I didn't follow the whole "Papa John racism" flap that closely; we're in the aftermath, now, and John Schnatter, the former leader of the company he'd built from the ground up, is out on his ass because he supposedly used the word "nigger" during a phone conversation. Schnatter only recently released the transcript of the phone conversation in question, and it's clear he wasn't using the word: he was merely mentioning that others were using it. Today's cancel culture doesn't give a shit about the distinction between use and mention, though; Schnatter had uttered the cursèd syllables, so he had to be canceled.
This PJ Media article, which I read with morbid curiosity, talks about what we now know about the incident. It's clear that Schnatter isn't a racist, and that the entire affair was designed to get rid of him.
Yeah, I read that yesterday and it left me shaking my head. Weaponized cancel culture as a method to get ahead by getting the founder out of the way. I hope he gets the justice he deserves.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, can someone please publish a guide as to when and in what context you can use that word? I know that rap artists and gangbangers can do so with impunity, but apparently, it's off-limits to academics, historians, and CEOs. It's all so confusing...