Jim Sterling and Black America

 

It's about time Jim Sterling got a 101 on Black America. We all know there are idiots out there in the online gaming world. If you haven't been called a faggot by someone online consider yourself lucky. Why did you have to write an article about the unfavorable levels about President Obama in LittleBigPlanet 2? Is this a reflection of how you feel about the president? Is that why you mentioned the Kill Obama level in your title? Lets look at your first paragraph:

"Hey guys, did you hear that Barack Obama is a bad president? He is such a bad president, actually! We should do something to assert our political beliefs and take a stand for what we believe in? How about we create a level in LittleBigPlanet 2 where we get to kill the president? THAT WILL SHOW HIM!" - Jim Sterling

Barack Obama is a symbol of progress for African Americans. The thought of him being assassinated has existed ever since he announced he was running for office. Whenever I see something as dumb as levels that promote killing President Obama I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with his job performance. If that were the case the message would be "Impeach Obama" much like the "Impeach Bush" messages that appeared while he was president. It's all about a black man being the most powerful man in the world.

Why contribute a paragraph explaining the possible motives behind the ignorance in LittleBigPlanet 2? It might not even be the reason why these people created the levels. I think most people do insensitive things online for shock value in hopes that journalists like yourself give them exposure. If you really had a problem with the levels you would have simply reported it, or at least called out the people who created the levels. You didn't mention any of the level creators once in your article. All you did was open the flood gates for more people to make Kill Obama levels in hopes that you'll write a story about them.

I know you're not the most sensitive person when it comes to African Americans, but why should you be? You're a British immigrant who will never completely grasp what it means to be an African American in the United States. That was evident when you began tweeting about why you should be able to use the word nigger. You said you didn't want to sound like a child by saying the N-Word. It's either sound like a child or a racist. Pick One. Your argument that blacks have it better than ever might be true, but we're not going to abandon our past because you want to say the word nigger. Not going to happen.

My first two years of college I went to UMASS Dartmouth, a school that is about 85% white. I didn't really care if anyone said the word "nigga," and my white friends caught on to that. Before I knew it I'd be the only black kid in a room full of white kids saying the word nigga in every sentence. It got to the point where I wasn't sure if they were saying the word as a term of endearment or being ignorant. The line becomes really blurry when a white person says the word nigga, and since I have to question your intentions I just assume it's negative. It's best not to say it.

The word "Nigger" on the other hand can only mean something hateful. There's no way around that. If anyone in my mother or grandmothers generation heard you trying to justify using the word, Al Sharpton would be knocking on your door as I write this. I'd hate to see someone I respect as a journalist get blackballed after being made out to look like a racist.