And with that gesture, racism gasps its final breath. Sorry, banning words you don’t approve of is infantile at best and fascist at its worst. Forbidding the use of a word usually only gives it more power. Besides, racism is a complex cultural and historical issue that goes far beyond a two syllable word.
The City Council Wednesday approved a resolution urging New Yorkers to stop using the N-word, joining a nationwide movement seeking to reject the notion that the racial slur can be redefined and reclaimed.
The symbolic ban, which carries no legal weight, was approved 49-0.
Chief sponsor Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens), said that especially during Black History Month, it was important to discuss “the real history, the problems, and the embarrassment or hurt and pain that people feel when they hear this word misused and abused.”
Comments
8 Comments so far. Leave a comment below.When I was in college, in the late ’70’s, my female friends and I made a pact to stop referring to our fellow brothers in this way. It was all too prevalent in the speech of sisters complaining about what Black man did this and that. We kept the pact, and I dare say, our attitudes have improved for the better over the years. I wish all Black people can make and stick to such a pact. That way, if and when it is used, the user looks small in comparison…
I don’t like the “n-word” and don’t use it. However, I’m concerned that it has risen to the status of the strongest, most insulting word ever uttered. The “n-word” is more taboo than the “f-word”. But why is it so special? If it’s so terribly offensive, why don’t we also ban the use of the “wb-word”, the “r-word”, the “s-word” and the “c-word”. Oh, don’t know what those are? I’m not surprised, because they don’t have the same status as the “n-word”. They are “wetback”, “redneck”, “spic” (sp?), “chink”, respectively, and there are many more than that.
The one that’s the most disturbing to me, is “redneck”. We all love to joke about “rednecks”. Why isn’t that more offensive enough to ban it? Some would argue it’s because low-wage white people love to call themselves that. But black rap stars repeatedly call themselves and each other “niggas”. Why the double-standard?
Both interesting points. I wonder if ‘redneck’ seems to fall into a different category because it’s not solely based on race (all rednecks are whites, but not all whites are rednecks), whereas the other terms blanket every member of the races, regardless of socio-economic status or education. In Canada, redneck is applied more on the basis of political and social beliefs than on rusticness, education or income level; Alberta is full of rich rednecks.
It seems to me the term is following the same progress as boor; moving from boer meaning farmer to boor meaning uncouth oaf.
I hate symbolic legislation. Surely NYC has some more pressing problems that the council could address.
What’s even more craven is that exactly WHICH “N word” under disucssion is not defined in the resolution. It’s only referred to obliquely by its etymology and historical usage.
The only “N” words I found in the text that matched the description were “negro” and “nigga.” Which of those two do they hope to abolish? I guess New Yorkers should just play it safe and say “nigger.”
Why do you need a Black Month in the USA? Is it because the minority race of the world (white people) are the people responsible for the the majority of all inventions and science?
“The symbolic ban, which carries no legal weight, was approved 49-0.”
And so a thousand lawyers snapped their fingers and snarled, “Curses! Foiled again!”
Redneck, cracker, white trash, nigger, porch-monkey, kike, hook-nose, red sea pedestrian, fag, shitbox truffle-hunter, carpet-muncher, jesusfreak, crusifix-junkie, heaten, kaffir, atheist, unbeliever, apostate — they’re just words, and phrases.
To ban words in a dictionary makes no more sense than banning letters in the alphabet. It’s the context in which they are used, that matters. Mel Gibson and Brooks have both expressed anti-Semitic sentiments, but their messages were pretty damn different.
I think the word “Blasphemy” is horrible, when used in the original context of religion (ie., any criticism of our faith is wrong, illegal, and evil), but if a Mac user says that Windows ain’t that bad, it’s intentionally funny when another Mac user accuses her of blasphemy.
Yeah; symbolic legislations — we hates it!
@ randpost: Actually there were loads of Black inventors (e.g. the bloke who invented traffic lights) but no-one remembers them.
I don’t think there’s any point banning the N-word, as it will only encourage people to use it (as a backlash against political correctness). I think it’s more effective to use social pressure to get people to be more respectful to each other.