# Accidental Racist by Brad Paisley & LL Cool J **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611 "2013-04-13T16:21:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/1 "2013-04-13T16:21:30Z")
The song has been getting a lot of buzz but I’ve yet to hear it all the way through as it’s been pulled from YouTube. [The lyrics are here](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/brad_paisley/accidental_racist.html). Basic story: A white southern guy goes into a Starbucks wearing a rebel flag shirt and the black barista takes issue, leading to variations on this refrain from the white guy: > [@](#): > > I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland > Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be > I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done > And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history > Our generation didn’t start this nation > We’re still pickin’ up the pieces, walkin’ on eggshells, fightin’ over yesterday > And caught between southern pride and southern blame And the LL Cool J part includes > [@](#): > > Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood > What the world is really like when you’re livin’ in the hood > Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good > You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would > Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood And… yeah. The commentary is everywhere else- YouTube, Time editorials, talk shows, you name it, just google. So your opinion based on the lyrics and the song itself if you’ve heard it: Camp Omahgod campiness or a timely and timeless message that needs to be heard? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/2 "2013-04-13T16:29:57Z")
Today’s Ebony and Ivory in terms of schmaltz, with the added twists of tone-deaf lyrics and LL Cool J really looking silly… ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/3 "2013-04-13T16:36:20Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Today’s Ebony and Ivory in terms of schmaltz, with the added twists of tone-deaf lyrics and LL Cool J really looking silly… Really? I’m not claiming that it’s any GOOD, but I think there’s a special level of schmaltz reserved for Ebony and Ivory alone. This is hackneyed and tone deaf and corny and over-earnest, and, yes, schmaltzy, but not \*that \*bad. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/4 "2013-04-13T16:51:31Z")
I liked [Cracked’s countdown of the worst parts](http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-most-racist-moments-from-song-about-ending-racism/), including the part where the only Skynyrd T-shirt with a Confederate flag that they could find online was a $400 T-shirt worn by a catwalk model back in 2006, and that the band members denounced the Confederate flag anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/5 "2013-04-13T17:09:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Today’s Ebony and Ivory in terms of schmaltz, with the added twists of tone-deaf lyrics and LL Cool J really looking silly… Run away with me, WordMan. We’ll lounge on the beach sipping cocktails and you will read my mind and I will just marvel and marvel that you can do that. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/6 "2013-04-13T17:20:05Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Today’s Ebony and Ivory in terms of schmaltz, with the added twists of tone-deaf lyrics and LL Cool J really looking silly… This is almost verbatim what I was gonna write. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/7 "2013-04-13T17:27:38Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I liked [Cracked’s countdown of the worst parts](http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-most-racist-moments-from-song-about-ending-racism/) That piece is a beautiful dissection of the top many things wrong with the song. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/8 "2013-04-13T17:39:07Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > That piece is a beautiful dissection of the top many things wrong with the song. True. But I was on the edge of my seat for your take on it. Short ass OP. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/9 "2013-04-13T17:50:23Z")
Why is there no option for “Bad message, bad song, I want to burn Atlanta all over again just for having listened to it”? As mentioned by the Cracked article above, Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn’t even _sell_ Confederate flag shirts. [30 seconds of browsing their online store could have confirmed this -](http://www.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?sourceCode=LSKWEB&categoryName=Apparel%3A%3AMen%27s&artistName=Lynyrd+Skynyrd) there’s US flags, Iron Crosses, “God and Guns” logos, and Jim Beam logos galore, but nary a stars-and-bars to be bought. IMO, the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate as odious as the swastika or the pointed white hood, and anyone who’s wearing one isn’t an _accidental_ racist by any definition of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/10 "2013-04-13T18:20:58Z")
Anybody over 10 who wears a rebel flag shirt and genuinely does not understand why it’s offensive is impenetrable to rational discussion of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/11 "2013-04-13T19:28:06Z")
I’m going to give him benefit of the doubt and say his heart was in the right place. He makes some good points in that song but he articulates them very badly. Southern people are a proud bunch and for most of them their pride has nothing to do with hating black folks. This is true. But to show that pride by wearing a confederate flag T-shirt and expecting people to NOT get offended is beyond crazy. Show your pride by being hospitable. That’s what Southerners are famous for. This kind of drive my points to bigots I’ve know over the years. Bigotry often just makes life more complicated for the ones spouting bigotry. Eventually, the oppressed will get their way. They always have. And in the end your children and your children’s children will have to live with the guilt. And saying “I’m sorry.” in many forms. One of which would include NOT WEARING A CONFEDERATE FLAG T-SHIRT! This is what pisses me off about gay rights. The longer we keep kicking them in the nuts and not giving them their rights due, the more apologizing future generations are going to have to do. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/12 "2013-04-13T19:32:57Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’m going to give him benefit of the doubt and say his heart was in the right place. I feel the same way: I think Mr. Paisley’s intentions were genuine and good, it’s just a shitty tune with lyrics that seem to have been written by a self-absorbed 14 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/13 "2013-04-13T19:51:25Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > This is what pisses me off about gay rights. The longer we keep kicking them in the nuts and not giving them their rights due, the more apologizing future generations are going to have to do. I think a Brad Paisley/Ricky Martin duet is called for! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/14 "2013-04-13T19:59:37Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Run away with me, WordMan. We’ll lounge on the beach sipping cocktails and you will read my mind and I will just marvel and marvel that you can do that. You da best, **Nzinga**. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/15 "2013-04-13T20:10:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > You da best, **Nzinga**. Friend zoned! Man, that Cracked article was so good. The number one reason had me in tears, laughing. So funny. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/16 "2013-04-13T20:21:14Z")
It can’t be a coincidence that a handful of white supremacists showed up on the board right after this song came out. I hold LL and Paisley personally responsible. I haven’t heard the song, but everything about it sounds awful. When you’re dealing with complicated social issues, nice intentions are not enough. > [@Smapti](#): > > As mentioned by the Cracked article above, Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn’t even _sell_ Confederate flag shirts. [30 seconds of browsing their online store could have confirmed this -](http://www.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?sourceCode=LSKWEB&categoryName=Apparel%3A%3AMen%27s&artistName=Lynyrd+Skynyrd) there’s US flags, Iron Crosses, “God and Guns” logos, and Jim Beam logos galore, but nary a stars-and-bars to be bought. IMO, the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate as odious as the swastika or the pointed white hood, and anyone who’s wearing one isn’t an _accidental_ racist by any definition of the term. Although they do feature the flag on at least two album covers, display it onstage, and use the same ‘it’s just a Southern pride’ defense Paisley uses in the song. So yeah. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/17 "2013-04-13T20:33:59Z")
The title itself makes me roll my eyes. If you ACCIDENTALLY step on someone’s foot, the things to do are: 1. Get off their foot 2. Apologize Until now, I thought it was generally understood that the things NOT to do are: 1. Continue to stand on their foot while you sing a song about how they don’t grasp the finer points of Skynyrd 2. Call over LL Cool Jay to stand on their other foot But never underestimate Brad Paisley is the lesson here, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/18 "2013-04-13T20:49:32Z")
Man, I’m sure they meant well, but those are some sloppily written lyrics. Cracked’s number 2 is what particularly had my jaw dropping: “If you don’t judge my gold chains/ I’ll forget the iron chains.” We’re cool on slavery if you ignore my bling. Deal! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/19 "2013-04-13T21:00:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Although they do feature the flag on at least two album covers, display it onstage, and use the same ‘it’s just a Southern pride’ defense Paisley uses in the song. So yeah. **Did** until about [6 months ago, pissing off some fans](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/entertainment/la-et-ms-lynyrd-skynrd-denounces-confederate-flag-angering-some-fans-20120920); they basically said ‘fuck it, it’s totally co-opted by racists to the point where you can’t even use it as a historical thing.’ So Paisley isn’t all that good of a fan if he doesn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611/20 "2013-04-13T21:04:40Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Southern people are a proud bunch Thing is… he is from West Virginia. So he doesn’t even have Confederate pride as an excuse. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-racist-by-brad-paisley-ll-cool-j/655611.md?page=2)