"I know it, but I don't think I should say it."
Original air date: 3/7/2007
Randy accidentally uses the N-word on Wheel of Fortune, leading to widespread public outrage. Stan and Tolkien argue over the word and Randy's use. Meanwhile, a dwarf has a hard time trying to teach Cartman to be sensitive.
Tropes:
- An Aesop:
- Even being accidentally racist can be just as serious as being intentionally racist. Also, white people do not understand the racism that black people experience. It's better to acknowledge that no, you don't get it than pretend that you do.
- Some people are just unrepentant jerks, and appealing to empathy and reason doesn't work on them. Dr. Nelson would have been much better off just taking the school faculty's and later Craig's advice and ignoring Cartman altogether.
- Artistic License – Film Production:
- Wheel of Fortune is actually not broadcast live as is depicted in this episode. If a similar incident occurred during taping of an episode, it would never make it to air.
- On Wheel of Fortune, contestants are always given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E as free letters already filled out in the final puzzle. Here, Randy is given R, T, S, L, and E, thus making the joke behind the final puzzle less obvious at first.
- Categories on Wheel of Fortune, particularly for the final puzzle, are never as specific as "People Who Annoy You". It would just be "People".
- Bait-and-Switch: The puzzle category was "People Who Annoy You" and N_GGERS was filled out. The answer was "naggers".
- Boomerang Bigot: Parodied. At one point Randy is harassed by a trio of hillbillies who hate bigoted white people.
- Captain Oblivious: Pat Sajak and Vanna White are seemingly the only people in the Wheel of Fortune studio who aren't aware of how N_GGERS might be interpreted, until Randy comes out with the N-word.
- Character Catchphrase: "Words are like bullets: they just pass right through me," Dr. Nelson says whenever he tries to make a point about verbal abuse. Judging by the reactions of other adult bystanders, nobody else seems to think it's a good analogy.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: This is one of the few times Cartman legitimately wins in a physical fight, forcing Dr. Nelson to attack him once he drops his guard after the fight.
- Death Glare: All the black people in the Wheel of Fortune audience (and the cameraman) give one to Randy when N_GGERS is on the board, clearly knowing what Randy is thinking about.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The episode largely consists of Randy being treated like an African American living in the southern US before the Civil Rights movement took off, complete with having to flee from roving bands of rednecks who "don't take kindly" to people who aren't tolerant of other races.
- The Dog Bites Back: Butters is among those who call Cartman a 'fatso' on the insistence of Dr. Nelson, which is fitting since Cartman regularly bullies and manipulates him.
- Double Standard:
- The episode hypothesizes that, while the use and implications of the N-word is a hot topic of debate, a similar word to describe white people would immediately be made illegal.
- As noted above, the episode compares the social reaction to prejudice against black people, to prejudice against other groups, and shows the hypocrisy in public response being outrage vs. indifference.
- Easily Forgiven: Once Stan finally realizes that he'll never be able to fully understand what the N-word means to black people and admits so to Tolkien, Tolkien reconciles with him. Justifiable, as Tolkien was never really that mad with Stan in the first place, and only got annoyed when Stan started trying to downplay Randy's actions and then make spurious comparisons to other situations.
- Face Palm: Sharon and Stan do this in the car ride home, and for good reason:Sharon: I can't believe you said the N-word on national television!
- Ignored Epiphany: Dr. Nelson's attempts to show Cartman how it feels to be mocked for your appearance all fail for this reason; Cartman follows along for most of the attempt, but every time he gets to the "and that's why you shouldn't do that" part, he just starts laughing at Nelson's dwarfism.
- Informed Attribute: Acording to Kyle, Dr. Nelson has a black belt in karate, but he's quickly overpowered by Cartman. And it doesn't help that Cartman is an overweight child with next to no fighting experience who wasn't even taking the fight seriously.
- Innocently Insensitive: How Stan comes off to Tolkien throughout the episode. Stan was trying too hard to get Tolkien's apology, then switched gears to telling him that what Randy did was "no big deal" and that Tolkien should "forget about it" when Tolkien seemingly underreacted to Randy's comment.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Cartman refers to Dr. Nelson, who has dwarfism, as "it" several times.Cartman: (laughing uncontrollably) Alright, who is the freaking genius who dressed it up in little suspenders?! Clyde, was that you?! (keeps laughing uncontrollably)
- Literal Ass-Kissing: Randy's titular apology to Jesse Jackson involves him doing this. It provides the trope's page image.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": While the black people in the Wheel of Fortune audience (and the cameraman) give a Death Glare to Randy when N_GGERS is on the board, the white people (especially Randy's family) have this expression on their faces at the same time.
- Moral Myopia: Cartman continually mocks a dwarf named Dr. Nelson who came to speak at his school, laughing raucously throughout, but when this person gets Cartman's classmates to call him 'fatso', he immediately flies off the handle in a rage. Of course, when he finds out it was all part of Dr. Nelson's plan, he starts laughing again.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed:
- The comedian at the club was clearly based on Chris Rock.
- Dr. Nelson was clearly modeled after Warwick Davis. His voice even sounds similar.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Jesse Jackson has completely round eyes instead of the usual oval shaped ones.
- Oh, Crap!: Everyone (including Randy himself) has this reaction upon Randy saying the N-Word.Randy: Oh, naggers. Of course, naggers. Right.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Randy never lives down his reputation as the guy who said the N-word on national television.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Dr. Nelson gets the drop on Cartman by sucker-punching him off his feet at the end and declaring that he's made his point. He really hasn't though; he still hasn't gotten through to Cartman, and Cartman technically won the fight because Dr. Nelson yielded despite having his back turned and Cartman honestly doesn't care about being hit off-guard because he still can't stop laughing uncontrollably at Nelson.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: The part of the episode where Randy kisses Jesse Jackson's ass in a very literal sense was inspired by how Michael Richards apologized to Jackson following the former's racist tirade at the Laugh Factory. Both Stone and Parker recalled themselves as feeling much more contemptuous towards Richards after he went on Jackson's radio show to apologize, with biracial staff writer Vernon Chatman feeling especially angry about Jesse Jackson positioning himself as the "ambassador of black people", which inspired Tolkien's rebuke about how "Jesse Jackson is not the emperor of black people" against Stan.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The episode's themes of racial slurs came from Michael Richards' infamous on-stage meltdown, where he screamed racist obscenities at two black audience members during a stand-up show. Tolkien's line about Jesse Jackson not being "the emperor of black people" was actually Trey Parker's reaction to Richards' looking to Jackson for a seal of approval for his public apology.
- Rule of Funny: When operating the Big Board, the letters appear when Vanna touches them, but the last one after Randy blurts out the N word, she has to manually turn the block like in the old days of Wheel. This is done for no other reason than it's funnier that way.
- Spoof Aesop: Although there is some wisdom to it, Stan's subplot is a lesson that as a white person in a predominantly white part of the world, he can never fully understand how black people feel about the N-word.
- Stunned Silence: The audience and presenters of Wheel of Fortune are understandably left both speechless and mortified after Randy drops the N-word.
- Take That!:
- When Stan tells Tolkien that Randy apologized to Jesse Jackson, so everything is all right, Tolkien angrily tells him that "Jesse Jackson is not the emperor of black people!"Stan: ...He told my dad he was.
- Michael Richards tearfully confesses to Randy that he's "not that good of a comedian" and only used the N-word in an attempt to get some cheap laughs; a stab at both Richards himself, and the idea that just being offensive for the sake of it is enough to be considered humorous.
- When Stan tells Tolkien that Randy apologized to Jesse Jackson, so everything is all right, Tolkien angrily tells him that "Jesse Jackson is not the emperor of black people!"
- Trivial Title: Randy's apology to Jesse Jackson was merely one of his many attempts to repair his reputation early in the episode, resolves basically nothing; it is forgotten about afterwards.
