on Twitter:
@JaneAmby You say you’re apologizing now, but we all know you’re going to do it again. Great way to set an example for your kids. -_-
— Bradley James (@bradleysgfx) June 4, 2014
The mother of the year award goes to..*drum roll* @JaneAmby
— Matt (@akaMattikins) June 6, 2014
No room for hate
This is the 21st century people! How is it possible that someone can so blatantly charge at someone, hurling insults and threats, solely based on the color of his skin? Here at Law Street, we do not let this behavior slide; we called out One Direction’s media gaffe as well. But I digress. In my opinion, Ambrosia committed three terrible blunders:
- Using filthy, racist language in front of her children.
- Refusing to apologize for her unwarranted verbal attack.
- Blaming the situation on mental health.
I could go on about racism, but the bottom line is that in this day and age, racism is simply unacceptable. I will never acknowledge stereotypes as accurate or valid descriptions of certain people. Each person is individually characterized by his or her upbringing and personal experiences, nothing else. The worst part of Ambrosia’s and Bieber’s public displays of racism are the children who look up to them, who will think n***** is an acceptable word to use, and who may keep racism alive.
I could not stop thinking about Ambrosia’s attack on Narvel after watching the video for the first time. Needless to say, I watched the video at least ten more times and each time my blood boiled. Then she had the nerve to blame this entire situation on bipolar disorder. With mental health being such a hot topic right now, I think Ambrosia just dug herself a deeper hole. Mental illness is not to be taken lightly, nor does it make her any less guilty.
I hope Ambrosia takes a page out of Bieber’s book. Whether he was sincere or not, we will never know. As for Ambrosia’s children, when they are older and can understand the backlash their mother received, let it be a lesson: racism is not to be taken lightly. There is a difference between self-protection and blatant hatefulness. And honestly, it takes more energy to hate someone than it does to keep walking.
So let us be reminded:
“If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
—
Natasha Paulmeno (@natashapaulmeno)
Image courtesy of [Daniel Ogren via Flickr]
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