{"id":2945,"date":"2014-03-06T06:16:08","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T11:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=2945"},"modified":"2014-03-06T06:16:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-06T11:16:08","slug":"the-n-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=2945","title":{"rendered":"the n-word"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"huddleCLR\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a significant debate raging across the country.\u00a0 Granted, the Intramuralist is only a bystander \u2014 not a partaker \u2014 as one of the lessons learned these past 5+ insightful years of blogging, is that we don\u2019t have to insert ourselves within the debate trenches of all issues.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Prompted by the National Football League, within African-American circles, the debate surrounds the use of the word, \u201cnigger\u201d (from here on referred to as the “N-word”).<\/em> \u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n

Is use of the N-word \u2014 and each of its colloquial derivatives \u2014 ever appropriate?<\/p>\n

Allow me to quote some with a stance closer in actual proximity…<\/p>\n

“We want this word to be policed from the parking lot to the equipment room to the locker room.\u00a0 Secretaries, PR people, whoever, we want it eliminated completely and want it policed everywhere,”<\/i> says John Wooten, the head of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which monitors diversity in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Richard Sherman, star of the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks feels differently.\u00a0 “It’s an atrocious idea.\u00a0 It’s almost racist to me.\u00a0 It’s weird they’re targeting one specific word.\u00a0 Why wouldn’t all curse words be banned then?” \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

A similar stance is echoed by Sherman\u2019s teammate, Doug Baldwin:\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019s absurd… they\u2019re trying to do this with good intentions.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 But, if you look at it, the only people who say the N-word on the football field are African-Americans.\u00a0 Whether whoever wants to agree with it or not, we have turned it kind of into a term of endearment.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Let me add a final word from Hall of Famer Art Shell:\u00a0 \u201cThat is the most vile word.\u00a0 It was created to make a certain group of people feel like they were less than human.\u00a0 How does that word become a term of endearment?\u2019\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Note that Wooten, Sherman, Baldwin, and Shell are each black, and yet, they disagree.\u00a0 The African-American community disagrees on whether or not use of the N-word \u2014 and each of its colloquial derivatives \u2014 is ever appropriate.<\/p>\n

Their challenge is obvious; it matters who says the word.<\/i>\u00a0 While once a term intended as an ethnic slur, the N-word\u2019s meaning has evolved via the numbing achieved through rap, hip hop, and popular comedic routines such as Chris Rock\u2019s infamous “Niggas vs. Black People.”\u00a0 In other words, the N-word doesn\u2019t possess the same sting… that is, as long as it\u2019s said from one African-American to another.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 There seems also some traditional vs. progressive component.\u00a0 There exists passionate, definite disagreement from many with a close-in-proximity stance.<\/p>\n

The underlying predicament is that the problem is not the use<\/i> of the word, but rather, the intent<\/i> of the use.\u00a0 And once we begin the subjective assessment of intent, we will frequently err in the evaluation.\u00a0 Like it or not, passionate or not, well-intentioned or not, subjective intent cannot be accurately, always measured.<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

Great question.\u00a0 An even better debate.<\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a significant debate raging across the country.\u00a0 Granted, the Intramuralist is only a bystander \u2014 not a partaker \u2014 as one of the lessons learned these past 5+ insightful years of blogging, is that we don\u2019t have to insert ourselves within the debate trenches of all issues.\u00a0 Some may have wiser perspectives not so … <\/p>\n

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