And I don't know why it's still OK to say, "black", because at one time, it was
not OK. Then in the late 60's, the Black Power movement appeared and African
Americans, in an attempt to say to white folks, "Fuck you", began saying that,
"Black is beautiful". So It's now OK to refer to people as black.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2017 11:18 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: No, Bill Maher Shouldn't Be Fired for Using the
N-Word
Back in the "really olden days" when Alley Oop crawled out of his cave, looked
at his mate and grunted, "Gunk", she had no idea that he was calling her a lazy
old fat ass female. But then we invented Words. Bad enough that God created
the Heavens and the Earth, but why did He go forth and invent Language? Once
we had Language we took it and ran. In order to keep others from knowing just
what we were talking about, we made up new words and called our secret code,
French, or German, or Pig Latin. And as we became more and more "Civilized",
we began to react to words as if they were the underlying cause of all our
troubles.
Hey! Has anyone heard the word, Attitudes? So we no longer can say, "Nigger"
out of fear that it will offend someone. But we see no problem in replacing
that, and other derogatory words with, "Black".
Frankly, I have met just as many Black folks as I've met "White"
folks. And even as blah as that is, the real issue is not the color of a
person's skin. If we keep going down that road, we'll never deal with our
prejudices. Saying the "N Word" is the most stupid example of avoidance that
we could devise. When I was a boy, "Negro" was used freely by both People of
Light complexion and People of darker complexion. Out of respect, we were
taught never to say, "Nigger", because it was most commonly used by hateful,
angry "Whites" toward Negroes. Living in the South End of Seattle, among a
mostly Negro population, by that time referred to as, "Blacks", I never made
the mistake of thinking that just because Blacks used the word among
themselves, that it was okay for me to join in. But to think that instead I
can refer to the "N Word" to show...to show what? It's pure silliness. I
suppose we could begin talking in Letters, replacing negative words with their
first letter. The "U Word" for Ugly. The "I Word" for Idiot. The "BFA Word"
for Big Fat Ass.
And even worse is this attempt to "sanitize" our history. Can't we admit that
we humans are...well, Human? I remember a big push to take one of the truly
great novels off the shelves. When Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, he gave
us a lasting and vivid word picture of America as it was in the 1800's, along
the Mississippi. Twain showed us that Jim was so much more than just another
Nigger. Jim came to stand as that Noble Man that lives inside most of us. But
no, we have to get all puffy over that awful "N Word". Well, I've had a belly
full of "FHAH" trying to mess with my head.
FHAH stands for, Fat Headed Ass Holes. Thank you, very much!
Carl Jarvis
On 6/10/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Although I've heard the clip of what he said, my hearing isn't good
enough to actually hear what he said, so I can't even comment on that.
But I can comment on the world's insanity on refusing to use or write
the word when referring to its history and the damage that it's done.
I hear people like Amy Goodman talking about the history of this word,
of what it means to black people, and she says, "the n word", when
referring to it because even saying the word publicly in a historical
or educational context is forbidden. I don't understand why anyone
thinks that this prohibition will help to end racism.
Miriam
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. (photo: The Mercatus Center/George Mason
University)
No, Bill Maher Shouldn't Be Fired for Using the N-Word
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter
08 June 17
"Intent is important," writes the NBA great and THR columnist, and the
HBO host's use of the word merely shows poor taste - and it could even
raise awareness of today's race issues.
Political comedian Lenny Bruce, who was often arrested for the
provocative material in his act, once theorized that if everyone used
the N-word matter-of-factly in daily life, it would be robbed of its
power to "make a 6-year-old black kid cry" when someone at school used
it on him. In a way, that's exactly what some in the African-American
community have done by using the word freely among themselves when
addressing each other. But in times when hate crimes are on the rise,
when we have an administration actively and gleefully dismantling
civil rights gains, and when the word is being scrawled on LeBron
James' home, Lenny Bruce's dream that we could defuse the word-bomb is still
far from a reality.
Which is why Bill Maher's joking use of it on the June 2 edition of
Real Time has caused such a backlash. There are plenty of contexts in
which a white person using the N-word would be appropriate and
inoffensive. Maher used the word once before while appearing on Larry
King's CNN show when commenting on Newt Gingrich's accusation that
then-President Obama held a "Kenyan anti-colonial worldview." Maher
responded that "Kenyan, of course, was code for n-er." In that
situation, he was condemning Gingrich's coy racism with a harshness
that was justified and incisive. This time, however, was not the same.
No social commentary or political insight. Just bumbling shock in
pursuit of a lame joke.
The reason the N-word is so volatile is that it carries hundreds of
years of poisonous baggage. It is associated with how
African-Americans were perceived as less human than whites, and it
represents the atrocities committed as a result. The word evokes
kidnapping, rape, mutilation, humiliation, forced poverty and murder.
Even now, it implies a physical threat. We are sensitive to its use -
and have a right to be - because the effects of that word and all it
represents remain a part of our daily lives.
But we also have the responsibility not to punish every time it is
used in poor taste rather than maliciously, because that muddies the
waters regarding the reason for our outrage. Intent is important.
Clearly, Maher's intention was not to demean blacks. To put it in
perspective, compare Maher with Phil Stair, the public official from
Flint, Michigan, who was recently recorded using the N-word while
blaming black people who "don't pay their bills" for the water crisis
facing the city. He has since resigned. A major difference between
people like Maher and people like Stair is that the public official's
bias has a direct and practical effect of the people he represents. His is a
betrayal of the principles the country stands for.
Was Maher insensitive? Absolutely. Inappropriate? Definitely. Smug in
appropriating the word for cheap humor? Check. Yet, there was no
malevolent intent.
Maher is a worthy and incisive voice in political humor who made a
mistake and apologized. Inadvertently, he caused the issue to be
debated, raising awareness and hopefully sensitizing people. I just
wish it was for an insight rather than an insult.
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