The Dog and The Rat

I come from social/familial circles that tend to embed a lot of non-PC language into you. When something is messed up, we say, "That's gay." When one of the guys is being prissy, we tell him to "stop being a f*g."

My family, more so than my friends, are apt to throw around the n-word. For the most part, we have had friendships with black people. My mother's dearest friend at work was black, and throughout high school my two constant companions were black Haitians. My current pack of buddies includes a Hispanic and an Asian, and we keep joking that we have to get a black friend who likes HALO.

However, we have all dealt with the public enough to have experienced a particular form of cultural ignorance, not at all exclusive to one race, that seems to deserve no other term than the n-word. The separation of the n-word from race is described by Chris Rock in his "I love black people, but I hate (n-words)."

Al Sharpton = N-word

Thomas Sowell = Not an n-word

Chris Rock specifies that white people still aren't allowed to use the word, but, honestly, being told you can't do something just makes it all the more appealing. The attempt to culturally censor whites is even more rankling coming from blacks, not because of any racial animosity, but because our culture basically lets blacks say ANYTHING.

Blacks can say the most vile things about any racial or cultural group and are not at all held to task for it. Virulently racist blacks are often held up as "community leaders," and it feels like black supremacist ideology gets you a lot of "street cred."

Never once in my adult life have I been asked to moderate my language when cursing up a blue fit (which I try not to do often), but I'm supposed to avoid this one word because I might hurt some grown human being's feelings? If you've ever read my blog, you'll see that I don't typically worry about that sort of thing. ;)

Green Faerie-
I have just read a lot of your blog and see that you wrote about the Gathering of Eagles in March. Did you go? I did. Stop by my blog and also, the old one to see my Eagles Reports.
http://neestake.townhall.com/default.aspx

No, I didn't go. I live on the other side of the country now but good for you for standing up to the professional protesters.

Well, there's not being politically-correct and there's using terms you're aware are deeply offensive. I realize it's like swearing; it's a habit and it takes effort to unlearn a habit.

But I look at it this way. No matter how cozy I may be with Hispanic people (I'm of Hispanic origin myself), I'd never call anyone--even if he or she is a terrible person--a beaner or a Spic. Ditto for gays, Jews, blacks, Asians, or heck, even WASPs who in some way, shape, or form are rotten people. For instance, "Rev." Sharpton is a huckster, a demagogue, a conman, a shakedown artist, and one of the worst examples of what black America has to offer. But to call him the dreaded n-word is attacking only one thing...not his character, but his race.

Now I'll concur that the double-standard on racial slurs is unfair and based on the fallacy that minorities are either incapable of racism or somehow entitled to racism because they have no power within our society. (Though ex-Gray's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington certainly did not get way with what he said.)

However, making racial slurs part of your everyday vocabulary doesn't reflect well on you. Try to excise them :).

Using the n-word is crude and generally inappropriate, much like swearing. I do not contest this in the slightest, nor do I disagree that, like all crudeness, I should make an effort to remove it from my vocabulary. It is certainly not my intention to contribute to the coursening of the language.

Whereas I fully embrace the argument that the word is crude, I reject the larger cultural criticism that my whiteness renders me unsuitable to use what language I please. The terrible irony of Chris Rock's "I love black people, but I hate (n-words)" comedy routine is that it redefines the word outside its use as a racial slur to encompass a cultural problem that is recognized by all races living in the United States. This definition has been reinforced in Aaron McGruder's "Boondocks" comic strip (in which a moment of ignorance bordering on insanity is called a "*n-word* moment") and other black media.

The admonition for non-blacks to stop using an anti-black racial slur has become dangerously close to an injunction against non-blacks acknowledging cultural deficiencies that have been closely associated with (but again, are not limited to) the black community.

In my mind, it is less offensive to call white rapper Eminem an n-word than it is to accuse him of "acting black." Ignorance is not a function of skin color. I, also being "cozy" with some hispanics, have rarely if ever felt the need to use a racially insensitive term towards them. To my knowledge, there has been no redefining of these terms among American hispanics or accompanying drive to monopolize the term. If anything, some hispanics seem to be trying to co-opt the n-word, as Jennifer Lopez was heavily criticized for doing.

Perhaps the focus should change from trying to eliminate the word on a racial or universal level to more publicly decrying the morally and intellectually vacuous cult of the gangsta and letting our intellectuals develop a more suitable word or phrase to describe it.

In my mind, it is less offensive to call white rapper Eminem an n-word than it is to accuse him of "acting black." Ignorance is not a function of skin color. I, also being "cozy" with some hispanics, have rarely if ever felt the need to use a racially insensitive term towards them. To my knowledge, there has been no redefining of these terms among American hispanics or accompanying drive to monopolize the term. If anything, some hispanics seem to be trying to co-opt the n-word, as Jennifer Lopez was heavily criticized for doing.

Perhaps the focus should change from trying to eliminate the word on a racial or universal level to more publicly decrying the morally and intellectually vacuous cult of the gangsta and letting our intellectuals develop a more suitable word or phrase to describe it.

Townhall farted on me... sorry for the double post.

That's okay re the double posts ;).

The Jennifer Lopez situation was interesting. I believe Jay-Z wrote the lyrics to "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" that got her into trouble. I don't know what was more bizarre, Jennifer Lopez agreeing to record the song with those lyrics or Jay-Z thinking it'll be hunky dory for Lopez to sing about "n*ggaz."

I think we can likely agree that if blacks don't like the n-word coming from whites or any other race, maybe they need to stop saying it themselves.