#(I was even thinking of recording my own version where I amend the dialogue to include light explanations like this) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

transgressivelinguistics · 7 years

Text

The N Word

“Nigger” Warning: This is not an article about removing the word “nigger” from our discourse, however advisable and consensus-driven that idea might be. This is an article about removing our reactions to the word “nigger” from our discourse.

The purpose of this article is not to encourage anyone to intentionally hurt anyone for any reason; it’s to make readers think about how we use language, and what it means to be offended.

Because I specifically avoided cowardly constructions such as “the N word” or “that word”, you’re going to see a lot of “nigger” here. If you have strong feelings against seeing the word “nigger” in print, you are respectfully advised to avoid both this article and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

1. Censorship of any kind is anti-democratic.

The First Amendment in the United States protects anyone’s right to say anything because free expression is essential for human freedom, and it doesn’t cause any real-world damage. The word "nigger" doesn't cause any real-world damage. For a certain sort of counter-cultural person, or an internet troll, the taboo nature of “nigger” may even increase the chance of usage; either to shock or annoy in the case of the latter, or to demonstrate the fragility and stupidity of a general consensus in the case of the former.

This is from Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary (2001):

nig.ger n (taboo) 1 a highly offensive term for a Black person 2 a highly offensive term for a dark-skinned person [late 17C. Alteration of NEGRO]

CORRECT USAGE This term is arguably the single most offensive racist slur in the English language. The fact that African Americans and other people of colour sometimes use the word in reference to themselves (sometimes as nigga) does not excuse its present day use by members of other ethnic groups. White students may be accustomed to hearing it in its pop culture context. They should avoid using it, even in fictional dialogue. Those who persist in using it should remember that their use of the word reflects directly on them, the users. The terms of choice are African American, Black person, and person of colour.

Conversely, in a characteristic effort to cover every angle, the Oxford English Dictionary records examples of the word as used: by people who are not black as a relatively neutral (or occasionally positive) term; by people who are not black as a hostile term of abuse or contempt; by black people (esp. African Americans) as a neutral or favorable term; and by black people (esp. African Americans) as a deprecatory term.

Nearly all modern dictionaries make the distinction between being prescriptive and being descriptive. The modern understanding of the purpose of a dictionary is that they are essentially descriptive, that is, they catalogue examples of spelling and usage. It is a point of pride for dictionary editors that their books are not prescriptive, that is, they have no interest in telling people how they “should” spell words or use them.

The fact that the quoted paragraph above is correct is irrelevant: my freedom of speech is in every sense more important than your right to be offended.

For instance, if you've ever giggled at the Muslims getting worked up over some cartoons just because they seem to have a violent reaction against depictions of Muhammad, then you have no business having any kind of opinion on anyone's use of the word "nigger".

2. It's just a word.

Yes, slavery happened. Yes, there are many issues of legacy racism which still affect black people today. Yes, it upsets many people as a function of that racism. After all that, it's still just a word, and white people who use it to describe black people are probably assholes.

However, in practice, whenever the word "nigger" causes offense, it is overwhelmingly likely that the offense is caused by the word alone. We live in a society where it's far more socially acceptable to say, "I think black people should be treated as second-class citizens," than it is to say, "I think niggers should be treated equally."

If a reader strongly disapproved of the first sentence but actively winced at the second, he must surely realize that he’s reacting to the word and not the racism which ostensibly informs the horror of the word.

To me, the thing that offends me most is every time that I hear "the N-word." Not "nigger", by the way. I mean, "the N-word," literally. Whenever a white lady with nice hair on CNN says "the N-word," that's just white people getting away with saying "nigger". That's all that is. They found a way to say "nigger": "N-word." It's bullshit, because when you say "the N-word", you put the word "nigger" in the listener's head. That's what saying a word is. You say "the N-word" and I go "Oh, she means nigger." You're making me say it in my head. Why don't you fucking say it instead and take responsibility for the shitty words you want to say.

- Louis CK, Chewed Up

If someone says you've hurt them, you don't get to decide that you didn't. While this is true, it’s nothing more than a re-framing of: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion”. It’s true, but utterly worthless. You might as well say the sky is blue and claim that it’s a contribution to a discussion.

In 1990, a Washington state high school teacher, John Foley, wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle Post calling for a ban on Huckleberry Finn, not directly because of any arguably racist content, but because “students just hear the N word”. Instead of addressing reality, or even using the students’ shock as a springboard into a useful discussion of language, racism and American history, Mr. Foley just wants the word removed from his field of vision.

In 1999, an aide to the mayor of Washington D.C. was fired because he used the perfectly appropriate word “niggardly” about a city budget, after a complaint by a presumably illiterate employee. The aide was rehired after someone consulted a dictionary.

The good news is that you can now buy a copy of Huckleberry Finn on Amazon which has all those troublesome words deleted for you by the publisher. If you’ve had enough of hipsters, you can even download a free edition, assembled as a protest, which replaces all instances of the word “nigger” with “hipster”. How long can it be before some South Park fan creates a version which replaces all the “niggers” with “people who annoy you”?

3. Empowering someone to hurt you is nonsensical.

When racists are enjoined to avoid the word “nigger” because it's abusive and hurtful, it validates them. Racists want their words to be abusive and hurtful, and compassionate attempts to stop them enable their negative ambitions. Yes, race-haters gonna race-hate, but if you get offended every time you hear racist language, you're part of the mechanism which recommended that strategy. This is not “blaming the victim”. Racists are still the assholes in this scenario, but it’s a simple fact that if people didn’t react so negatively to racist language, racists would be utterly disempowered to use any of those words.

In the absence of physical harm, or criminal activity, visiting racial abuse on someone amounts to a kind of bullying. Although movies may have given you the impression that physically standing up to bullies is a noble endeavor, experts think it’s a bad idea, and there are no official government anti-bullying programs that recommend fighting back. In fact, most anti-bullying strategies promote two main strategies: ignoring the source of unpleasantness; and leading by example.

Remember that foul words or blows in themselves are no outrage, but your judgement that they are so. So when any one makes you angry, know that it is your own thought that has angered you. Wherefore make it your endeavour not to let your impressions carry you away. For if once you gain time and delay, you will find it easier to control yourself.

- Epictetus

Like all verbal abuse and bullying, the best thing to do is ignore it. Make a decision to not get offended by it. It’s not easy, but it really is that simple. It’s not about dismissing or minimizing the abuse; it’s about taking decisions to improve your life. If I’m trying to hurt you, anything you do to register that hurt (for any reason) is a victory for me.

4. "Offensive” is subjective.

Civilized societies need to move beyond the idea that people need protection from being offended, either legislatively or socially.

Being offended is a choice. You have the right to choose to be offended by anything you like, for any reasons you see fit. You do not have the right to live your whole life without ever being offended. When you retreat into, “I'm offended”, you’re telling everyone you have no control over your emotional responses and you need others to do it for you.

“It's actually nothing more... than a whine. ‘I find that offensive.’ It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what."

- Stephen Fry

Ordering people not to use ostensibly oppressive slurs immediately puts you in charge of deciding what is or isn’t “offensive”. While you might like to eradicate from the planet everything you personally find offensive, a moment’s thought will reveal you how that attitude is dangerous to the fabric of society. Think about all the historical attempts to control how we use language. There is no way to create a society where everyone is nice to everyone else all the time, so think about the kind of society you want which includes that reality.

There are those who would claim that those who use the word “nigger” should accept responsibility for their actions. But “their actions” amount in total to saying a racist word. Everything else is happening inside your head, and you have to take responsibility for that. No one can “make” you feel a certain way. Unless you’re a small child or you have a mental condition, at some point you have to take responsibility for how you choose to react to things.

"Now you have adults going, ‘I was offended! I was offended! I have rights!' Well, so what? Be offended! Nothing happens! You’re an adult, grow up, deal with it. 'I was offended!' I don’t care! Nothing happens when you’re offended … 'I want to live in a democracy, but I never want to be offended again!' Well, you’re an idiot."

- Steve Hughes

You have the right to say horrible, hurtful things, and that right needs to be protected. You should have that right, because as soon as you take it away, you’re empowering the people who make these decisions to decide what counts as hurtful. Who should be in charge? You? Me? Who decides what’s hurtful? Does someone getting offended by something automatically make that thing offensive? I would say no. But that’s just my opinion. Aren’t you glad you’re allowed to disagree?

5. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed over 150 years ago.

It’s time to move on. Although there are certainly racist problems in America (for instance there are more black people in jail and fewer black people in university than there should be), dwelling on the historical reality of slavery is not helping black people, in the same way that Jewish people dwelling on the Holocaust will not be helpful in combating current antisemitism. No one will relate to these concerns except other black people or other Jewish people (and a quick survey of social media suggests that any attempt on the part of dominant groups to relate to these experiences will be interpreted as racist or patronizing). We know the Nazis were the bad guys. We know that slave-owners were the bad guys. The people that don’t know are not going to be swayed by any factual information, so pretending otherwise is equal parts axiomatic and otiose.

We need to acknowledge that fact that the past has created the present, and then concentrate on how to deal with real, current disparities of opportunity and income. Everything else is smoke and mirrors distracting us from the real issues. Oppressive dominant groups will delight in people complaining about trivial issues, or blaming historical events that require no action in the present, while the serious unpleasantness continues.

6. There are white people who regard black people as second-class humans.

They would never admit to it, of course, and they would certainly never use the word "nigger" because that would be wrong. There are also white people who believe that black people should be equal in every way, and who would have no problem saying "nigger" all day (but for the risk of having their heads kicked in). Which of these people do you think black people would prefer populated white America? If you are a black person reading this, which would you prefer?

This is, of course, a false dilemma here, but it demonstrates a point. The point is that the real racism isn't with under-educated white people running around in sheets and burning crosses, nor with anyone who uses the word "nigger". That's just a bunch of assholes. The real racism is with the private (and to a lesser extent, government) institutions who make decisions based on race, whether they're aware of it or not; it's with the people who would never consider using that word because they hold positions of power and wish to connote respectability. If anything, the adopted horror of the word "nigger" is breathtakingly patronizing.

Example: I'm sure Jeb Bush wouldn't be caught dead saying "nigger", but he would have no problem favoring measures to deny black people their Fifteenth Amendment rights. I suggest your anger be directed towards that, if you feel anger is a necessary part of your reaction to racism.

AFRICAN, n. A nigger that votes our way.

- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

Horror of racist language may actually be counter-productive, because it reduces a complicated and inter-related network of legacy racism issues and reduces them to one word, and one act. The United States is now filled with white people who believe that are beyond racism because they actively eschew the word “nigger”, and black people have conditioned them to believe that.

7. There are many better ways to combat racism than attacking a word.

And although it's nowhere near the most horrible thing that could happen to a black person, being called a "nigger" will garner the most disapproval - even from white people!

It’s trivial and trite to say that offensive language is best avoided. Rather than asking people not to use specific words, it’s a far better use of your time to learn how to deal with it, and help others learn how to deal with it, when it does occur.

Getting angry about (or trying to prevent) the use of the word "nigger" is, as explained individually in the respective paragraphs above, anti-constitutional, misdirected, counter-productive, obsessional, useless and distracting.

We need more communication between our different communities, not less. We need more information exchange, not less. We need fewer walls between us, not more.

Sources:

Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary definition of “nigger” is in the (IRL) Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary (2001)

Oxford English Dictionary brief tour of the usage of “nigger” is here: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/126934?rskey=Dj73u0&result=1#eid

Louis CK’s “N word” bit of Chewed Up is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1NUposXVQ

Seattle Post opinion piece on Huckleberry Finn is here: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/Guest-Columnist-Time-to-update-schools-reading-1296681.php

You can buy the “nigger”-free edition of Huckleberry Finn here: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Twains-Adventures-Sawyer-Huckleberry/dp/1588382672

This is Hipster Huckleberry Finn: http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_69/9998000/9998839/1/print/9998839.pdf

The mayor of Washington D.C. learned that “if you are driving down the road when it's raining, you ought to slow down”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm

South Park reference will make sense when you see this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuvLUhuo52w

The official English government (although they all say pretty much the same thing) website for dealing with bullying is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182421/DFE-RR098.pdf

The Epictetus quote is in the public domain, but you can find a discussion here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/epictetu/

The Stephen Fry quote is from an article he wrote for The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/05/religion.hayfestival2005

The Steve Hughes quote is from his stand-up set here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMoDt3nSHs#t=4m

Jeb Bush was governor of Florida during the 2000 election his brother won, which hinged on the Florida vote. One report of the “injustice, ineptitude and inefficiency” of his purging of African-Americans from the electoral roll is here:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jun/06/uselections2000.usa

The Ambrose Bierce quote is from The Devil’s Dictionary (1906): http://www.gutenberg.org/files/972/972-h/972-h.htm#link2H_4_0002

#nigger #language #linguistics #racism #the n word

39 notes · View notes