The poison is still there. The word is inextricably linked with violence and brutality on Black psyches and derogatory aspersions cast on Black bodies. No degree of appropriating can rid it of that bloodsoaked history. If you could keep the word within the context of the intimate environment [among friends], then I can see that you could potentially own the word and control it.
People like to talk about it in terms of public and private uses. We also cannot pretend that there is not a double standard—that Blacks can say it without much social consequence but whites cannot. There are certain things that I would never say. In my relationship with my wife, who is not African American, I would never imagine her using that word, no matter how angry she was with me.
The class sessions often become confessionals because white students often admit details about their intimate social circles I would never be privy to otherwise. Much of the commercial hip-hop culture by Black males uses the n-word as a staple.
White youths, statistically the largest consumers of hip-hop, then feel that they can use the word among themselves with Black and white peers. And if Blacks and whites are together and a white person uses the word, many Blacks are ready to fight. So this word comes laden with these complicated and contradictory emotional responses to it. You might want to get somebody from the outside who is African American to be a central part of any discussion—an administrator, a parent, a pastor or other professional with some credibility and authority.
Every white teacher out there needs to know some Black people. Or, how do we approach it as a team? How can we build a team of collaboration so that we all accept the responsibility of educating ourselves and our youths about the power of words to heal or to harm?
Martin Luther King Jr. Look at some of the placards [held by white people at s civil rights] protests and see if some of them have been airbrushed or the messages sanitized. That election was more than 50 years ago - but the word is still used in that derogatory way today. In , Labour MP Diane Abbott revealed how she is repeatedly called the word by racists who target her with abuse through email and social media.
In , the words "no blacks" and a version of the N-word was scrawled on the home of the Kasese family hours after they moved into a new neighbourhood in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. In June this year, black families in Essex say they were sent racist letters containing the word - which also included threats to kill. NHS worker and musician K-Dogg claims it was the word that was shouted at him when he was hit by a car in an alleged racist attack in July. In , some BBC viewers complained when an episode from Fawlty Towers was edited to remove a line that contained the word - saying it was the "airbrushing of history".
In , a Radio 1 Newsbeat survey of 3, to year-olds suggested more than a quarter of people thought it was acceptable to be used in some circumstances. In July this year, the name of the Dambusters' dog was removed from its gravestone as RAF Scampton "did not want to give prominence to an offensive term".
More than 3, people signed a petition calling for it to be put back , with some arguing it was a "disgraceful decision" and the dog was "a part of history". The issue of using the word was brought up by BBC London presenter Eddie Nestor on his show in August and there were a lot of different views.
Caller Mark said discussions around the use of it had become "over-sensitised. Caller Shaun said the word has been "demonised", adding: "If you walked up and slapped me in the face I'd be offended, if you call me any name under the sun I'd just rise above it and walk on. It's just a word, it doesn't hurt. Questions that always get asked when the word comes up are "Why do some black people still use it?
It makes me think back to one of my favourite comedy films, Rush Hour, and Chris Tucker's character - who is black - uses it to greet his black friend saying, "What's up my [N-word]? Then a few minutes later, Jackie Chan's character copies him and says it to a black person and it starts a huge fight.
You'll also hear the word in songs by black US rappers and in UK grime music. I came across a letter posted on Twitter written by race expert Dr Jacqui Stanford about the use of the word. She said historically black enslaved people created a language for themselves, "often using the framework and actual words of their enslavers". I spoke to Dr Stanford about this further and she said the word was a "complex term" and she "doesn't necessarily reject it". During our chat she used the full word and every time I heard it I could just feel my body tensing up.
As Christopher Darden , the prosecutor in O. At the University of Connecticut, two white students were arrested Oct. The two students were arrested for violating the student code of conduct and charged with ridicule on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race.
The First Amendment allows freedom of speech, so by law, people can say whatever they want. They can scream insults and hold up signs with nasty slurs, but make no mistake, these actions are not okay.
Acting like a racist expressivist might be protected by law, but it is never going to be morally acceptable, and the consequences will be unpleasant.
Out of respect for an entire race, avoiding the use of a vile, degrading word in any sort of context should come easy. White people will never look cool or have the same intentions when saying it. The racial majority does not have the same experiences as black people and never will.
In fact, no other race will. To be absolutely clear, hearing black people use the n-word does not make it okay for anyone and everyone to use it.
Or avoid writing it more than necessary, as in this very essay. Perhaps even the weird word niggardly ought to be let go. Accidentally, it just sounds too much like that other word to pass muster, especially when synonyms like stingy are so readily available. Those who use it should not be made to feel unfit for employment, as has actually happened.
But it ought to be retired; in the same way, a German immigrant to America named Fahrt would discreetly change the name with all deliberate speed. Read: Can educators ever teach the N-word? And I am under no illusion that this is merely a matter of a certain kind of white performative wokeness. Quite a few black people, including authors of whole books on the word, would agree that Sheck should never utter that word at all for any reason. We might ask, though, what the reason for a diktat like that is.
It conveys, certainly, a kind of power. Inevitably, here and there a nonblack person will either use the word in an unsanctioned way or, just as often, be revealed to have done so in the past.
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