The Reverend Jesse Jackson and Representative Maxine Waters have asked for a boycott of the recent DVD issue of Seinfeld because actor Michael Richards, quite a few years after that series went off the air, used the word "nigger" while being heckled by two black men at a comedy club. Richards has apologized -- just as, in the 1980s, Jackson apologized (ah, how soon we forget!) for his "Hymietown" slur. On both occasions, I took the men at their words when they expressed regret and sorrow, and considered the matter closed. Perhaps the Reverend might care to review Matthew 18:21-35...?
But Jackson and Waters focus on a wider target:
Black leaders on Monday challenged the entertainment industry, including rappers, to stop use of the racial slur that Michael Richards uttered in his tirade.To some extent, I agree. I cannot understand why rappers use so freely a word best considered toxic. Toxic substances need not be banned altogether (there are toxins in your medicine cabinet and under your sink), but they must be used carefully, intelligently, and in the smallest possible dose.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and others said they will meet with TV networks, film companies and musicians to discuss the “n-word.”
I think some young people will always be attracted to the casual use of racial slurs because young people enjoy playing with danger. Such is the nature of youth.
I am not black but I once was young, so allow me to take a guess as to why many black teens feel comfortable calling each other "nigger." I visualize a fourteen-year-old, a good kid "raised right" (as they say), who one day allows himself to utter a word forbidden by his parents but uttered by his peers. He uses it just to experience the thrill of the forbidden. Lo! The world does not tremble and the sun continues to shine as before. No repercussions. The next usage becomes easier. And the next. Two or three years later, the car audio system blares out the word every few seconds, friends at school use it frequently, and that kid is drowning, before he realizes it, in a sea of nigger. After a certain age true maturity kicks in, and the usage drops off.
How close is that guess to the truth? Perhaps a reader can tell me.
Jackson and Waters seem to imply that the word ought to be banned altogether from music, films and television. Jackson declared "nigger" to be "unprotected" speech, as though that determination were his to make. (Sorry, but Constitutional interpretation is a job for the Supreme Court.)
What would be the outcome of such censorship?
In the 1990s, a film adaptation of Huckleberry Finn appeared in which no-one uttered the word "nigger." Do we really want the next generation to grow up believing that antebellum Southerners were so thoughtful? Are we going to insist, in a robustly Bushian fashion, on replacing what is (or was) with what should be (or should have been)?
Huckleberry Finn has long been a key reference point in the debate over how and when to use the word 'nigger.' Much of the problem stems from the fact that most people consider the book to be children's literature. It isn't, and was never intended as such by the author. Here's one oft-quoted, oft-misunderstood passage:
"...We blowed out a cylinder-head."Anyone who thinks that Twain here condones racism would also take Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal as a cookbook. The intention is skewer racism; Twain depicts a society in which dehumanization had pervaded the society the way smoke pervades an enclosed room. Jim the runaway slave may use the word "nigger" to refer to himself, but so did many slaves in real life, as much literature from that period proves.
"Good gracious! anybody hurt?"
"No'm. Killed a nigger."
"Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt."
The miniseries Roots: The Next Generation contains a powerful scene in which Alex Haley (James Earl Jones), writing for Playboy, interviews George Lincoln Rockwell (Marlon Brando). "We call your kind 'niggers' here," Rockwell/Brando hisses. Those were Rockwell's actual words, although I don't know if he hissed. (I had studied that issue for reasons having nothing to do with Alex Haley.) Would the scene have had any impact if the script writers had rewritten reality?
Of course not. In this case, a television production made quite appropriate use of the word.
The solution is not an outright ban of the word, lest we transform all narrative art into fantasy. In my view, the solution is as I suggested earlier: Teach young people that some words are toxic. Toxins have legitimate uses; you use antifreeze in your radiator and you use drain cleaner in a clogged sink. But such substances must always be used with wisdom.
13 comments:
in response to your question about the word "nigger" and why rappers can use it gleefully.
They have the wisdom to appropriate the N word and use it on themselves to discharge the latent power in the word. Previously the word was used as a weapon against the minority group by rascists that employ derogatory meaning in words to hurt and belittle the targets of their stupid and shallow mentality.
If you ever read or studied the witings of Korzypski.."Science and Sanity",(semantics) he discovered that we build up emotional reactions to words..all words..and that words heard from infancy on, are associated with pleasures and pain, and we are constantly "reacting" to what others say like pinball machines, as the shiny chrome ball touches the little bright lights..boing..boing bong. So we are like machines in our responses to outside impressions..in this case, audio impressions.
Now take the N word..Nazi and consider the emotions stirred up when that word is used to describe our president..or the word Impeach..hmmmmmmm, it also conjures up delightful visions of GW Bush and his coterie of ahhhhh, fellow travelers..ie..Nazis..chased from the White House all downcast and embarrassed by the scales of judgement tipping them off and out of their positions of power, as they slip into the black limos to new homes far away. See? Words have powers attached so the rappers held a conference and decided to use the word gleefully and frequesntly to empty the negaitive juicers from it..especially when they toss it back and forth among themselves it becomes a plaything like a hackey sack from Sole to soul.
Well, despite having spent many hours in school reading about the positive sociological significance of the way terms of opprobrium have been reclaimed by their intended targets as a means of fighting back against bigotry (and also not wanting to see any language, no matter how odious, completely censored by society)...egh. When artists and entertainers use profane language to make a point, fine. Especially when said point is elucidated nicely. For the official record, though, I just...I can't remember the last time I heard or saw "that word" without cringing, even in works of literature and half-way decent popular music.
I once took a semester long course on modern African-American poetry for which our fearless, venerable professor had selected some of the most beautiful (and most profane) selections from Black writers of the modern period, particularly ones who had used "that word" a lot as a means of decrying the racism infesting this country. In-class recitations of these poems was about 25% of our grade, and it was very hard for any student to avoid reading a poem without "that word" and still satisfy this portion of the course requirements. But I remember absolutely bending over backwards to locate the six pieces that didn't have "the word" in their stanzas so that I wouldn't have to say the epithet out loud because...I can't do it. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it even for like, a billion dollars. (Also for the record, this phobic reticence hasn't ever stopped me from appreciating fine, non-racist works of art which may contain racial slurs, though its appearance did jolt me out of Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood" for a second last night.)
So, I can't fathom what goes on in the minds of those who use it casually, especially as an insult with even a modicum of non-ironic seriousness. I'm not for banning it, encouraging it to be banned or avoiding any meaningful discussion of its significance in our cultural history. However, I confess that I wouldn't mind it if someday everyone could see the word the way I do. I think Joe's characterization of it is accurate--it's toxic.
sofla said...
I recall Jackson's use of the term Hymietown was in a private conversation, certainly not in a public forum in the open (although it later became public knowledge when it was overheard by someone). I am not aware that 'Hymie' (short for Hyman, probably a near-exclusively Jewish first name) is considered much of a hateful anti-Semitic slur (pretty sure it isn't, as I'd never ever heard of it prior to that event). And of course, he was calling no one 'Hymie,' rather calling NYC 'Hymietown,' perhaps creating a reason for the CITY to object, but no person, IMO.
By contrast, Michael Richards comments were in public, in the open, directed at individuals in his presence, and likely THE most hateful racist epithet imaginable.
Although I make this case that Jackson's faux pas is in no way comparable to Richards' actual strongly racist remarks, I don't agree with making words illegal, anymore than having a different historical take on the Holocaust ought to be a crime (as it nonetheless is in Europe and Canada). Racism per se should be the subject of societal sanctions, but not legal ones, until it crosses the line to racially motivated assault or worse.
And Jackson cannot begin to logically sustain his suggestion for non-blacks if his own people continue their practice of using it to death.
I have to strongly agree with the first comment. This is precisely the rationale. However this process need not be a explicit. I instinctively understood the usage. Being of mixed race, I wouldnt dream of using the term, untill it is used on me, and then I use it with relish. Yes I am half "nigger" - what exactly would you like to make of it? Appropriation does difuse, but it also implies defiance and in this context, a commonality. In this context I cannot condemn rappers for their use of this abusive term, but applaud them.
A few years ago, I worked in NYC with a new colleague who was an ex-US Navy pilot. A decent enough guy but not very thoughtful and rather blindly patriotic. One day, he asked about my ethnic background and I told him. He told me "so you are a mulato, I would never have figured". I have to say this was the most offensive thing I have ever heard. Look up "mulato" in the dictionary. All I could think to say was "I prefer the term "quadroon"."
I first heard the term "mulatto" when I was in fifth grade or therabouts. Another kid in school told me the meaning. The thing is, there was no hint in anything he said that anyone might consider the term offensive -- so as far as I knew at the time, it was a value-neutral word, the kind of word that might be used in any setting.
I never heard terms such as quardoon and octoroon until my college years. They immediately sounded offensive to me -- although, speaking logically, I cannot say what it was about the sound of the words that made such a bad first impression.
Your comment caused me to look up this wikipedia page, which includes a lot of terms I've never seen before...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_for_multiraciality
Well. Are we allowed to like or dislike any of these unfamiliar words based purely on the sound?
Goffal, lobo, and chino all sound wrong. Pardo seems silly, because it calls to mind the guy who used to announce Jeopardy. Eurafrican seems neutral. Dougla and Morisco have a rather euphonious and exotic ring to them. Halfrican strikes me as rather clever, although it would probably offend many.
I have no idea which of these terms is considered offensive. Perhaps all of them. Frankly, I've never in my life heard anyone utter these words in any context!
BOOK CRITICAL OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO USE THE N-WORD
Los Angeles, CA. - Author H. Lewis Smith has written a thought provoking, culturally divided book that will not only spark heated conversation, but can also bring about real change. The N-word is often used in the African American community amongst each other and is generally not a problem when spoken by another African American. However, once the word is used by a Caucasian person, it brings on other effects. The question is "who can use the word and why?" Smith believes it is a word that should be BURIED!!!!
The book is written in a manner that all can understand. The points are well-taken and the wording is easy to follow. There are quotes from great people in our history including Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin and many, many others. Smith has mixed history with honesty, love with life, education with effects. This is a great book for educators, parents, managers, professionals, newsmen, and anyone else wanting an in-depth look at the N-word, the effects and the solutions. A MUST READ!!!!
To learn more about Bury that Sucka, please visit http://www.burythatsucka.com
In my eighth decade, and I've had many black friends through the years. I have thought about the word nigger often, but never used it. Let me correct that, as a child of an Arkansas mother in the '30s, a man my dad worked with gave me a black baby-doll with pigtails. To my everlasting chagrin, I called her "nigger-baby" and she was my favorite doll for a couple of years. That said.........
I remember in the 60s or 70s Dick Gregory wrote a book called "Nigger", and in the preface he explained that he did it so that when his mother heard that word, she would think people were talking about his book. But I think the real reason was to take the sting out of that word. Any psychiatrist, or a good friend, will tell you that when you tell something that causes you pain, share it with someone else, that pain is lessened, the shame of it is lessened, and it becomes easier to get on with your life. Personally, I've taken back the use of the word 'bitch,' and I've noticed other women have also. Own it, defang it. I'm not 'into' rap or hip-hop music but I'd be willing to bet that some of them use the word in that way, as an expiative. Others use it just to shock and make a buck. Only they know which and why.
OTOH, I think we can all tell the difference between that younger generation's use of the word and the use by a racist. During NOLA/Katrina, we all saw those men talk about 'getting rid of "those" people.' That's racism! And without even using the word! But it does not offend me when Chris Rock uses it in his act. By his very demeanor, you know he is not a racist.
As for Michael Richards, I'm afraid I come down on the side of his being a racist. At least it is there, in the bottom of his soul or he would not have said it at all. Of course it is somewhere within all of us, but even in anger, I don't believe most of us would ever say the word. Not unless the feeling was there, somewhere inside us. When I first saw the tape, I thought he was really having a melt-down. I still think so and that it was partly the result of his having little experience as a stand-up, which is quite different from being an actor. If he weren't racist at heart, I don't think that insult would have come up. I can think of lots of ways to insult someone without using that word. And note that the apologies didn't come out till it was public and on the same week that the "Seinfeld" DVD was coming out with much hoo-ha. I'd be willing to bet that Jerry called him and forced him to go public. Witness the pathetic appearance on Letterman.
fallinglady
So he'd ban the use of "nigger" but not the use of the word "fuck" and its various permutations? Perhaps he feels that would put too many black comedians out of business! ;-)
Back in the 70s, I used to play baseball in Oakland on a team of 13-15 year olds. We were about half black and half white. We all got along great and we even won a city championship together in 1977. My teammates who were black frequently called each other "niggah" in a very light-hearted way. Of course, those of us who were white couldn't believe it, but we gradually got used to it to the point where we didn't think anything of it. They weren't "hoodlums" at all. They were good guys. It was just part of the vernacular of black youth culture at the time.
I really dont want to harp on about this subject, as it seems more "chippy" than enlightening, but I thought a couple of subsidiary points might clarify the general issues involved. Words are offensive to me where the derivation is derogatory or abusive. So I hate Mulatto because the root of the term is from the word Mule, which of course is a sterile cross-breed. This implies to me the product of an "unnatural" union, which is why whenever I hear the word I want to smack the person who used it right in the mouth.
Quadroon or Octoon are clearly offensive - everyone intuitively knows not to use them. I would explain this as due to the commercial implication of the terms during slavery. At the time, a higher proportion of European blood was taken as indicative of greater intelligence, and better suited for indoors work rather than outdoor work. Of course I find any term based around such a premise offensive. In fact as far as Im concerned, I get my brains from my mum, and my dads genes just reduce my ability to play professional sports.
So for me its not the sound of the word thats offensive but its history, and connotion. The term "nigger" is offensive for precisely this reason. However, I forgive Joe Conrad cos I understand the historical context of writing "the Nigger of the Narciscus", and similarly other works.
Finally anyone who is familiar with Russian will be aware that the general word used for black people is (forgive the use of latin script) "negr" - negro. They just dont have any other word. When Russians use the term "black" they usually refer derogatively to people from the Caucasus, such as Azeris, or Chechens. Russians are immensely racist, but the word Negr is neutral not perjorative in Russia, simply cos there were no history of a large african diaspora in the country to be ill-treated.
Anyway, enough already!
Rappers didn't start using the word, comedians did, and comedians did it because they were mirroring street language. One reason rappers have embraced the word is because its exclusive, something they've earned the right to use through hardship. It's the most powerful word in rap, and if you can't use it then you're limited and not not part of the elite, and so it becomes a way to stop whites from capitalizing on your heritage again, as with jazz, etc. (It at least limits this.)
Nobody sees the beauty in black artists taking this hideous word and using it as a weapon. Instead of ignoring the word, they turn it into a symbol of victory and strength. Maybe white people hate it so much because they don't want to be reminded of the past, whereas rappers are saying, "Yeah this is what you called us before you hung us up." And in this way the human race is well served by what black rappers and comedians have done with what we call "the N word."
Wow. This is just one of those things in which there is an unbridgeable gulf of (mis)understanding between black people and white people. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in trying to come up with a theory, Joe, but it isn't really like that.
Let me first disclose, I am a middle aged African American who grew up in a respectable working-class/lower middle class black neighborhood in New York in the 1960s. I witnessed the strange transition of the word nigger in the 1960s, ie the transition in the way the white world used it.
But I have to say, that most of the non-blacks posting here don't really understand the use of the word in the African American community. To be blunt, the use of the word nigger has been pretty much pervasive among black people from before the civil rights movement until today. When rappers use it, they are of course exaggerating (they are after all cartoon characters), but it is not that far off from reality. But nigger is a word that black people, for whatever reason, have had this strange relationship to, which is to say we are free to use it ourselves, but if a non-black person uses, it is a fighting word. (In New York, only Puerto Ricans generally get an official "nigger" pass, because they have adopted the word for themselves, and most of them are part Afro-Latin, anyway.) It is virtually a dare to the world: we dare you to use our word. I think it's a good thing for Jackson and other leaders to lead a campaign to get entertainers to stop using the word, but they really need to address us just giving up the word in general if we don't want others to use it.
Generally black people use it in very specific contexts. First in jokes or humor. Second, when criticizing someone for being low class or badly raised. Third, affectionately ("my niggah"). Fourth as an expression of incredulity ("nigger, please!") There are certainly others.
I don't buy those theories of blacks reclaiming the word, because that would presume that it was ever out of circulation; it wasn't. You can't reclaim something you've always used.
The thing is, that this use is not that unusual among ethnic groups, but our use is over-exposed and is therefore more controversial. Once I was hanging out with a group of Asian South Africans in Durban, and two guys almost got into a fight over something stupid, and one starts yelling at the other, "Chadda, (sp?) make your move." They later explained that Chadda is the worse insult a non-Asian can call a South African Indian, but they use it all the time among themselves. It was really a revelation, because I knew exactly what they were talking about. I think the same is true with the Irish American use of the word "mick". It's an anthropological phenomenon, not a black one.
Hamden from DU
I understand and respect everything you said, Hamden. But I'd like to point out -- speaking as someone who had an Italian mother and a Jewish stepfather -- that no Italian or Jew I've ever met used "wop" or "kike" as an intra-group reference point. Not even in jest.
(Then again, I had a boyhood Jewish friend who loved the old joke about Italian tires going "wop wop wop." I took no offense.)
You also have to consider the phenomenon -- and this does actually happen -- of the young white kid who blurts out the word "nigger" and then says that he heard a black person use the term on TV. Many in the black community probably sneer at the notion that such a thing can happen innocently. I assure you that comics and rappers really can give young people the impression that the word is acceptable.
I still think -- and I always will think -- that the world would be a more livable place if everyone considered the word "nigger" poisonous.
solfa you have absolutly no idea what you are talking about, as a jew that grew up in a catholic caucasian community during the 60's where I was spit on in class in front of the teacher who did not to stop it where the other kids would throw pennys at me and say "you know you want to pick up that penny jew boy" where I was tortured and humiliated daily untill 9th grade when I was transfered to private school when I was held down and urinated on by the other boys on the junior varsity football team.I find the word himey very offensive. Once african americans get the ban that some of them are pushing for the word nigger, whats to stop me from fighting for a ban for the word kike, himey, heeb, or whites calling for a ban on honkey or cracker. If your gonna ban one racist word you gotta do em all. Then that whats to stop me from trying to stop any other word I find offensive. Come on we have turned into a nation of hypersensitive pansies obssessed with being politically correct.
After all the hatred I have seen and all the things the bigots have done to me, I still support their right to belive that I am inferior, as much as I hate and dispise racism. I support the right of anyone to be as ignorant and hateful as they want to be. Banning that word will cause the racists to use it more because then they could portray themselves as freedom fighters. Racists will always find a new just as hateful racial slur to replace it. ban the word nigger they will just use jiggaboo, spook, darkie. ban kike they will say heeb, mud people, or himey.
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