In Defense Of Brad Paisley's 'Accidental Racist'

A wave of self-righteous snark flooded the Internet on Monday as the video for Brad Paisley's new single was passed around. In "Accidental Racist," Paisley sings about what the South means to him and he tries to explain his feelings about the Confederate flag and his heritage - good and bad - to an unnamed Starbucks employee. Towards the end of the tune he's joined by LL Cool J, who asks Paisley's character not to judge him simply because he's wearing baggy pants or looks a bit dangerous.

Based on the reaction to the song, you would have thought Paisley had decided to released a countrified version of "Mein Kampf."  The Hairpin described it as being "filled with awkward non-apologies and faux-pensiveness over the history of racism in the south," while Gawker weighed in with its typical restraint and argued that "Brad, I don’t think you’re the one paying for the ‘mistake’ of buying and selling human beings, really."

If you've listened to the song you might find these depictions of the tune a bit confusing, since they really don't accurately reflect the lyrics of the song. He doesn't dismiss the horrors of slavery or the South's role in the institution. But like a lot of Southerners, he is just wanting to find a way to acknowledge those horrors while still appreciating some of the parts of his heritage that are worthwhile. After all it's possible to love sweet tea without having someone exclaim "Sweet Tea? Oh, why don't you drink more of that liquid racism!

Reading a number of pieces about the song, it strikes me that the reaction to "Accidental Racist" is as much a reflection of a group elitism than it is a reasonable look at a song which may or may not be a good idea. I've seen a lot of pieces that take cheap shots at the South, or country music or Brad Paisley without having any clear understanding of any of these subjects.

Far be it for me to suggest that columnists have any actual knowledge of the things they're writing about. If I applied that standard to the Internet, entire portions of the Nick Denton empire would be left with nothing but a bunch of blank pages and off-topic comments about politics.

But this is a story that manages to perfectly encapsulate the elitist media bias conservatives rail about in those anti-Obama donation solicitations. People like Sarah Palin have made a career arguing the "lamestream media" is nothing but a bunch of self-righteous elitist dweebs that don't understand anyone living in any of the flyover states.

While Palin's comments along these lines are generally idiotic and out-of-touch, they resonate with a lot of Americans who feel as if they're reading a lot of media coverage written by people who don't really "get" them. I'm a Brad Paisley fan, although I've never been to one of his concerts. But I listen to his music regularly and I'm an extremely liberal guy who lived three years in San Francisco. But I also lived for three years in Birmingham, Alabama. Given the fact that I was born and raised in Southern Indiana, I'm not really considered a Southerner by anyone who isn't living in Connecticut. But I'm one generation removed from the farm and even though I live in a boring Twin Cities suburb I'm still drawn to the south and its culture.

Frankly, the typical elitist argument along the lines of "What do you mean, you love some things about the South? Why are you ignoring slavery?" is a vapid and predictable political meme. It's as idiotic as responding to everyone who says their Catholic with a hearty "Oh, yeah, you must really love the Inquisition." Institutions evolve and attitudes change and it's as hard for outsiders to walk that line as it is for the participants. In the same way that some Southerners still hate African-Americans simply because of their skin color, many Northerners seem incapable of seeing Southerners as anything but naive closet racists who are only a six-pack or two from yelling the "N" word at the first non-white face that walks past them.

All of this is the long-winded way of saying that if you want to argue "Accidental Racist" was a bad idea and have some real fact-based opinions to offer, bring them on. But I tired of the snarky "doofus southerner" snark that passes for commentary anytime anything involving the South is involved.

You're not the lamestream media. You're just lame.