The eNd of the N-word.
A middle-aged, middle-class white guy may not have a lot to add to any discussion of the campaigns afoot in various municipalities to try to get folks to stop using the n-word. But I have been thinking about it:
* I grew up in home where the n-word was the word of choice to describe African Americans. It always seemed ugly to me and I never used it.
* Lenny Bruce used to open his shows sometimes with the line "How many n****** do we have here tonight?'' and would say the word (along with other slurs) over and over again until they became nonsense syllables, useless and pointless. Which was, of course, his point.
* But it's not the repetition to the point of absurdity that stings. The single use of the word can drop like a bomb. In one of his concert films, Richard Pryor explained why he stopped using the word. He said, in essence, that if he was in an argument with someone and the other person called him that, his first thought was "Great. Now I have to work up to being a human being again...''
* Language is all about history and context. "Huckleberry Finn'' does not cease to be a great work of art simply because one of the main characters is called "N***** Jim,'' particularly when you consider that Jim is the most loyal, compassionate and noble character in the book. By the same token, rap songs don't rise to the level of fine art simply because some form of the word is used liberally. But, and it's important to remember, meaning comes from context and if the word is used among some members of the African-American community in a way divorced from the historical context, who's to say that's not a way of shoveling dirt on its etymological grave?
* I always get nervous when the power of the state is used to take even baby steps to police language. Sometimes all you do is drive the hateful speech down in the throat and the mind with the result that it comes back stronger and uglier.
* It's the human heart that changes the way we say things, and moral suasion, if it is required at all, is best felt in the home and on the street.
* I grew up in home where the n-word was the word of choice to describe African Americans. It always seemed ugly to me and I never used it.
* Lenny Bruce used to open his shows sometimes with the line "How many n****** do we have here tonight?'' and would say the word (along with other slurs) over and over again until they became nonsense syllables, useless and pointless. Which was, of course, his point.
* But it's not the repetition to the point of absurdity that stings. The single use of the word can drop like a bomb. In one of his concert films, Richard Pryor explained why he stopped using the word. He said, in essence, that if he was in an argument with someone and the other person called him that, his first thought was "Great. Now I have to work up to being a human being again...''
* Language is all about history and context. "Huckleberry Finn'' does not cease to be a great work of art simply because one of the main characters is called "N***** Jim,'' particularly when you consider that Jim is the most loyal, compassionate and noble character in the book. By the same token, rap songs don't rise to the level of fine art simply because some form of the word is used liberally. But, and it's important to remember, meaning comes from context and if the word is used among some members of the African-American community in a way divorced from the historical context, who's to say that's not a way of shoveling dirt on its etymological grave?
* I always get nervous when the power of the state is used to take even baby steps to police language. Sometimes all you do is drive the hateful speech down in the throat and the mind with the result that it comes back stronger and uglier.
* It's the human heart that changes the way we say things, and moral suasion, if it is required at all, is best felt in the home and on the street.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:52 AM
1 Comments:
I think African-Americans use double-standard when legitimizing its use amongst themselves as a culturally accepted practice but expect other races not to say it (in any context)..are caucasians up in arms when they call them crackers/white ass, etc...racial slurs should not be used in any context..I find it just as offensive when Blacks address each other "Hey, n******"..but I also believe in free speech..can't legislate ethics/morality..that is taught and followed by one's conscious choice..
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