July 10, 2007
NAACP Holds Funeral For The N-Word, So?
I blogged about it on Acton's site, suggesting they should bury more words and phrases like, "it's because of racism."
Check it out here.
Dang.... that was... wow... that was good. A very good point. I wonder what else culture passes off as neutral (or positive even) just because it's "the culture," and therefore affirm it.
Posted by: Brad at July 10, 2007 05:51 PMGood post, Anthony.
I've had to deal with the use of the "N-word" in a class I'm teaching at a local college. I have my students write a reflection paper on two poems, Kipling's _White Man's Burden_ and Labouchere's _Brown Man's Burden_. While the former is arguably racist, it's the latter that uses the N-word (in mockery of Kipling). I've explained to my students what while it is a repugnant slur that should not be used, it's existence as an historical artifact cannot be ignored.
The "under any circumstances" rule just seems quixotic.
Posted by: Wayne at July 10, 2007 07:29 PM