Published Work
Here’s Why Anyone Who Defends The SAE Chant Is A Racism Apologist
In the latest edition of “Let’s Play Apologist For Racial Behavior,” Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe blamed rap music for the racist bus chant of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Scarborough concluded the thesis, saying, “The kids that are buying hip-hop or gangster rap, it’s a white audience, and they hear this over and over again. So do they hear this at home? Well, chances are good, no—they heard a lot of this from guys like this who are now acting shocked.”
I am constantly astounded by people who will twist themselves into knots as they contort themselves to explain away racist behavior. It can never just be, “Well, this is obviously racist.” But since they want to go down this road, let’s discuss why hip-hop is a ridiculously misplaced scapegoat.
First, let’s re-examine the lyrics of the chant. The hosts seem to be caught up on the use of the n-word, which is essentially recycling the “they use it so why can’t we?!” argument. However, even if the n-word had not been used, this chant would still be racist. They blatantly state that they would sooner lynch a Black man than see him be a member of their fraternity. If they had replaced “n—-r” with “dear friend” the song would still be racist.
Further, both members who were expelled from OU behind the video claimed to have been taught the song. It’s not a leap to say that most chants, creeds, etc. of fraternities and sororities are longstanding traditions and not ones that were created with the onset of hip-hop.
If that’s not enough, let’s look at some of the other traditions and the history of the fraternity.
