Few see need for official ban on 'n-word'

[stephanie]

Jan. 26, 2007, 1:40AM
Few see need for official ban on 'n-word'


By RICHARD STEWART
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

After facing intense opposition against a proposed ordinance that would have outlawed the use of the "n-word" in his town, Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley announced Thursday he would drop the proposal altogether.

Corley's decision brought applause from most of the 200 people who gathered in the middle of Main Street to discuss the issue.

The meeting was held outside Thursday because the town's council chamber is too small.

Though almost all speakers said they condemned the use of racial epithets, most said the Brazoria County town of 2,800 has few racial problems, and the proposed ordinance would cause more problems than it would cure.

"I'm embarrassed for my little town," said Bill Lott, who is white. "We need to unite, not divide."

The Rev. Melvin Johnson, who is black, said he thought it was wrong to single out one word.

A few speakers, however, liked the proposed ordinance.

The Rev. Ricky Jones, who is black, said that he approved of the measure.

"So many people are here tonight as proof that (this) is a problem," Jones said.

Corley, 62, said his proposal was a "quality of life issue," and not a censorship issue.

He said that though he doesn't think Brazoria has any more of a problem with the use of the offensive word than anywhere else, he wanted his town to take a progressive stance against its use.

Corley, who is white and grew up in Brazoria County, admitted to using the "n-word" in years past. "But never directed directly against a black person," he said.

Brazoria City Attorney Charlie Stevenson said he thought the proposed ordinance would be constitutional because it doesn't outlaw the "n-word" but outlaws its use in an offensive or aggressive manner. The word had to be used in such a way as to disturb the peace, he said.

A violation would have been a class C misdemeanor, the lowest category of offense, which is punishable by a fine up to $500, Stevenson said.

David Hudson, an attorney with the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said the proposal clearly violates the First Amendment.

In 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no individual words can be outlawed, he said.

"I was surprised to see that this was being proposed anywhere in the United States," he said.

"It sounds like something you would see in France."

Claude Foster, regional director of the NAACP in Houston, said that though he applauds the intention of the measure, he doesn't think it is the proper way to fight rac- ism.

"Education is the answer," Foster said.

Brazoria, one of the oldest towns in Southeast Texas, was founded in 1828.

According to the 2000 Census, about 10 percent of the population is black, about 11 percent is Hispanic and about 80 percent is white.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4501208.html

[Hugh Lincoln]

Warning! The following essay is extremely politically incorrect and not for the faint of heart.

Why the N-Word Hurts

by Hard Truthteller

Growing up, the word "nigger" was the worst possible utterance to escape a kid's lips. It was up there with getting caught smoking or reading a Playboy: a serious moral offense for which you'd be subjected to a tag-team lecture by Mom and Dad. Blood rushed to your face, and you hung your head in shame. Even today, with emerging white racial consciousness, I blanch at the use of the word. Unless, of course, I'm muttering it under my own breath after witnessing some particularly niggerish behavior by, well, niggers.

Yet the word retains power -- and not the "power of reclamation" liberal academics use to refer to the rapper's use of "nigger." I mean the power to hurt. The power to sting, slice and slash, right into the innards of a black, no matter the age, sex or size. A black Harvard Law School professor named Randall Kennedy has just published a book titled Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word that purports to examine just these phenomena. I haven't read the book, but after hearing him interviewed on NPR and reading a few reviews, I get the basic idea: it's bad if White people say it and good if black people say it, so long as it's all in good fun. Well, whatever. Since I doubt Randall Kennedy shares my views on black people, I doubt if he got to the heart of why "nigger" is indeed such a troublesome word.

Here's why "nigger" hurts so much: Because it's true. Just say it out loud. The word 'nigger' pops with onomatopoeic accuracy: the negative sneer of the 'neh,' the rubbery, bouncing stupidity of the 'gg,' the disapproving droop of the 'er.' It conjures an image of big-lipped, big-toothed, frightening-looking black man, bopping threateningly along, shooting his eyes here and there, on the lookout both for opportunities to make trouble and avoid detection.

You know him, because you've seen him. He's a nigger. An honest-to-God, wild-eyed bull nigger. Filthy, ugly and dangerous. His limbs fly about, and he moves with sudden and unsettling jerks. His noises are spastic and threatening -- ape-like hoots, grunts and growls.

"Nigga!" he shouts to his fellow niggers. "Muthafucka! Bitch! Muthafucka Bitch Nigga! Get the fuck out my face, Nigga Muthafucka Bitch-Ass Nigga! Sheeeeaaat, Nigga." The Whites around are all made uncomfortable; they avoid eye contact lest they hear that fearsome bellow: "What the fuck you lookin' at, White-ass muthafucka?" Hell, you don't have to be a rip-roarin' racist like me to share this discomfort. Listen to the words of one Felicia Lee, a columnist for the New York Times:

The three young black men were on a crowded No. 2 train headed uptown, wearing the compulsory pants that threatened to drop to their ankles. They lost no time in putting on a show that runs frequently, often greeting subway riders between 2 and 4 p.m. as schools let out. The young men traded a blizzard of "nigger" this and "nigger" that, complemented by vulgar references to women, sexual acts and gays. Commuters of all colors cringed and avoided eye contact.

Of course, aversion to this unseemly black behavior must be wrapped in thick blankets of concern for other oppressed groups, lest Lee be tagged a racist. But let's just out with it: 'Nigger' may be an ugly word, but that only stands to reason. Niggers are ugly. Maybe the word needs unsheathing. The more blacks insist on invading our schools, our communities and our way of life, all based on the insistence that they're just dark-skinned White people, they may need to be told: "You're not wanted here because you're a nigger! Got it? Now get out!" As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, I'm tired of worshiping at the Shrine of the Great Nigger.

The terms of insult for Whites, by contrast, don't cut so well. "Honky" just sounds silly; when Whites hear it, they laugh, recalling George Jefferson from "The Jeffersons." Same for "cracker," "white devil," or any of the others. The fact is that a mostly-quality, secure people aren't offended by terms of insult for them dreamed up by their haters.

But 'nigger' hurts. Because blacks are in fact often stupid, irresponsible and threatening, the very attributes conjured by the word. And they seem to know it. Words hurt, but the ones that hurt worst are the ones that are true.

[Pale Rider]

Warning! The following essay is extremely politically incorrect and not for the faint of heart.

Why the N-Word Hurts

by Hard Truthteller

Growing up, the word "nigger" was the worst possible utterance to escape a kid's lips. It was up there with getting caught smoking or reading a Playboy: a serious moral offense for which you'd be subjected to a tag-team lecture by Mom and Dad. Blood rushed to your face, and you hung your head in shame. Even today, with emerging white racial consciousness, I blanch at the use of the word. Unless, of course, I'm muttering it under my own breath after witnessing some particularly niggerish behavior by, well, niggers.

Yet the word retains power -- and not the "power of reclamation" liberal academics use to refer to the rapper's use of "nigger." I mean the power to hurt. The power to sting, slice and slash, right into the innards of a black, no matter the age, sex or size. A black Harvard Law School professor named Randall Kennedy has just published a book titled Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word that purports to examine just these phenomena. I haven't read the book, but after hearing him interviewed on NPR and reading a few reviews, I get the basic idea: it's bad if White people say it and good if black people say it, so long as it's all in good fun. Well, whatever. Since I doubt Randall Kennedy shares my views on black people, I doubt if he got to the heart of why "nigger" is indeed such a troublesome word.

Here's why "nigger" hurts so much: Because it's true. Just say it out loud. The word 'nigger' pops with onomatopoeic accuracy: the negative sneer of the 'neh,' the rubbery, bouncing stupidity of the 'gg,' the disapproving droop of the 'er.' It conjures an image of big-lipped, big-toothed, frightening-looking black man, bopping threateningly along, shooting his eyes here and there, on the lookout both for opportunities to make trouble and avoid detection.

You know him, because you've seen him. He's a nigger. An honest-to-God, wild-eyed bull nigger. Filthy, ugly and dangerous. His limbs fly about, and he moves with sudden and unsettling jerks. His noises are spastic and threatening -- ape-like hoots, grunts and growls.

"Nigga!" he shouts to his fellow niggers. "Muthafucka! Bitch! Muthafucka Bitch Nigga! Get the fuck out my face, Nigga Muthafucka Bitch-Ass Nigga! Sheeeeaaat, Nigga." The Whites around are all made uncomfortable; they avoid eye contact lest they hear that fearsome bellow: "What the fuck you lookin' at, White-ass muthafucka?" Hell, you don't have to be a rip-roarin' racist like me to share this discomfort. Listen to the words of one Felicia Lee, a columnist for the New York Times:

The three young black men were on a crowded No. 2 train headed uptown, wearing the compulsory pants that threatened to drop to their ankles. They lost no time in putting on a show that runs frequently, often greeting subway riders between 2 and 4 p.m. as schools let out. The young men traded a blizzard of "nigger" this and "nigger" that, complemented by vulgar references to women, sexual acts and gays. Commuters of all colors cringed and avoided eye contact.

Of course, aversion to this unseemly black behavior must be wrapped in thick blankets of concern for other oppressed groups, lest Lee be tagged a racist. But let's just out with it: 'Nigger' may be an ugly word, but that only stands to reason. Niggers are ugly. Maybe the word needs unsheathing. The more blacks insist on invading our schools, our communities and our way of life, all based on the insistence that they're just dark-skinned White people, they may need to be told: "You're not wanted here because you're a nigger! Got it? Now get out!" As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, I'm tired of worshiping at the Shrine of the Great Nigger.

The terms of insult for Whites, by contrast, don't cut so well. "Honky" just sounds silly; when Whites hear it, they laugh, recalling George Jefferson from "The Jeffersons." Same for "cracker," "white devil," or any of the others. The fact is that a mostly-quality, secure people aren't offended by terms of insult for them dreamed up by their haters.

But 'nigger' hurts. Because blacks are in fact often stupid, irresponsible and threatening, the very attributes conjured by the word. And they seem to know it. Words hurt, but the ones that hurt worst are the ones that are true.

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