If you don't know what Lagavulin is, it's a great brand of scotch also preferred by this blogger. However, not consumed with food, Lagavulin can cause one to say things they want to take back later. It's no wonder that as of this writing, John Mayer's normally active Twitter account is silent today (February 10th, 2010)
John Mayer has set off everyone. And while it's not the first time he's got the "racist" tag applied to him (see below with Kumail Nahjiani), this time the reaction's lot more intense than the "accidental racist" label Nahjiani gave Mayer. Perez Hilton told Mayer to "go to Hell." PopEater accused Mayer of "oversharing" but also used the term racist.
But what did John Mayer say, exactly?
Here are the Playboy interview comments that ignited Twitter and the blogosphere:
PLAYBOY: If you didn’t know you, would you think you’re a douche bag?
MAYER: It depends on what I picked up. My two biggest hits are “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters.” If you think those songs are pandering, then you’ll think I’m a douche bag. It’s like I come on very strong. I am a very…I’m just very. V-E-R-Y. And if you can’t handle very, then I’m a douche bag. But I think the world needs a little very. That’s why black people love me.
PLAYBOY: Because you’re very?
MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’"
PLAYBOY: It is true; a lot of rappers love you. You recorded with Common and Kanye West, played live with Jay-Z.
MAYER: What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.
PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you?
MAYER: I don’t think I open myself to it. My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke cock. I’m going to start dating separately from my dick.
My take on this is it's one thing to be "race aware" - say if Mayer had made a comment about African American's still not sharing the American dream in full. That's ok. But Mayer used the N-word, which I have never allowed, even as a small boy. Then he basically religated blacks to what he sees as a permanent second class status, and calls himself a White Supremacist, even if he was referring to a part of his body.
And Mayer thinks black folks love him.
I don't. But what I do see in the Twitter tweets is that some blacks are just a bit more forgiving of Mayer than we should be as a whole. It's like this: Mayer had scotch and said what was on his mind, which was racist.
The fact that he did and he's a celebrity entertainer and not Rush Limbaugh makes it OK for some who are black. Moreover because Mayer was bold enough to say it, some blacks think it's OK. Thus, they give him power and maintain whatever second-class status exists for us.
If Jamie Foxx made negative comments about whites there would be a white and black and everyone in between backlash. Foxx may find his business opportunities fewer. Now I use Foxx only as an example, and not to imply anything negative about a great entertainer. But given that Foxx is as well-known as Mayer, and Foxx is black, I think you see the point. People would have said Foxx has a problem, just as they're saying John Mayer has one and Mayer's got a pattern that goes back to Kumail Nahjiani.
In New York Magazine's Vulture section of December 2009, Comedian Kumail Nanjiani was heckled by Mayer at Slipper Room in New York, calling the Pakistan-born Kumail "Kabul" and then saying "he looked like a brown guy but sounded like a white guy."
In this video below, Kumail Nanjiani and Eugene Mirman call Mayer a "racist" and an "accidental racist" at the 4:25 time mark:
To be fair, Mayer felt bad about it, and makes me wonder if he had scotch that night, too.
All of this has to be placed in the view that, in the Playboy interview, John Mayer says he wants to be liked. If that's the case, he must be reviewing what's going on in his head. My advice: watch the scotch, review what you think about people, and date black women.
Stay tuned.
