Greetings,
I’m not writing this in direct response to any particular story that’s abuzz at the moment. Indeed, I wanted to try something a little different for this entry and go for something that’s not as time- or issue-specific.
That’s right: the common bond between Juan Williams and John Cena. This will be one of those very odd moments in which the worlds of public radio and professional wrestling cross paths. [Cookie to whomever can name another one.]
As some of you may recall, last October, Juan Williams was the subject of a dust-up over at NPR over comments he made on The O’Reilly Factor in regards to American Muslims. At one point during the discussion, Williams remarked:
"Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
Throughout the rest of the interview, however, Williams attempted to make the point that we must remember the difference and distinguish between moderate and extremist Muslims ["attempted" because he was scarcely able to get a full statement in without O'Reilly jumping in]. He supported using care when it comes to rhetoric dealing with Muslim terrorists and stated the need not to discriminate against moderate Muslims. To make this point against O'Reilly, he drew a comparison to the idea of associating Christians with terrorism:
"Because if you said, wait, Timothy McVeigh, the Atlanta bomber, these people who are protesting against homosexuality at military funerals - very obnoxious - you don't say first and foremost we got a problem with Christians. That’d be crazy."
Two days later, Williams was fired as a contributor to NPR. Fox News, in response to the firing, gave him a raise.
Now, for Mr. Cena. [For those of you with no knowledge of professional wrestling, or who may even actively dislike it, bear with me—I’m using this to make a point].
A couple months ago, WWE announced they were working with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to promote an anti-bullying campaign. This came largely as a result of criticisms made by GLAAD in regards to an in-ring promos cut by WWE performer John Cena—one in which he taunted his opponent (The Miz) by implying he had a homosexual relationship with his “assistant” (Alex Riley), and another in which he lobbed homosexual insults at another performer, The Rock. A surprisingly thorough summary of the ordeal is here.
Ironically, not too long after the announcement of the GLAAD partnership, WWE personality Michael Cole posted the word “faggot” on his Twitter account in reference to another WWE employee. Fail, indeed.
Both these entities—Juan Williams and WWE—are said by some to have been victims of the “scourge” commonly known as political correctness.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most derided phrases in our culture today. Political correctness is accused of stifling debate and inhibiting honest, free speech, all in the name of the--honestly--impossible goal of avoiding offending the sensibilities of any and every subdivision of society.
However, I think these two stories are useful in illustrating a fact commonly overlooked by people today: there’s a fine line between being politically “incorrect,” and just flat-out being an ass.
First: Juan. This is one of those very rare instances in which I am going to give Fox News some credit—they got this one right by sticking up for Juan.
Juan Williams was asked a question, and he gave an honest answer—one that was without any trace of malice, hate, or disparaging intent. Rather, what Williams’ answer exhibited was nothing more than his status as a human being. Many an article has referenced the incident only by quoting the first portion of the interview that I included above. They provide little context and don't mention the second portion in reference to McVeigh.
Prejudice is inevitable. Every one of us, in one form or another, pre-judges others based on some aspect of their outward appearance, whether it’s skin color, clothing, tattoos, hair, or anything else. Both our own personal experiences with others as well as our encounters with images and stories in the media ingrain stereotypes within us, often on a subconscious level.
The trick, though, is realizing this and recognizing that such overgeneralizations ultimately are inaccurate and unfair to members of the stereotyped group, and then reminding oneself of this when experiencing prejudicial thoughts or emotions. This is exactly what Williams was doing when he acknowledged the need not to discriminate against moderate Muslims, despite his own prejudice.
Unfortunately, this was a case in which fear of political incorrectness effectively stifled public debate and condemned the sort of honesty needed in our discourse, particularly when it comes to matters of race and ethnicity.
There are other moments, though, in which people will use this same charge as a means of defending the right to say anything at all under the protection of “free speech.”
Enter Fruity Pebbles.
First, some context for the non-wrestling fans. John Cena is more or less this generation’s Hulk Hogan: the industry’s top good guy (or “babyface”) who’s nowadays portrayed as the squeaky clean all-American. For those who’s acquaintance with the business is limited to the profanity and obscenity of the late 90’s (the “Attitude” era), WWE is also now a PG product, as opposed to TV-14 or even MA. Meaning—even though a large segment of their audience during the Attitude era was made up of kids—they’re now actively pursuing that demographic even more so.
Crudeness is in some ways part of the charm of professional wrestling. After all, it’s a form of entertainment based upon scripted, simulated violence. In discussing the GLAAD story with others online, this was an argument used in defense of John Cena’s promos and the general use of homophobic taunting in wrestling. Basically, if you want something high-brow, you’re looking in the wrong place.
This is a total cop out. True: bad-mouthing and insulting are part of the "wrestling system," so to speak. Opponents trash each other, then settle their differences in the ring. However, it's more than possible to insult or threaten someone else without using bigoted speech. The fact that such historically has often been used in professional wrestling does not make it OK either, by the way.
I was upset by John Cena’s remarks during these particular skits because they promote, if not outright homophobia, then at least the perception that homosexuals are a defective group of people. In denigrating another person by implying they are gay, one thereby also denigrates those who are actually gay.
The response to this I've received previously, aside from the "high brow" thinking, was that not every time someone calls someone else ‘gay’ does it mean they’re a homophobe or that they’re even being serious. True. There are contexts in which one could make such statements and it be meant ironically, if anything actually poking fun at homophobia.
However, this was not one of those instances. Again, WWE is a PG product. They market to kids, who are now seeing the “goodest” of good guys disparaging, by proxy, a specific group of people. That’s it.
For the record, kids should not have professional wrestlers for role models. However, if this is the market to which WWE wants to cater, as an international company with huge exposure, they should do so in a manner that is genuine and responsible. Having your top babyface perpetuate the stereotype of homophobia within the world of professional wrestling (or sports in general) is not the way to go about this.
Criticizing someone for making bigoted remarks—whether part of “live action male soap opera” or not—is not an action taken in the name of political correctness so much as common decency and equality. Juan Williams’ remarks were part of a public discussion in which he was taking the—and I don’t feel this to be an exaggeration—brave (even if politically unwise) step of laying out his own imperfections for the world to see. Though part of a scripted performance, John Cena’s comments simply reveled in a form of prejudice still all too common today.
Nonetheless, both instances have been defended as expressions of free speech being curtailed in the name of political correctness. Not all controversial remarks are made the same, however. Political correctness can often serve as a sterilizing force in our society by removing the human element from our conversations, repressing honesty for fear of reprisal. At the same time, there are some things which should not be said--not because they don't conform to some ideal of what is "appropriate" wording, but because the mentalities behind them are reprehensible.
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