@briansol,
briansol;41838 wrote:now you're flip-flopping.
10 posts ago it was ok for black people to use it because they own it.
now you're saying its not ok for anyone to use it....
I am not flip-flopping....black people are the only people who can use the word. period...and get away with using it...for the reasons I mentioned before.
Al Sharpton, Paul Mooney, and Eric Michael Dyson, are but a few who are advocating blacks as well as whites, to stop using the word. period.
It's an ugly word.
Cornel West Vs. Michael Eric Dyson: N-Word Debate Resurfaces
The NAACP "buried" it. New York City banned it. But the N-word continues to resurface in ongoing debates, this time pitting two noted black scholars on opposite ends of the contentious debate.
Princeton's Cornel West and Georgetown University's Michael Eric Dyson deliberate on the place of the N-word in American culture, and whether you can truly bury words, on West's second hip-hop CD "Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations."
"You see, we need a renaissance of self-respect, a renewal of self-regard. And the term itself has been associated with such abuse," West said in an interview. "It associates black people with being inferior, subhuman and subordinate. So we ought to have a moratorium on the term. We ought not to use the term at all."
West teaches religion and African-American studies at Princeton.
In a recent interview with Diverse Issues in Higher Education, West said he wanted the CD to help "the older generation raise their voices and listen to the younger generation so that there can be an internal dialogue between the two generations."
But during a recent radio interview, Dyson has argued that words, particularly those with a dishonorable history like the N-word, refuse to be buried for long.
"I think the Holy Ghost of rhetorical fire will insist that the N-word not be buried. I don't think you can bury words," Dyson said. "I think the more you try to dismiss them, the more power you give to them, the more circulation they have. I think that there are many more issues that the NAACP should be focused on: structural inequality, social injustice, this war in Iraq, the imperial presidency, which has subverted the democracy of the country."
From Michael Richards' tirade to Don Imus' "nappy-head hos" comment, the use of socially unacceptable language has come under increasing scrutiny the last several months. Rappers who have used the word liberally on their recordings have come under criticism as the subject prompted DiversityInc readers to speak out.
Whether the word will ever permanently be banished from the public lexicon remains to be seen, but there's a groundswell of support urging its abolition. Students at the historically black Bowie State University banished the word from two dorms and charges those who use it with fines. The publisher of Ebony and Jet ordered writers late last year to stop using the word. The town of Brazoria, Texas, tried unsuccessfully to pass an ordinance leveling $500 fines for uttering the word.
How a Second Year Teacher Lives: “The N word is fraught with such enormous pain.” –Eric Michael Dyson
Saturday, May 19, 2007
“The N word is fraught with such enormous pain.” –Eric Michael Dyson
The quote in the title of the post is my inspiration for my writing today . . .I heard it on a news program this morning.
Last year, I had the great opportunity to teach contemporary issues. I think I will be teaching this course again for the 2nd semester following African American history. I am excited by this prospect; I have wanted to address the N word with my classes for soooo long. When I first taught CI, I addressed it briefly, not a lot of discussion; however, I am planning to seriously address this issue as apart of this course next year.
Why?
At the beginning of the year, I tell the kids my pet peeves—this is apart of my procedure, so as to let them know what will set me off & rub me the wrong way. They learn them and can quote them on command. The one thing that they are forbidden to do is use the N word. In a school that is 90% African American, this word is used all day by Black students toward other Black students. I never worry about my White students using the word— they just seem to know better—besides, in the mighty South, it could possibly end in a race fight. My African American students use the word so flippantly. Instead of saying, “whats up, hommie” or “hey, man,” they say things like “what’s up my N” or “that’s my N.” For them, it’s a term of endearment. For me, I can’t stand it. I flinch every single time I hear the word. No one can use this word.
I come back to Eric Michael Dyson’s quote; this word is hateful & painful. It is what we as African Americans have fought against for years. Civil Rights activists were murders, beaten and discriminated against—the perpetrators ALL used this word. This word was used jeeringly at public lynchings. It WAS NOT used affectionately. And it IS NOT affectionate. I don’t understand how this word can be RE-DEFINED, when it has a racial stigma still attached to it. There is no way this term could be endearing. In my opinion, saying it is endearing or affectionate is absurd. When we use this word over and over again and allow the world to see it, we proclaim that we are “happy little darkies.” I am not and never will be a “happy little darky.”
The media and poor urban communities are sometimes more effective teachers than I am. I am hoping that I can reprogram or undo some of the damage that these outlets have done. I am hoping that if I show them the original motivation and intent of this word, they will eliminate or minimize their use of the word. I don’t think I can expect miracles, but my sincere prayer is that students will evaluate their use of this disgusting word. . .
For more info on stopping societal use of the N word, check out this site.
Abolish The "N" Word
Perhaps, this may answer your question about the word....STOP USING IT!
