Comments on: “The View” Whoopi Goldberg Elisabeth Hasselbeck Fight Video: Crying Elisabeth Whoopi “N” Word Clash

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:36:01 +0000

I have a really hard time believing that HAsselbeck is that concerned about African-Americans comsidering she thinks we all live in the same world. She is such a self righteous hypocrit. She used her typical Hasselbeck move and cried when she didn’t get her way.

By: ciaoshann

ciaoshann — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:04:54 +0000

Team Whoopi all the way!

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:11:48 +0000

As an extremely poor white woman you probably cannot understand me or what I have been through until you walk in my shoes.
When do we get to tell our stories?
Our ancestors never owned land and we don’t own any land today. Our parents have 6th grade educations and we had to get jobs after high school graduation to help support them, ourselves, and our siblings. Our kids can’t even go to high school today because it’s too dangerous where we live.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:25:13 +0000

The thing that upsets me about the additional use of the word “nigger” in play or friendliness is that it means IGNORANCE. Dictionary definition and why it was originally used.
Any color can be ignorant. Slave traders used it because they felt the Africans were ignorant. They were abused and treated like children. This is why the connotation of “nigger” is such a crap thing to say to ANYONE.
Mexicans wear those low pants and THAT comes from a racism movement in a prison where the hispanics were laughed at and given pants that didn’t fit. They wore them in rebellion in the prison with pride.
Interesting historical reasons for things – look it up.
Just FYI.

By: tracy

tracy — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:05:06 +0000

In some languages there are four or more ways to say the word: “you”. If you are talking to royalty or the king you say ‘hazur’ or whatever, if to an ordinary elder you say ‘tapai’, if to someone your “equal” who you know well ‘timi’, if to a little baby, a lover, extremely close friend or to someone you detest, who is “lower” than you, or who you are putting down, you say, ‘taw’,.. Now how could “taw’ be a term of deep endearment or a term of total hatred depending on the context? It makes you think of the N word, doesn’t it? Perhaps this is part of what Whoopi was trying to explain. Most people (especially most white people) don’t understand that. [unless they've lived long enough among black folks who use the N word in you might say a certain creative, ironic way to express affection]. Many young people will tell you there is a difference between the word nigger (hate) and nigga (love, affection, humor). In a sense they are excorcizing the word of its hateful past by using it all the time in a new way. What is a painfully ugly word becomes almost a thing of beauty on the right lips. I still hate and feel uncomfortable with the word, but that is only because I didn’t grow up in the same exact world as Dave Chapelle, or any other comic genius, and their contemporaries. Theoretically, the word should probably be banned for everyone, but life is sometimes deeper and richer than theoretical concepts. A good lawyer argues for the spirit behind a law, not necessarily for the letter of the law. It is the same with words: the spirit behind the use of a word is more important than the word itself. If people within a certain group spontaneously understand how a word is being used and are not doing it to offend each other it does not have the same negative force it can have when 1) someone from another race or language set uses it and their intent is potentially unknown or 2) someone of any race, even black, uses it with a hateful tone.

By: erin

erin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:51:25 +0000

u need hasselbeck. she’s pretty. and its good to have someone who stirs things up. HELLO– this is television.

By: Jarvis A. Brodie

Jarvis A. Brodie — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:08:19 +0000

The people at ABC need to send Hasselbeck this ultimatum: Resign or be fired!

By: Renee

Renee — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:16:42 +0000

I agree with whoopi, as a Black woman, you cannot understand me or what I have been through until you walk in my shoes. white people will NEVER understand. I laugh outloud when people (black and white) try to preten that racism does not exist anymore, maybe in their own minds it doesn’t but thy are only fooling themselves. Ms. Hasselbeck doesn’t see racism because she hasn’t experienced it. she comes from a very white world. I am a few years older than she is but I am from the dame small state, went to the same high school, I was THE ONLY BLACK STUDENT in junior high school (7th and 8th grade) of the high school that she went to, there were 7 Black girl in the all girl catholic high school grauatin calss in the high school we went to the year I graduated, that was the highest number ever, and I don’t think that there have been that many since, my niece is there now and she is one of in her grauating class, so Ms. Hasselbexk has a very limited experience with other races!

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:54:55 +0000

I am a Black women in the South and I totally agree with Elizabeth. My husband and I raised a boy and a girl not to say that word. I cringe when I hear it used. I don’t think we can move forward when we keep taking these steps backward. My entire family are educators and this is not a good thing to say, “we use it how we want to and you all use it for something else.” It is time to cut the word so we can really heal.

By: Toni

Toni — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:40:46 +0000

We don’t live in the same world. No one can tell another race how racism affects them. The real test is the meaning behind the word. From one Black person to another it’s not a demeaning word in a lot of cases. From a white person to a Black person it is. The truth is some people don’t want anyone to use certain words because they can’t use them. All races have “inside” jokes.