Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump are both members of the WWE Hall of Fame; Hogan for being the biggest wrestling star of all time and Donald Trump for shaving Vince McMahon’s hair (or something like that). They have both uttered statements that have rubbed other ethnic, racial and religious groups the wrong way. Their statements made nearly a year apart from each other have brought to the fore the tenuous nature of ethnic, racial and religious relations in America and indeed the rest of the world. Hogan’s statements were made in private and captured on tape. Trump’s statements however, have been made in public on several occasions. Yet, it is Hogan’s statements that have received unanimous condemnation while Donald Trump’s statements have been met with no more than a few serious voices of dissent. ‘The Donald’ even has the tacit support of a sizeable number of Americans and may become American President if Hilary Clinton is careless enough. Hogan has apologised in public for statements made in private yet we are nowhere near bestowing our forgiveness on this grappler. My focus will be on Hogan and the self-righteous ire and condemnation that greeted the news that the ‘Hulkster’ had been a bad boy! As for Trump’s statements, let me just say we will get back to that later.

So, how best to start with the Immortal Hulk Hogan?

Like some people reading this, my initiation into the world of Wresting Entertainment (it was the WWF in those days) in the 80s was influenced by the sight of this 6 foot 8 behemoth flexing his ‘other-worldy’ muscles and ripping his yellow singlet into shreds. Terry Gene Bollea spoke in a gruff voice and asked kids to say their prayers, take their vitamins (whatever that meant) and believe in themselves. Hogan had a tan so good a lot of people thought the ‘Hulkster’ was black! How we ever thought a blonde with a non-existent hairline could be black is beyond the most discernable of fellows but Hogan somehow pulled it off. Thus began the journey of the first wrestler to really unite racial divides of the wrestling world. Forget Rocky Johnson, forget Tony Atlas, forget the fact that black wrestlers were poorly represented in the wrestling world at that time; non-whites had their Champion! When that entrance music came on and they heard the opening strokes of the guitar, followed by the opening line ‘when it comes crashing down and it hurts inside...’, they forgot they were cheering for a tanned, white, 6 foot 8 blonde from California (weighing 303 pounds).

Heck! Hogan even spoke like ‘one of them’.

“Let me tell you something brother!”

“Yo! Hulkamaniacs!”

Hogan’s impressive physique is the stuff of legend but so also was the unmatched charisma and so we overlooked the fact that our favourite superstar could not wrestle out of a box or that the ‘Hulkster’s’ matches never went beyond 10 minutes. A typical Hulk Hogan match was no wrestling clinic (if one wanted art in the WWF in those days, there was more to be witnessed in matches featuring the Hart Foundation, {especially Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart} the British Bulldogs {particularly the Dynamite Kid Tom Billington although Davey Boy Smith got better with time}, Curt Henning also known as Mr Perfect, the Macho Man Randy Savage, Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steam Boat, Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts, the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibease, Ravishing Rick Rude, the Rockers, Ole Anderson and Harley Race). Usually, Hogan’s matches showcased the ‘Hulkster’ getting beaten for over 80% of the entire duration and suddenly ‘hulking up’ (that part of the match where the other wrestler’s punches and kicks elicited no pain). Our 6 foot 8 tanned blonde would then throw a couple of punches, followed by an Irish whip, a big boot and the worst finisher ever created; the leg drop. There were no dropkicks, no submission holds (Hogan did apply a reverse chin lock on the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 6) or mat skills; the ‘Hulkster’s’ matches went beyond those basic requirements. Hogan simply made us believe in ourselves by rising from the ashes to win matches against much bigger opponents. Hulkamania connected with the crowd like no other and when Andre the Giant (another all-time great) got body-slammed at Wrestlemania 3, an already wild fire simply got wilder. Hogan became an institution, a monument and the bearer of the Pro-wrestling torch. This was despite the fact that Hogan’s fans knew their hero was not the best of wrestlers. Hulkamania’s sheer pulling power outweighed all that.

The Immortal one’s popularity spanned 2 hot decades and when age set in and mobility naturally got affected, it was time to leave Vince McMahon’s WWF for Ted Turner’s WCW. Even at that, Hogan still possessed enough magnetism and stardust to push WCW ahead of the WWF. When the WCW collapsed and was swallowed by Vince McMahon’s WWE (the World Wild Life Fund had by then legally acquired the WWF name), Hulk Hogan returned to a different wrestling world but still showed at Wrestlemania 18 (at the age of 49) against the Rock, that the ‘Hulkster’ could draw the fans.

Hulkamania’s star-power was simply too much to fade and after a long over-due induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and a couple of new gimmicks (like the Mr America programme), it was was expected that the Hulkster would be some sort of wrestling ‘Babe Ruth’, who would work backstage, wrestle once in a while, make a pile of money for Vince, ignite the crowd and fulfil the wishes of young fans (and younger Wrestlers like Edge whose dream it was to work with Hulk Hogan). Between 2005 and 2015, the bond between Hogan and the WWE would be severed and re-established on a number of occasions, even leading to the ‘Hulkster’ taking part in the only other credible promotion to rival the WWE, the TNA (Total Non-stop Action Wrestling). Hogan’s fanbase was a racial melting pot. Surely, no other wrestler had ever been so universally supported so what could possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately for Hogan, things went wrong very fast.

The first was the sextape. Now do not get me wrong, celebrity sextapes are two for a penny these days, no thanks to the rather vigorous efforts of Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Still, it was strange to have Hulk Hogan and sextape mentioned in the same sentence. Hogan had earlier courted TV popularity with the family in tow; Linda and kids, Brooke and Nick in the series ‘Hogan knows best’. Nick in particular had been involved in a tragic accident that had left a friend on permanent life support so Hogan was no stranger to the celebrity disease in Hollywood. Obviously, the sextape incident was a tough one to swallow for crushed fans who simply could not relate to this side of Hogan. Still, even if they were uneasy about it, they would have gladly bestowed forgiveness upon their hero. Afterall, it was meant to be a private tape which was maliciously released by Gawker Media, a company against whom Hogan recently secured a $115 million verdict for releasing the tape.We all own our private lives and would do whatever we want in private.

As the great Professor Akin Oyebode said while we were in class one day:

‘The law should have nothing to do with what a man does in his bedroom’.

Let us rephrase that to read:

‘The society should have nothing to do with what a man does in his bedroom’.

People would have gotten over this other side of Hogan which was not meant for prying eyes but Hogan’s problem was not the sextape, it had more to do with the words uttered in it. In the tape, Hogan seemed particularly distraught by the fact that Brooke was dating a black man,’ a ‘f&*king ni&&er’ as the ‘Hulkster’ so emphatically put it. The differences between a talented black man (or ‘ni&&er’) and a ‘no-talent’ black man like the one Brooke was seeing were carefully explained. In short, Hogan sounded like a bigot; like a caveman from an era far removed from ours; one where people sang ‘Eeny, meeny, miney, mo, catch a ni&&er by the toe…’ (Yes, one of the most popular rhymes has a racist version) and acquired hunting licenses just so they could participate in ‘Ni&&erHunting Season’.

In the first place, making a racist comment, whether in public or private is not to be advised. What Hogan did was very wrong. One should however not be too quick to slate the man for doing what a lot of us do in private. The only problem here is that the ‘Hulkster’ was caught doing it. I mean let us face it, how many of us do not display some form of racial, ethnic and religious prejudice in private even if we do not try to force our friends and family members to do the same? How many Christians do not refer to Muslims as terrorists and how many Muslims do not refer to Christians as infidels? There are individuals who flood an establishment with their ‘people’ as soon as they gain a foothold. Let us analyze an imaginary white CEO. Do non-whites (Africans, African-Americans and Asians) have the same opportunities as whites in the company or do they have to work twice as hard? What about women? Do they even stand a chance in the Firm? What about South Americans? Can they really trust that ‘Gr%ngo’?. To some of them, calling a black man ‘n*gro’ is a way of life. Just ask Luis Suarez. There are racist groups (both black and white) who forbid any form of interaction (especially those of the sexual kind) with other races. The skin-heads in Russia? Hitler’s Nazi Party and their Aryan values? There are even rumours of entire families who inter-marry because they do not want their ‘gene-pool’ polluted! What about Royal families who forbid marriage to commoners just to protect their blue blood?

During a Psychology course which was an elective subject in my 2nd year, the focus was on prejudice. Here, the then Dr. S.O Adebayo (now Professor) analysed four types of people; the unprejudiced non-discriminator, the prejudiced non-discriminator, the unprejudiced discriminator and the prejudiced discriminator. We will use the four headings and then embellish with a basic understanding of the categorization.

In the first category, the subject has nothing against people of a particular class, race, religion or ethnic group. The individual does not bother them and may even resist any attempts at discrimination by others. Subject is a citizen of the world who is not influenced by race, ethnicity or religion and encourages family and friends to emulate such unprecedented behaviour. You do not need to legally force this individual to eschew prejudice; subject is naturally unprejudiced and represents the very pinnacle of human existence. Naturally, this person is very rare to find and is probably in heaven or somewhere. It is unknown if such a person has ever existed on planet earth.

In the second category, the subject hates people of a particular race, religion or ethnic group but does well to hide this. Subject would rather avoid these people. An example is where a prejudiced Christian is forced to work in an environment full of Muslims. The Christian cannot influence other people and turn them against these individuals because such a move will backfire. If you were to have a conversation with this individual however, you would be really scared of the infinite depths of impotent morbid passion. Subject is a seething bigot; a caged animal. This person wants nothing more than an opportunity to take a bite out of the source of aggravation. How lucky for them that the subject is kept in check by law and civilisation and can do nothing while the prejudicial fire burns brightly within.

In the third category, the subject has nothing substantial against people of a particular class, race, ethnic group or religion. Subject however discriminates against them at every turn, not out of desire but out of necessity. An example is where an individual of igbo extraction has nothing against Yorubas but is forced to discriminate against them because other igbos will manhandle any igbo who assists a Yoruba. The events described could also be vice-versa. It could be a Caucasian who is forced to discriminate against black people because of the immediate environment, or a Christian forced to deny assistance to a Muslim because Christians are not allowed to help Muslims in that environment. Either way, this subject inflicts a lot of pain on people of that particular class, race, ethnic group or religion although the pain is not intended. The individual is like a government paid executioner who kills condemned prisoners; the executioner has nothing against the prisoners but executes them because society requires commands it.

In the final category, the subject is the result of ‘prejudice’ meeting ‘opportunity’. Here, the already present prejudice against a particular class, race, religion or ethnic group is given room to thrive. Such opportunity could be through political office, the pulpit or unlimited finance. It could even come through parentage or corporate ownership. Whatever the source might be, the subject is in a position to give vent to prejudiced spleen. It is like a Bull let loose in the China shop; or a fox with fire on its tail let loose in the vine. It is like setting the cat among the pigeons; all hell will be let loose! A leader of a country (like Adolf Hitler) uses the opportunity to exterminate people perceived as lesser humans. The newly appointed CEO of a company uses this opportunity to get rid of all Hausa/Fulaniindividuals in the company or simply discriminates against them until they leave. Another CEO might want to pick workers only from Ivy League Universities. Workers who do not meet these requirements could be constructively eased out. A Chief of Army Staff places an embargo on the recruitment of soldiers of a particular faith while the new African-American head of a multi-national company decides to stop appointing ‘whites’ because more ‘blacks’ are needed. A particular leader forbids women from driving! Parents prevent their children from marrying from a particular class, religion, ethnic group or race. Such people go out of their way to ensure that their prejudice is given life. They form and fund ethnic, religious or racial groups or militias and make life unbearable for their targets. It is like planting seeds in fertilized loamy soil; the results are fruitful! A fine example is Donald Trump who has championed a ‘shut-out’ of Muslims from America until the ISIS mess is sorted out. ‘The Donald’ obviously feels there are too many Mexicans in America. Apparently, in the mind of ‘The Donald’, Mexicans strut around with their entire families, blowing Mexican horns, eating burritos and chasing Chihuahuas. Somehow, that is supposed to constitute a security risk. I will leave you to guess what he said about Nigerians.

Hulk Hogan belongs to the second category. He is a closet bigot whose inadequacies were well hidden from the public until the sextape was released. He has racist views but does not have the opportunity to cause any physical, financial or emotional harm.

I visit a lot of websites, both foreign and local and trust me when I tell you, there is a hint of bigotry in every one of us (obviously more pronounced in some than in others) and only God knows what some of us say or do in private. Only God knows what category we belong to and what atrocities we have committed but I assure you, some people are seriously sick and need urgent help. We have people who were simply brought up that way; they were born into racist families and learned ‘hate’ in front of a camp fire at the feet of their parents. Others learned to hate and abuse women while guzzling through cans of beer (6 packs) with their fathers in front of the TV (watching Monday Night football). There are men who see women and only picture their Lady parts! In this age where we have women Presidents and Chancellors and might even have a woman as the world’s most powerful leader, there are some men who still believe a woman’s legs are only meant to take her to the kitchen and the bedroom! Contrary to popular belief, these men are not in some backwater African or Asian country, there are in advanced countries you do not even want to begin to guess!

While we contemplate our guilt and recount the number of times our prejudice has gotten the better of us, it is advised that we consider the fact that there are a lot of people much worse than Hulk Hogan around. They exhibit what this writer would like to call active manipulative prejudice. You see them everyday in churches, mosques, the civil service, multi-national companies, your profession, your families, on the TV screen, your place of work, etc. Some of them are Presidents, some are all powerful CEOs, some are Presidential candidates who seem to have problems with Mexicans and Africans and yes, some are filthily rich. Black footballers get called all sorts of names in Spain and Italy. Some have even had bananas thrown at them. Asians, particularly Chinese and Japanese, are the butt end of some unpalatable jokes (racial and ethnic). What have we done about these incidents? Nothing!

So while one would condemn Hogan for expressing inner thoughts in such colourful terms, such would only be done subtly because the good book says; ‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’. There is no evidence to suggest that efforts were made to further propagate these private views. As a matter of fact, Hogan sounded helpless in the video; like nothing could be done about the fact that Brooke was dating a black man. Some of us can live with that. You know why? Because a lot of black men also have such private racist views about whites. And if you think about the ‘N’ word, the blacks too have the ‘H’ word!

As long as they stay in the closet and keep their bigotry private, we should not have an issue with ‘the Hulk Hogans’. As a matter of fact, when you get right down to it, friends and neighbours, we are just fine with them. Let the harmless closet bigots continue to sulk and watch their outdated views fade away. That is okay as long as their views remain private and they do not try and force others to think and act like them.

It is suggested that we leave Hogan alone and worry more about the brazen rabble-rousers among us who have the capacity to cause World War III if unchecked.

We could also engage in other more fruitful ventures; like an experiment for instance!

The experiment is simple.

If you have never harboured any form of prejudice (no matter how subtle) in your heart, please indicate! For the sake of clarity we mean prejudice (even if subtle) against someone due to class, sex, age, religion, race, health, political views, appearance, nationality or ethnicity!

Ha! Just like I thought. You ‘bottled' it.

We are all pretenders anyway.

"Pretense" is our natural instinct for self preservation it makes us to rather stick with the "known" than with the "unknown".

During my last visit to the U.K., I noticed the invisible but obvious dividing line between races when one walks into a store.
The "whites" seemed to be very cautious about the statements/actions they directed towards me as a black man and vice versa.

My host however, was oblivious to this dividing line. He would walk into a store smile towards the clerks, engage in conversation
with them and he would within a few minutes bring out a warm friendly disposition out of the normally reserved Brits.
My friend's actions might not end racism, but I noticed they eliminated the very basic prejudice I had formed in my mind over the years.

Wow!! Such a long, exhausting, but enlightening post.

Thanks OP..... this is frontpage material right here!!!!