
Last night while on Twitter, I found myself in the middle of what
Demi Moore later described as "a shit storm" over
Kim Kardashian's use of the word "pimpin'" (pics below). Why was I involved? Because I want to be able to Pimp My Wry here,
here and
here, and not be thought of as a woman who condones child labor.
First, some background: As was reported last week, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, through the
Demi & Ashton Foundation, are
waging war against child slavery in earthquake-demolished Haiti. The Foundation is leading a fundraising effort that asks all who attend the United Nations meeting on March 31 to make donations to Haiti,
BUT only on the condition that child labor be banned.
Their efforts should be applauded. Child labor is wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I'm pretty sure most people would agree on that.
Anyway, everything was going along swell for Demi and her cause until last night, when she called out Kim Kardashian on Twitter, because Kim tweeted a photo of herself and some friends, along with this message: "Big pimpin w @SerenajWilliams @LaLaVazquez @Kelly_Rowland Love u girls!"
Demi didn't like Kim's use of the word "pimpin'," and responded this way: "Are you using the word "pimpin" as in pimping?"
Kim then replied, "Doesn't everyone? LOL... Nothing wrong with dancing to Big Pimpin' by Jay Z in the club! Having a girls night out, gotta love that song!"
Demi, who believes there
is something wrong with that, then wrote in a series of tweets, "A pimp is nothing more than a slave owner! ... If we want to end slavery we need to stop glorifying the "pimp" culture. ...I was just making a point about how we have used a word and desensitized the real meaning. ... "
At that point I (and apparently thousands of others) responded to Demi's tweets. "The noun has become a verb," I wrote, "malice not always intended : )" Notice the smiley-face. No one who supports child labor would ever use a smiley face! Uh, okay, maybe that's not true...
Later, Kim Kardashian ended her comments by writing, "Good point! I agree! It was just a song not literal." And an hour after the whole thing began, Demi wrote, "Clearly I stirred up a s**t storm."
I'd hardly call the exchange a shit storm, but it was (is) thought-provoking.
Even though I understand why Demi is speaking out against the use of the word, and agree that we've become desensitized to its meaning, the word has been re-purposed and is now ingrained in our culture and vernacular. On the pop-culture scale, the word weighs in as "cool" and packs a punch, and therefore some people will use it for good and others for evil. Right or wrong, like the words "fag" and "gay" —words I've spoken out against — "pimp" will probably go the way of "groovy" and "boss" long before Demi Moore or anyone else can stamp it out in the name of principle. Hell, it might even stay with us forever, and be reclaimed over and over again, generation after generation, like another word we're all familiar with.
And on that note, I say to @MrsKutcher, "Keep fighting the good fight, you outspoken, commanding and uncompromising bitch. You're in good company."
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