Is Hulk Hogan A Racist?

A few months back, I was working on a little project that psychologically analyzed certain individuals involved in pro wrestling. Now, I should say, none of my analysis could be considered anything near an actual medical diagnosis of any of these people. I'm not a doctor, just someone who was interested in doing some research. Over on the Wrestlecrap forum, I published my first test subject, Vince McMahon, and then asked if anyone was interested in seeing me continue the series and if so, with whom?

The overwhelming suggestion I got was to analyze the mind of Hulk Hogan. Now, personal life interfered before I could finish my subject analysis, but I'd like to put a little bit of it down here now, especially with the recent tapes that have Hulk dropping the n-word like it was going out of style.

I should say that I was born in 1988 and started watching wrestling in 1990 as a toddler. I've practically been raised on it. My memories begin just at the tail end of Hulkamania. Hogan was a heroic character in my young eyes, akin to a superhero. How could he have ever done anything wrong? Of course, I didn't know much about the allegations of steroid abuse or anything like that which was going on at the time? How could I? I was only a little kid with no knowledge of any of this or even what steroids were. 

In the course of watching him over the years, however, I can clearly analyze his behavior in a more adult fashion. Some of it has been truly bizarre. Hogan is a carny, just like most of the people who came into his profession at that time are. But his statements are so blatantly false, they went into parody, such as body slamming Andre the Giant, who just happened to way about 900lbs at the time and then Andre died a week later.

Now, we know that Hulk has had his troubles over the years because of his mouth, but he's also clearly afflicted with depression, especially considering the damaging relationship he has with his family. There was a period where he says he contemplated suicide, which if true, would be another tragic ending of another pro wrestler's life. Luckily, things seemed on the upswing... Until this past week.

Now, I'm not going to spend a long time talking about the tape. Hogan even said himself, "Everyone's a little bit racist", echoing the song from Avenue Q. Now, he probably was upset and most likely a little drunk. He was rightly, I feel, fired from WWE after this became public. After all, the company really can't allow itself to be associated with those sorts of public comments.

But is Hulk Hogan really a racist? My gut feeling tells me that he most likely isn't a racist in the sense that he is some sort of Klan-inspired white supremacist who is loose with the n word. Keep in mind, there are plenty of wrestlers who are well documented racists. I'm not going to go into the list of them, you can look them up yourselves. Is Hulk Hogan in that company? I honestly don't believe so.

Do I feel he was rightly punished? Yes, I think so. However, the damage he'll take from this will follow him for the rest of his life. The best thing he could do is admit it and say "I messed up". I think people can be a lot more willing to forgive if he comes forward and says this. Without that kind of admission, Hulk Hogan as he was once will never be again. He can never be that superhero character when you watch his old matches or appearances. I think that is the biggest tragedy of all.