President Obama created a stir Monday after using the N-word on Marc Maron‘s “WTF” podcast.
“It’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say ‘n—-r’ in public,” the president said while making the point that the legacy of slavery and racism are still prevalent in America.
“That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.”
Obama noted these stains in our history leave a long shadow.
“The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives, you know, that casts a long shadow, and that’s still part of our DNA that’s passed on. We’re not cured of it.”
The president also expressed his “disgust” with the NRA’s grip on Congress and the lack of action on gun violence.
“I will tell you, right after Sandy Hook, Newtown, when 20 6-year-olds are gunned down, and Congress literally does nothing — yes, that’s the closest I came to feeling disgusted,” he said. “I was pretty disgusted.’”
Predictably, the president’s use of the polarizing word set Twitter a buzz.
Literal CNN headline rn: “OBAMA USES N-WORD ON PURPOSE” SOMEONE TELL HIS MOTHER
— Name-Goo Goo Dolls (@TheWannaAlex) June 22, 2015
,#cnn @CarolCNN potus uses n-word and its news. He’s called n-word and its Monday. — EbonyMomPolitics (@JoniReyno) June 22, 2015
I mean I’m a proud N Word enthusiast. But I don’t know how to feel about the president using it in a public forum
— Jhal Drogo (@AmajahlAudemar) June 22, 2015
Fellow white people: maybe be more offended when you hear a white person use the n-word than when our black president does. — Matthew Johnson (@revmhj) June 22, 2015