You, Sir, are a racist!

In the last blog, I posted the "Wiggah please!" shirt Steve and I designed. The graphic upset his cousin Beth, and on the assumption that others were bothered but didn't write, I want to clear some stuff up.

When Steve and I created the shirt, it was never intended to be a racist joke against African Americans, people of color, or people in bi-racial relations. Quite the opposite.

This shirt is intended to be a social commentary toward privledged asses-- generally white kids from Beverly Hills, The Valley, or subrbs-- who don the wardrobe, speech, and manners of urban youth without having any understanding, perspective, or respect toward their lives or cultures. Notice that I don't say black youth, because that same usurping happens with the cultural characteristics of Latino and Asian kids we see every day in Echo Park. It's also why we spelled the word "wiggah" and not "wigger", to specifically reference the over-the-top vernacular these kids adopt in an attempt to look cool.

They need a smackdown. We're giving it... with humor.

Social commentary, sarcasm, and humor are sometimes tough things to convey. Look at how Sarah Silverman uses them in her movie and TV show, or in Gustavo Arellano's column and new book Ask a Mexican. The words are meant to shake us all out of our politically correct-induced comas and think-- God knows Steve and I fall prey to that as well.

Indeed, the two of us have spent much of the past two days discussing that delicate balance when art and racial/cultural issues collide. For us, I know, those discussions have been good things. They ground us. They help us evolve.

I do realize a person's individual story or community can influence how messages/art/words are interpreted, and being in liberal California we sometimes forget about the struggles people in other States face being recognized as equal and whole individuals. So to anyone who was offended, we're sorry.

Now, may the larger discussions begin...