Video: Dov Hikind Apologizes For Blackface – Sort Of
“We live in a society where people are incredibly sensitive about everything…I was actually going to do Indians next year, but I don’t want to offend Indians…in hindsight, this has become a real story, my God, I would have picked something else.…But it was Purim and I do this every year for thirty-five or forty years…anyone who was offended, I’m sorry they were offended…I just have to reiterate – it was Purim…my wife was the devil…”
Originally published at 9:26 pm CST 2-25-2013
Less than two weeks ago, NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind attacked designer John Galliano for wearing clothes that Hikind thought evoked hasidic garb.
“Who is he mocking?. The way the socks look, the jacket, the peyos . . . My question is, who’s he laughing at?
“If it was just anyone else, I wouldn’t know what to say. But considering who this guy is, considering his background and what he’s said in the past, let him explain it to all of us: Are you mocking us?,” Hikind blustered to the New York Post.
When it became clear the clothes were high end designer clothes made by his friends, and the ADL's Abraham Foxman came to Galliano's defense. Even so, Hikind failed to retract his accusations or apologize.
Now the shoe is on the other foot and Hikind, ever the hypocrite, can't understand why anyone might be upset at him. In fact, Hikind said his blackface costume was all done "in good fun." It was, after all, Purim. "People," Hikind confided to the press, "are incredibly sensitive."
I'd imagine that after almost 100 years of post-slavery minstrel shows with white stars in blackface makeup lampooning "primitive" blacks and the Jim Crow laws that came with it, we'd be a bit sensitive, as well.
Here is Hikind's 'apology' for his blackface costume:
Above: Dov Hikind, center, his wife, left, and his son Yoni, right, Purim 2013.
Below: John Galliano's 'offensive' clothes:
Related Post: Dov Hikind Wears Blackface As Purim Costume, Prompts Questions Of Racial Insensitivity.
[Hat Tip: Burich.]
He never said that he did something wrong or even insensitive. He gave a very Mel Gibson type of pseudo-apology. " I am sorry if anyone was offended" is not the same as 'I am sorry for being so insensitive; my ignorance of history has a lot to do with it'.
Posted by: WoolSilkCotton | February 25, 2013 at 09:32 PM
Never ceases to amaze me how a politician can be such a clueless putz...
Posted by: zibble | February 25, 2013 at 09:38 PM
Not an apology, sorry Mr. Hikind.
The reporter who asked him if he was drunk is a complete idiot and should be fired. Hikind should hav told him that his qustion was inappropriate and irrelevant and not answered him.
Posted by: ca | February 25, 2013 at 09:39 PM
BTW, you see the Harlem Shake" videos? How are those not racist?
Posted by: ca | February 25, 2013 at 09:45 PM
Okay, it's not like he blackened his face out with coal soot and acted like a buffoon (any more than usual).
Didn't anyone see Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder?
I'm just bringing a bit of perspective here. I'd like the differentiation to be addressed, at the very least.
Posted by: Maskil | February 25, 2013 at 11:28 PM
WSC -- I've seen Mel Gibson get all stubborn and refuse to apologize, but none of this fake non-apology apology.
Posted by: LP | February 25, 2013 at 11:40 PM
Wow, just like this: Watch from 14:58 - Strikingly similar!
Posted by: Maskil | February 25, 2013 at 11:45 PM
Tropic Thunder was a satire, like "Two White Chicks." Since satire is meant to expose the vices of society by holding them up to ridicule, there is more leeway there than in other genres. No one believes, for example, that Swift really endorsed cannibalism in "A Modest Proposal." There is a difference between making fun of racism and our racial obsession in an edgy way, and actually manifesting racial insensitivity. (BTW, Of course boorish behavior is protected by the First Amendment, but that does not make it a good thing).
Posted by: Yochanan Lavie | February 26, 2013 at 07:15 AM
What a putz!
Posted by: Feminista | February 26, 2013 at 07:41 AM
Another racist Dem.
Posted by: Lubavitchers Are Christians | February 26, 2013 at 09:58 AM
Posted by: Yochanan Lavie | February 26, 2013 at 07:15 AM
I thought it might be the color of the paint. Thank you Yochanan.
Posted by: Maskil | February 26, 2013 at 11:43 AM
*coughthejazzsingercough*
Posted by: Rueven Aharon | February 26, 2013 at 12:03 PM
What idiots judge a person based on how he gets dressep up on Purim. Have any of you seen the costumes on Holloween? Dov- we need more like you, god bless you.
Posted by: orthopinionated | February 26, 2013 at 09:30 PM