In the politically correct mania of today, some words have so much baggage, that every time they are used publicly, debate ensues. It doesn't matter if the president or your best friend used them--debate will eventually ensue, substantially more so for those in the same spotlight as the former.
For Isiah Thomas, the hot seat is just the beginning. He is accused of sexually harassing a former team executive of the Knicks, Anuche Browne Sander and referring to her as a bitch. Further tangling his predicament, in his disposition Thomas was bold enough to state that it was, "...less offensive for a black man to call a black woman a “bitch” than it was for a white man".
PEOPLE! COME ON IT’S 2007. A bitch is a bitch just like any other derogatory/insinuating word. A word meant in spite and to provoke ill-will in any situation, no matter the speaker, will STILL by the time it reaches the listener be received in spite and ill-will. Let's even break this down scientifically just in case my point is being missed. When the sound waves reverberate through the air and final bounce of the listener's eardrums, neurons transmit the message to the brain's language center and registers the sound as--wait for it--an insult!
In response, Al Sharpton (I usually don't find myself agreeing with him; however I am more than grateful that Al Sharpton said this as a black man to another black man) remarked, "We cannot have double standards for sexism and racism,” and asked that if the video was not spliced Thomas should apologize immediately.
All of this raises another issue that has been troubling the black community: the use of the word nigger. In my opinion, no matter the context of the word, nigger should never be used. Arguably, I am using the word now.* However, I believe that this is the slur of slurs--it carries so much baggage that it truly can't empower anybody--and it can't be taken back and used positively without negatively reflecting itself on those that use it. This is the same stance I have for bitch.
If you have ever have the chance, for those of you that question my opinion of the use of nigger, I strongly encourage you to read Randall Kennedy's "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word" and quickly change your mind.
For Isiah Thomas, the hot seat is just the beginning. He is accused of sexually harassing a former team executive of the Knicks, Anuche Browne Sander and referring to her as a bitch. Further tangling his predicament, in his disposition Thomas was bold enough to state that it was, "...less offensive for a black man to call a black woman a “bitch” than it was for a white man".
PEOPLE! COME ON IT’S 2007. A bitch is a bitch just like any other derogatory/insinuating word. A word meant in spite and to provoke ill-will in any situation, no matter the speaker, will STILL by the time it reaches the listener be received in spite and ill-will. Let's even break this down scientifically just in case my point is being missed. When the sound waves reverberate through the air and final bounce of the listener's eardrums, neurons transmit the message to the brain's language center and registers the sound as--wait for it--an insult!
In response, Al Sharpton (I usually don't find myself agreeing with him; however I am more than grateful that Al Sharpton said this as a black man to another black man) remarked, "We cannot have double standards for sexism and racism,” and asked that if the video was not spliced Thomas should apologize immediately.
All of this raises another issue that has been troubling the black community: the use of the word nigger. In my opinion, no matter the context of the word, nigger should never be used. Arguably, I am using the word now.* However, I believe that this is the slur of slurs--it carries so much baggage that it truly can't empower anybody--and it can't be taken back and used positively without negatively reflecting itself on those that use it. This is the same stance I have for bitch.
If you have ever have the chance, for those of you that question my opinion of the use of nigger, I strongly encourage you to read Randall Kennedy's "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word" and quickly change your mind.
~1~
*Disclaimer: The use of derogatory terms in this post do not reflect my everyday vocabulary, but rather make sure that there is no room for ambiguity in what I am expressing.
*Disclaimer: The use of derogatory terms in this post do not reflect my everyday vocabulary, but rather make sure that there is no room for ambiguity in what I am expressing.
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2 comments:
It is true that such derogatory terms possess the power to not only harm an individual, but victimize an entire community. One question that we may pose is, what can be done to decrease usage of such poisonous words? How can society as a whole help to change the current system that allows such actions to slide by? One could say that merely expressing dissatisfaction with the use of the words is sufficient, but what else can be done?
In psychology, one thing we try to discover is WHY words like those you discuss in your post are so powerful and hurtful. Here is one interesting fact: remember the brain-damaged patients suffering from Broca's aphasia that we discussed in class? these are the patients that are often unable to speak clearly at all, some of them reduced to speaking single syllables or words. Well many of these patients are still able to swear up a storm! It turns out that cursing may be supported directly by more "emotional" areas of the brain as opposed to just the traditional "language" areas. Think about how this might play out for words like "bitch" when they are directed at individuals...
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