The most times I heard the word in one place was from the mouth of Jimmy Gestapo. I opened for Murphy's Law in an upstate dive bar, and while hanging with him at the bar he dropped it casually 5 times (I'm a quadroon, but I don't know what Jimmy G thought I was). He also kissed my cheek 5 times. Does that cancel out? I'm sure he thinks it does.
Really? I've known him since 1982 and never/not once. But he couldn't have missed that I am Black I guess so he would have been more circumspect. I'll ask him though.
It was pretty benign as far as an old white hardcore dude saying it could be. Not the hardest -r but not the softest -a either: somewhere in the range of "nigguhre." I'm pretty palefaced so maybe he perceived it as a freebie, but I don't think that should matter. He stayed in their van until their set time and used all of our equipment, dumped beer all over the club's stage monitors, took 100% of the door to cover their $1000 guarantee and got about $300 in free booze, so I can't say I was impressed by his rock star status and the 5 "nig-"s were just icing on the turd.
I doubt he remembers the show, let alone the conversation in question. He wasn't using the term pejoratively IIRC, and I don't remember who he was referring to, but he only got a pass because he was the star of the night and I was just some local nameless nigga waiting to get his gear back and go home after an underwhelming evening.
I appreciate your taking my word and not calling me a liar- after all I'm just some nobody on the internet who could have a grudge and is trying to cancel Jimmy (as if that were possible)- but it definitely happened. I wish I was as surprised as you are, but I'm used to people airing their questionable racial shit around me because I'm hard to categorize.
yeah, I had a Jewish friend who looked very Italian and the shit he heard. He was beyond dismayed. But the funny thing about some of these New York cats...depending on where you grew up, you might make the mistake of thinking you're down with the home team. But LIKING the Bad Brains doesn't mean it frees you up from being called on stuff. But he's always been unfailingly cool with me and I consider him a brother. Which means he has a base understanding that talking to me like that would not be well received.
I think it was exactly as you said. I wrote part of it off as a NYC thing at the time, said in foolishness and not hate. And it was not as disrespectful as the extraordinarily weak dap I got from Scott Ian another night working at the same location. That dap was a hate crime.
"It's about reifying what America has no interest in changing". Spot on. Although I can remember saying to my wife after seeing oxbow for the first time and the performance art/strip tease dude did/does, "The singer is why white men will forever have chips on their shoulders". :(
The most times I heard the word in one place was from the mouth of Jimmy Gestapo. I opened for Murphy's Law in an upstate dive bar, and while hanging with him at the bar he dropped it casually 5 times (I'm a quadroon, but I don't know what Jimmy G thought I was). He also kissed my cheek 5 times. Does that cancel out? I'm sure he thinks it does.
Really? I've known him since 1982 and never/not once. But he couldn't have missed that I am Black I guess so he would have been more circumspect. I'll ask him though.
It was pretty benign as far as an old white hardcore dude saying it could be. Not the hardest -r but not the softest -a either: somewhere in the range of "nigguhre." I'm pretty palefaced so maybe he perceived it as a freebie, but I don't think that should matter. He stayed in their van until their set time and used all of our equipment, dumped beer all over the club's stage monitors, took 100% of the door to cover their $1000 guarantee and got about $300 in free booze, so I can't say I was impressed by his rock star status and the 5 "nig-"s were just icing on the turd.
I wonder if this is before or after he dropped Gestapo as his last name....what year are we talking?
I doubt he remembers the show, let alone the conversation in question. He wasn't using the term pejoratively IIRC, and I don't remember who he was referring to, but he only got a pass because he was the star of the night and I was just some local nameless nigga waiting to get his gear back and go home after an underwhelming evening.
I appreciate your taking my word and not calling me a liar- after all I'm just some nobody on the internet who could have a grudge and is trying to cancel Jimmy (as if that were possible)- but it definitely happened. I wish I was as surprised as you are, but I'm used to people airing their questionable racial shit around me because I'm hard to categorize.
yeah, I had a Jewish friend who looked very Italian and the shit he heard. He was beyond dismayed. But the funny thing about some of these New York cats...depending on where you grew up, you might make the mistake of thinking you're down with the home team. But LIKING the Bad Brains doesn't mean it frees you up from being called on stuff. But he's always been unfailingly cool with me and I consider him a brother. Which means he has a base understanding that talking to me like that would not be well received.
I think it was exactly as you said. I wrote part of it off as a NYC thing at the time, said in foolishness and not hate. And it was not as disrespectful as the extraordinarily weak dap I got from Scott Ian another night working at the same location. That dap was a hate crime.
2008, in Kingston NY
You are an amazing writer.
thank you
"It's about reifying what America has no interest in changing". Spot on. Although I can remember saying to my wife after seeing oxbow for the first time and the performance art/strip tease dude did/does, "The singer is why white men will forever have chips on their shoulders". :(
HAH! And her response was....?