Don Lemon’s N-Word Sign Creates Controversy Over Confederate Flag And Racism On CNN [Video]
Don Lemon’s “N-Word” sign is making waves on social media since he used it as a prop to discuss the Confederate flag in relation to racism. The CNN video has already become viral, but so has a phrase which asks, “Has Don Lemon Lost His Godd**n Mind?”
In a related report by the Inquisitr, the Black Lives Matter movement had a Charleston statue spray-painted with their name since it was a memorial for the Confederate soldiers who defended Charleston during the Civil War, and bright red paint left the clear message, “This is the problem. #Racist.” This idea has since gone viral, and a Baltimore Confederate memorial was defaced in a similar manner.
It seems that Don Lemon was wanting to stir the pot from the get-go. First he held up a sign showing the Confederate flag and asked if it offended them. Next, he pulled out a sign showing the N-word spelled out in bold letters, not abbreviated as is written here. To make the matter even more controversial, this piece took place right before an interview with the niece and nephew of one of the victims of the Charleston church shooting.
Groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans claim the Confederate flag is not a symbol of hate or racism, and they claim the actions of Dylann Storm Roof should not be conflated with the symbol.
“Do not associate the cowardly actions of a racist to our Confederate Banner,” South Carolina Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Leland Summers said. “There is absolutely no link between The Charleston Massacre and The Confederate Memorial Banner. Don’t try to create one.”
Legal analyst Sunny Hostin was invited to discuss the issue of using the N-word in public, and Don Lemon claims that “in order to have an honest conversation about words, and what they mean, we have to say what we mean, just as the president did,” referring to how Barack Obama used the N-word in a video. Hostin was shocked that Lemon would also use the word in her presence.
“What is shocking to me, Don Lemon is that you are willing to say the flag should come down, which is a symbol of hatred and racism, but you have used the N-word in my presence at least 10 times.”
In response, Lemon defended his usage of the word, saying that he used the N-word “for nine years on CNN.”
“I’m using it as part of the record — the president, Sunny, said N***er. I am a journalist, and I need to say what the president said. I’m not going to sugar coat it, I’m not going to censor anyone. It’s censorship for you to say that the president shouldn’t say something is basically saying that you know better than the president and the president should be censored,” Lemon claimed. “Journalists should not be censored. I think we are the record, and the record shows what the president says. So, if the president can utter that word, we should be able to use it, too.”
What do you think?
[Image via Gawker]
