July 28, 2025 • 5 mins
Listen to full audiobooks for free on : https://hotaudiobook.com/free Title: I'd Rather We Got Casinos Author: Larry Wilmore Narrator: Larry Wilmore Format: Unabridged Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins Language: English Release date: 04-23-09 Publisher: Hyperion AudioBooks Genres: Comedy, Satire Summary: Within these pages are the musings, the revelations, the ruminations, and the reflections of the incomparable Larry Wilmore. Here, collected for the first time, all in one place, are his Black Thoughts. From why black weathermen make him feel happy (or sad) and why brothas don't see UFOs to his search for Black Jesus or his quest to replace "African-American" with "chocolate," Wilmore has finally relented, agreeing to share his unique (black) perspective. Soon, you too will have the ability to find racism in everything. Bring back the Shetland Negro and do away with Black History Month! After all, can twenty-eight days of trivia really make up for centuries of oppression? In Wilmore's own words, "I'd rather we got casinos!" ©2009 Hardstone Productions, Inc.; (P)2009 Hyperion Contact: info@hotaudiobook.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Change to help race relations. It's well thought through, and
one could argue it's full of merit. It actually received
the most responses from readers of The Times than any
other column that month. You always hear people say racism
is still a major part of everyday life. Most people
accept this premise without investigating it further, mainly because they
(00:22):
agree with it, and secondly they don't want to challenge
it for fear of seeming like the racist in question.
They also feel there's nothing they can do about it.
It's racism, you can't change it. My problem with this
statement is that it's too general. By using words like
racism or racist, it keeps the notion distant and out there.
(00:45):
It feels like a problem to be contemplated and discussed
like a philosophical construct instead of a problem that could
use a concrete solution, like a back up sinc. Now,
if we imagine racism as a back up sinc. The
solution becomes clearer. Unclog it, look into the drain, see
what's backing it up, and get that crap out of there. Now,
(01:09):
the more practical question, how is this accomplished? How do
we get people of different colors to learn to live
in harmony. People smarter than me have struggled for eons
twisting the sides of this society a rubiksku, while secretly
fearing there is no real solution. I believe the answer
lies in asking the right question. We should not ask
(01:29):
how do we get rid of racism? Our question should
be how do we turn racism into a sink? We
could start with the name change. I know a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet to quote Shakespeare,
but keep in mind, we're not trying to get rid
of the smell of racism. That stink will probably be
(01:50):
around forever. We're trying to ease the pain of it
and clear the way for us to get along peacefully.
That's right, We're unclogging the sink. Before I propose the
name changes, let's first examine whether or not name change
is effective. I would argue it's not only effective, but
essential to success in many cases. Take actors. For example,
(02:12):
do you think retnex would ever line up to see
a movie starring a rugged all American cowboy named Marian Morrison.
Of course not. But if his name is John Wayne,
the line is around the block and into the next county.
Everybody loved Lucy, but do you think we would have
even liked Diane Desiree Belmont? Nobody would have given a
(02:32):
flying fuck. Back in the twenties, MGM actually had a
contest for people to come up with the name for
their budding starlet, Lucille fay Lesser. The winning name was
Joan Crawford. It's unsure America would have cozied up to
father figure Alfonso de Bruzzo to comfort them during the
cnical seventies, but Alan Aldo Fildeville perfectly. Sometimes the changes
(02:55):
aren't that big, but still significant. Ring Rain's real name
is Irving. Thing was smart enough to realize that, when
you think about it, no brothers should really ever be
called Irving. And it's not just actors. Companies for years
have realized the power of name changing branding, as they
call it. I can't imagine anyone wanting to back rub
(03:16):
the Internet for information, but we love to google. You'll
never catch me fiddling with my marafuku, but I can't
put down my Nintendo. And what science fiction movie did
you walk into to buy that radar range? I'll stick
with my microwave, Thank you very much. You see where
I'm going. You can't change the face of racism without
(03:38):
changing the name, change the way people feel about it,
brand it. Now. You may be asking, but Larry, why
don't we want to soften such a hateful word. Don't
we want people to take it seriously? Yes, that's why
I propose we leave the word racism alone. I suggest
we change the term African American. African American as a
(04:01):
brand is done. It served its purpose, It did what
it was supposed to do. But now it's time for
it to step aside. It's so twentieth century anyway. First
of all, no one really wants to be called African
American anymore. You see as a black. This politically correct
term doesn't conjure up images of the struggle my people
(04:22):
have faced in this country for several hundred years. When
I hear African American, my mind doesn't snap back to
the march on Selma or the bus boycotts. It doesn't
stir up nostalgia for Joe Louis or the Harlem Renaissance.
I'm not charged with pride by our victory over slavery
or tigers at the Masters. It doesn't even make my
stomach groul for Hogmas or black eyed peas. It just
(04:45):
makes me think of Africa, and to be blunt, I'm
not that crazy about Africa. I mean, I know that's
where we come from, it's our heritage and blah blah blah.
Africa just makes me think of hot
Change to help race relations. It's well thought through, and
one could argue it's full of merit. It actually received
the most responses from readers of The Times than any
other column that month. You always hear people say racism
is still a major part of everyday life. Most people
accept this premise without investigating it further, mainly because they
(00:22):
agree with it, and secondly they don't want to challenge
it for fear of seeming like the racist in question.
They also feel there's nothing they can do about it.
It's racism, you can't change it. My problem with this
statement is that it's too general. By using words like
racism or racist, it keeps the notion distant and out there.
(00:45):
It feels like a problem to be contemplated and discussed
like a philosophical construct instead of a problem that could
use a concrete solution, like a back up sinc. Now,
if we imagine racism as a back up sinc. The
solution becomes clearer. Unclog it, look into the drain, see
what's backing it up, and get that crap out of there. Now,
(01:09):
the more practical question, how is this accomplished? How do
we get people of different colors to learn to live
in harmony. People smarter than me have struggled for eons
twisting the sides of this society a rubiksku, while secretly
fearing there is no real solution. I believe the answer
lies in asking the right question. We should not ask
(01:29):
how do we get rid of racism? Our question should
be how do we turn racism into a sink? We
could start with the name change. I know a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet to quote Shakespeare,
but keep in mind, we're not trying to get rid
of the smell of racism. That stink will probably be
(01:50):
around forever. We're trying to ease the pain of it
and clear the way for us to get along peacefully.
That's right, We're unclogging the sink. Before I propose the
name changes, let's first examine whether or not name change
is effective. I would argue it's not only effective, but
essential to success in many cases. Take actors. For example,
(02:12):
do you think retnex would ever line up to see
a movie starring a rugged all American cowboy named Marian Morrison.
Of course not. But if his name is John Wayne,
the line is around the block and into the next county.
Everybody loved Lucy, but do you think we would have
even liked Diane Desiree Belmont? Nobody would have given a
(02:32):
flying fuck. Back in the twenties, MGM actually had a
contest for people to come up with the name for
their budding starlet, Lucille fay Lesser. The winning name was
Joan Crawford. It's unsure America would have cozied up to
father figure Alfonso de Bruzzo to comfort them during the
cnical seventies, but Alan Aldo Fildeville perfectly. Sometimes the changes
(02:55):
aren't that big, but still significant. Ring Rain's real name
is Irving. Thing was smart enough to realize that, when
you think about it, no brothers should really ever be
called Irving. And it's not just actors. Companies for years
have realized the power of name changing branding, as they
call it. I can't imagine anyone wanting to back rub
(03:16):
the Internet for information, but we love to google. You'll
never catch me fiddling with my marafuku, but I can't
put down my Nintendo. And what science fiction movie did
you walk into to buy that radar range? I'll stick
with my microwave, Thank you very much. You see where
I'm going. You can't change the face of racism without
(03:38):
changing the name, change the way people feel about it,
brand it. Now. You may be asking, but Larry, why
don't we want to soften such a hateful word. Don't
we want people to take it seriously? Yes, that's why
I propose we leave the word racism alone. I suggest
we change the term African American. African American as a
(04:01):
brand is done. It served its purpose, It did what
it was supposed to do. But now it's time for
it to step aside. It's so twentieth century anyway. First
of all, no one really wants to be called African
American anymore. You see as a black. This politically correct
term doesn't conjure up images of the struggle my people
(04:22):
have faced in this country for several hundred years. When
I hear African American, my mind doesn't snap back to
the march on Selma or the bus boycotts. It doesn't
stir up nostalgia for Joe Louis or the Harlem Renaissance.
I'm not charged with pride by our victory over slavery
or tigers at the Masters. It doesn't even make my
stomach groul for Hogmas or black eyed peas. It just
(04:45):
makes me think of Africa, and to be blunt, I'm
not that crazy about Africa. I mean, I know that's
where we come from, it's our heritage and blah blah blah.
Africa just makes me think of hot
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