There’s a significant debate raging across the country. Granted, the Intramuralist is only a bystander — not a partaker — as one of the lessons learned these past 5+ insightful years of blogging, is that we don’t have to insert ourselves within the debate trenches of all issues. Some may have wiser perspectives not so much due to passion, but more so based on the stance they share, a stance perhaps closer in actual proximity.
Prompted by the National Football League, within African-American circles, the debate surrounds the use of the word, “nigger” (from here on referred to as the “N-word”). The NFL is is expected to enact a rule at their March owners meeting that would penalize players 15 yards if they use the N-word on the field.
Is use of the N-word — and each of its colloquial derivatives — ever appropriate?
Allow me to quote some with a stance closer in actual proximity…
“We want this word to be policed from the parking lot to the equipment room to the locker room. Secretaries, PR people, whoever, we want it eliminated completely and want it policed everywhere,” says John Wooten, the head of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which monitors diversity in the NFL.
Richard Sherman, star of the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks feels differently. “It’s an atrocious idea. It’s almost racist to me. It’s weird they’re targeting one specific word. Why wouldn’t all curse words be banned then?”
A similar stance is echoed by Sherman’s teammate, Doug Baldwin: “I think it’s absurd… they’re trying to do this with good intentions. Maybe. But, if you look at it, the only people who say the N-word on the football field are African-Americans. Whether whoever wants to agree with it or not, we have turned it kind of into a term of endearment.”
Let me add a final word from Hall of Famer Art Shell: “That is the most vile word. It was created to make a certain group of people feel like they were less than human. How does that word become a term of endearment?’’
Note that Wooten, Sherman, Baldwin, and Shell are each black, and yet, they disagree. The African-American community disagrees on whether or not use of the N-word — and each of its colloquial derivatives — is ever appropriate.
Their challenge is obvious; it matters who says the word. While once a term intended as an ethnic slur, the N-word’s meaning has evolved via the numbing achieved through rap, hip hop, and popular comedic routines such as Chris Rock’s infamous “Niggas vs. Black People.” In other words, the N-word doesn’t possess the same sting… that is, as long as it’s said from one African-American to another.
There seems some generational aspect, affecting differently those who were once insulted as opposed to those who have never been the recipient of the insult. There seems also some traditional vs. progressive component. There exists passionate, definite disagreement from many with a close-in-proximity stance.
The underlying predicament is that the problem is not the use of the word, but rather, the intent of the use. And once we begin the subjective assessment of intent, we will frequently err in the evaluation. Like it or not, passionate or not, well-intentioned or not, subjective intent cannot be accurately, always measured.
Hence, in one more realm of society we must ask ourselves… if we cannot fully alleviate a problem, must we eliminate all that potentially contributes to the problem?
Great question. An even better debate.
Respectfully,
AR
