Is It Possible to be An Accidental Racist?
By now you’ve probably heard the Brad Paisley/LL Cool J song Accidental Racist and probably the controversy it has stirred up. I’ve listened to the song and the two artists’ comments on the song. I find it to be thought provoking and largely accurate.
Obviously a lot of people don’t. You can read some commentary here. Hopefully Paisley and LL have learned humans love to criticize and stir up stink, especially on such a topic. Is it possible to be accidentally racist? I think it is entirely possible to accidentally offend someone. Whether that is racist may be a matter of opinion.
The saying “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” can be very true, but intentions also speak to the heart. A true racist doesn’t care; an “accidental” racist does. So is it possible to not know blacks are offended by confederate flags? If I hadn’t explained that to my kids, at least one of them still wouldn’t know.
Teaching about the past and living in it are two very different things, and I guess I’ll never understand why some people insist on living in the past and constantly dragging up the pain associated with it. It only keeps the hate alive on both sides. I think that’s part of what the song is trying to address.
Related articles
- Brad Paisley defends ‘Accidental Racist’ duet with LL Cool J (postzambia.com:3128)
- Brad Paisley Calls ‘Accidental Racist’ With LL Cool J One Of His ‘Proudest Moments’ (v103.cbslocal.com)
from my notebook 