"With Apologies to Jessie Jackson" Satirical Analysis

The first episode of South Park's 11th season titled, "With Apologies to Jessie Jackson", takes on a touchy subject about the use of the N-word.  At the beginning of the show Stan's dad, Randy, appears on wheel of fortune and has to guess a word that relates to "Somebody who annoys you".  He was given the letters n_ggers, and he guessed the N-word.  The audience was silent and he soon found out that the actual word was naggers.  The rest of the episode involves Randy trying to ban the use of the phrase "N-word Guy" while his son, Stan, tries to apologize to the only African American at school who's name is Token. 

This episode is a perfect example of a satire about race.  An example of satire in the episode is when Randy is giving a speech to an all black audience and he says, "When people call me N-word guy their bringing up a painful chapter of my history and all the negativity that went along with it...you just can't imagine how that feels".  When Randy is saying this he is referring to himself and what he said on Wheel of Fortune but that is actually how every black person feels when people say the N-word.  The truth is that no one can feel what African Americans feel when that word is said because we aren't them.  So we have to respect that. Another example of satire is when Stan tries to tell Token he is sorry that his dad used the word but Token tells him that he does not understand.  Towards the end of the episode, Stan finally realizes that he will never understand how bad the use of the word is and he will not understand how a black person feels when someone uses it.  It is easy for someone who isn't African American to say that they get it but in reality they never will.  Only African Americans will truly understand how it feels to be called that word and we have to respect that.  The writers conclude that it is necessary for Whites to understand that they will never experience what someone of another race feels when it comes to racism.  

While this episode may be funny and laughable it does a great job of showing the words impact on individuals and how some people may never truly understand what the word means and how much it hurts.