A Case Study in Political Correctness
(I wrote this a year ago, but given all the hoopla surrounding the Grey's Anatomy "gay-hating" controversy, my feelings are just as strong. Reading newspapers and online publications do a tap dance around the word "faggot" was amusingly counterproductive.)
On the way home from work today, I opted to skip listening to a CD and instead tuned into the Matt and Ramona show on 107.9 The Link (Charlotte's #1 drive-time talk show, don'cha know!). They were having a discussion on how certain terms with perfectly legitimate definitions (retard, gay, queer among them) also have those other connotations. They seemed to agree that we've gotten so PC in this country that merely mentioning one of those words (even in a non-offensive way) would be found offensive in certain circles.
For example, we could say something like, "The Senate's refusal to compromise has retarded the passage of the president's bill," and most people would recognize the innocuous nature of the word 'retard' in that context. But there will always be a faction of people for whom using the word would be unacceptable. This led to a very astute caller offering that it shouldn't be up to her to tailor her vocabulary to make sure she never offends anybody when she's clearly not being offensive, and everyone on the air (as well as me) seemed to agree. The consensus: If you're not being insulting by using a certain word, you should be free to use the word. Good stuff.
Anyway, it was pretty thought-provoking fare for the rush hour crowd -- and then the conversation led to the debate of another incendiary term. A caller phoned in to say her teenage daughter had begun saying hello to her friends by calling them a variation on the word 'nigger.' Matt and Ramona vehemently objected to the casual nature of the term (particularly Ramona, who's black), and deplored the evolution of the term as one of endearment among certain people. However, in all the time they were discussing this, neither the hosts nor the callers said the word 'nigger,' instead opting for the phrase 'the N-word.'
This phrase must have been used 10 times during a 5-minute span. At one point, after a caller used the N-word phrase, Ramona praised the caller for "not actually saying the word." My question: Why couldn't they just say the word? In a discussion regarding political correctness and the civilized person's ability to differentiate between saying something to insult and saying something to inform, what was the benefit of pointedly avoiding saying a certain word, especially when everyone listening knew what word they were referring to?
One could argue that on a shortlist of words that should never EVER be used in any form on television or the radio, 'nigger' should be on it. I disagree. Words on their face have no ability to hurt; it's the meaning behind them that inflicts the damage. One could also argue that unlike terms like 'gay' and 'queer' and 'retard' -- words with legitimate definitions -- the word 'nigger' has no redeeming value. Perhaps, but I find it discouraging -- and ironic, given the nature of the on-air conversation -- that we can't have a rational discussion about the use of certain words without actually using the words in question.
On the way home from work today, I opted to skip listening to a CD and instead tuned into the Matt and Ramona show on 107.9 The Link (Charlotte's #1 drive-time talk show, don'cha know!). They were having a discussion on how certain terms with perfectly legitimate definitions (retard, gay, queer among them) also have those other connotations. They seemed to agree that we've gotten so PC in this country that merely mentioning one of those words (even in a non-offensive way) would be found offensive in certain circles.
For example, we could say something like, "The Senate's refusal to compromise has retarded the passage of the president's bill," and most people would recognize the innocuous nature of the word 'retard' in that context. But there will always be a faction of people for whom using the word would be unacceptable. This led to a very astute caller offering that it shouldn't be up to her to tailor her vocabulary to make sure she never offends anybody when she's clearly not being offensive, and everyone on the air (as well as me) seemed to agree. The consensus: If you're not being insulting by using a certain word, you should be free to use the word. Good stuff.
Anyway, it was pretty thought-provoking fare for the rush hour crowd -- and then the conversation led to the debate of another incendiary term. A caller phoned in to say her teenage daughter had begun saying hello to her friends by calling them a variation on the word 'nigger.' Matt and Ramona vehemently objected to the casual nature of the term (particularly Ramona, who's black), and deplored the evolution of the term as one of endearment among certain people. However, in all the time they were discussing this, neither the hosts nor the callers said the word 'nigger,' instead opting for the phrase 'the N-word.'
This phrase must have been used 10 times during a 5-minute span. At one point, after a caller used the N-word phrase, Ramona praised the caller for "not actually saying the word." My question: Why couldn't they just say the word? In a discussion regarding political correctness and the civilized person's ability to differentiate between saying something to insult and saying something to inform, what was the benefit of pointedly avoiding saying a certain word, especially when everyone listening knew what word they were referring to?
One could argue that on a shortlist of words that should never EVER be used in any form on television or the radio, 'nigger' should be on it. I disagree. Words on their face have no ability to hurt; it's the meaning behind them that inflicts the damage. One could also argue that unlike terms like 'gay' and 'queer' and 'retard' -- words with legitimate definitions -- the word 'nigger' has no redeeming value. Perhaps, but I find it discouraging -- and ironic, given the nature of the on-air conversation -- that we can't have a rational discussion about the use of certain words without actually using the words in question.
posted by Mike at 9:37 PM
3 Comments:
There are few words in the English language as incendiary as "the N-word".
Saying the word repeatedly on the air, even for a discussion, would cause all reason to fly out the window. People would be calling furious, and those tuning in without hearing the entire discussion would be confused and outraged.
Besides, the "N-word" does not have a perfectly legitimate and non-offensive alternate definition. The word was created to be derogatory description of black people. Though black gang kids and rappers began using it in as a somewhat warped version to describe friends (which has spread to the general black population), that hasn't changed its meaning. And they often also use it as a derogatory tone - sometimes serious, while other times in a teasing way.
Even in its revived form it has never been accepted as a term for anyone but black people to use.
This is a lot different from terms like retard, gay, queer and bitch which had perfectly legitimate and non-offensive origins. At one time "retarded" was a clinically approved way to describe the mentally disabled (or the mentally retarded). It was only later when people perverted the meeting that it was changed to "mentally disabled".
For these reasons I feel there's a massive difference. I don't think it's ever okay to use the "n-word" - even in its "new" form. I wish we could just stop using it all together.
I'm not saying the hosts were wrong not to use the word; you're right, they probably would have been fired if they did.
As a person who's a big fan of words, I just find it interesting (and more than a little ironic) that we can say the phrase "the N-word" over and over again, but to actually say the word makes its usage much more sinister.
(And for the record, I don't think the word 'nigger' has any redeeming value, in case you were on the fence about that)
I found this page by accident looking for something else, but I find your observation interesting and insightful because of the psychology of it. The N-Word has replaced the F-Word or C-Word as something you just can't say openly without severe consequences or openly admitting that you are white supremacist. The fact that it is been "reclaimed" is downright perverse, but I suppose it serves as a reminder of our slave-owning past as a nation rather than to just bury it forever. The oppressiveness of the people who used this word as a means to demean human beings as lesser beings has been replaced by an lesser but more widely accepted oppression of political correctness; true, hardly comparable, but worthy of mention especially with its ongoing and strangely acceptable use, provided that you can lay claim to some African lineage. Personally, I feel that dictating what words you can or can't use rather than relying upon the intent and purpose to why it is being said will create it's own issues of repression in our society. That is is what history seems to tell me anyway.
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