Are these lyrics racist?

Question

This song/poem is from 1972. I was listening to it with a friend who objected to it because he said it was hateful to white people. I begged to differ. what do you think?

Whitey on the Moon
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
I wonder why he's uppi' me?
('cause Whitey's on the moon?)
I wuz already payin' 'im fifty a week.
(with Whitey on the moon)

Taxes takin' my whole damn check,
Junkies makin' me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin' up,
An' as if all that **** wuzn't enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an' arm began to swell.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Was all that money I made las' year
(for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain't no money here?
(Hmm! Whitey's on the moon)
Y'know I jus' 'bout had my fill
(of Whitey on the moon)
I think I'll sen' these doctor bills,
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)

Gil Scott-heron

Redsox57 - nah, I believe he was literally referring to the fact that white men had traveled to the moon.

Answer 1

I don't think it's racist at all.

Everyone complains about the way our governement spends our tax dollars. We also complain about our country using our money to help other countries when the money is needed HERE more, not there.

The particulars that this writer is speaking of are not just problems of the black man, as this happens to all other races too. I think he is discussing a bigger issue than race here.

The writer has a good point and $0.02 YOU are right.

Answer 2

Whitey is a mildly racist term, so the repeated usage of that is a racist usage, but this doesn't mean that the message itself is racist.

The song is a protest in the form of contrasting poor living conditions experienced by the speaker with the great amount of money that it took to put a man on the moon, combined with an implication that being a white man was a requirement for being one of those in the program. In 1972, this was more or less true.

My opinion is that it's an attempt to contrast the black underclass of the time with white privilege, a message that isn't in itself racist.

In short, no, I don't think those lyrics as a whole are necessarily racist, though that particular usage of "whitey" is.

Answer 3

Any song/poem can be made racist by the meaning of words.The writing you have in question has been used in race relations classes.In the class I had there were 10 or 12 different views,the fact that a white man walked on the moon yet some of the urban/ghetto areas could not get simple street lights this was an unfair waste of tax money.This seemed to be the most popular view.

Answer 4

He seems to be talking about how all of the injustices in life are ignored because "whitey's" on the moon. The author is talking about how money that could be used to better the society is taken from people and wasted on pointless things. I don't see it as racist overall, but the term whitey is debatable.

All of the hardships in life and depleted communities that need renovation are ignored because, man is going to the moon. It has nothing to do with people who have more money as red suggests.

It's about the worthlessness of what we do and the fact that the priorities of the nation are detrimental to society. Like today, we can spend billions to fight a country that never attacked us (whitey on the moon), but we can't improve our school systems, medicare system, social security, inequality, racism, oppression, etc. (the problems that need to be addressed).

Answer 5

gil scott-heron was a great poet, and somewhat of an activist through his music and lyrics. he was one of the grandfathers of rap as a message to the people. for the person who was wondering, yes, he was black. i'd compare nas, KRS 1, and chuck-d's lyrics to his...very political, current, and consciousness raising.

that being said, "whitey" was and is a pejorative term. however, i do NOT think that the poem itself is racist. in art, sometimes the ugly sheds light on reality.

in the poem, he isn't talking about all white people. he's talking about "the man," the government, the establishment, and the powers that be....you know, the 10 percent of folks that control the 90 percent of folks.

"whitey" is offensive, yes. the message is not against whites though. the message is: how ironic it is that america spends billions of dollars on the space program, yet people still live in poverty.

funny...that poem was written over 30 years ago, and is still relevant today.

Answer 6

Gil Heron was a black lyricist ; many considered him to be a poet. He was definitely an activist, although that particular label had not yet been coined and he never publicly identified himself as such. He was ahead of his time; the lyrics still hold true today. We have 135 astronauts at NASA, which cost a small fortune in training and equipment... meanwhile , the poor man man still struggles against overwhelming odds that keephim locked into that cycle of poverty and despair. No, I don't think it was meant to be hateful.... it was meant to be insightful.... and it certainly is, eh??

Answer 7

I would tell your friend to consider the time period in which it was written and that the idea of using the term whitey at that time was to signify the differences in the overall status of the two "races" and not simply attacking all white people...
or attacking at all....

racist well I guess in a sense it does define a race in narrow terms so I guess it could be classified that way, however I don't see it as offensive...

Answer 8

Gil wrote that as a protest to all the wrongs being ignored in the Black Community and with civil rights. Yet money was still spent to put a man in space. Much like today. Just think NASA and then think Katrina.

Answer 9

Your rattling perfect I’m annoyed. Slavery led to December 1865 recover from it it’s the beginning up of 2009 and start up performing like we’ve have been given the comparable pores and skin is that the refrain? its incredibly gay your lyrics do no longer make experience, like they do no longer "circulate" i could no longer think of this being a music despite if i had to

Answer 10

Yes, in a way it is, it could be seen as a response to racism, which is also racist, never ending cycle. But i can see why your friend objected to it.