Originally Posted: 8/29/2010
There was a time when the N-word was never used in our music or
even by those of us who played the 'dozens' on our block. I'm old enough to remember when hearing the N-word out loud on the Roots mini-series was shocking and demeaning.
I've never been a hip-hop music fan. So, I guess I missed the transition to a time when the N-word became cool and fashionable. Heck, it is so cool nowadays that white female doctors feel free to say it loud and proud 11 times in a 5-minute rant on radio.
I've seen how the N-word can lead to ugly situations in our society. I think of lynchings whenever I hear the word. I don't see it as a friendly term that can be used by white folks or Black folks. In my view, whenever the N-word is used ... we are being disrespectful to our ancestors. My mother and father taught me better. My grandmothers and grandfathers taught them better. I pray that I'm teaching my three children better.Villagers, it's time that we simply eliminate the N-Word entirely from our lexicon. It's not a word to use as a greeting ... or to complete sentences ... or to start conversations.
An 11-year old child, Johnathan McCoy, says it best in the following video clip:
I challenge all villagers to make a personal commitment to eliminate the N-word from their vocabulary. What say u?
4 comments:
Hallo,good morning!
A very strong opinion that many people do share, I am sure. As a longtime journalist, who is working with words "to paint pictures and visions for the readers", I know though that words like the N-word can - used in the right surrounding - wake people up, shock them (like you remember!), make them aware of something going wrong. Much better is of course an open and clear approach like yours here today.
Just one little point (and please erase my comment afterwards!): One would not call a jew a Nazi because the jews were he ones who were hunted and killed my the Nazis. In the case that you are indicating it would mean "German" for Nazi (what personally makes me feel bad and sorry).
Have a beautiful sunday with your family.
Love and peace.
Etta from Germany
Etta - Point taken. Here in America there is a viseral reaction to the word 'Nazi' ... and as such the word is rarely used to describe someone. I'd like the same result for the 'N-word'...
I must admit to cultural ignorance on how the 'Nazi' term is viewed by German nationals. Thank you for sharing your insights...
Hi,
"I don't see it as a friendly term that can be used by white folks or Black folks."
Because it is slightly relevant to the subject of this blog, I'd like to as the author a question:
How come "Black" is a proper noun, but "white" is not?
Regards,
Chris
Chris - First, my thanx to yo for sharing your COMMENT with us. So few people share comments on blogs nowadays ... I wanted you to know that your effort was appreciated.
re: Capitalizing the 'B' in Black. That is a personal privilege that I take as a blogger based on a request made back in the day by Marcus Garvey. He wanted us to acknowledge pride in our heritage by capitalizing the letter 'B' in Black whenever we used it. I'm simply honoring that request from many years ago.
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