But Melinda: does that mean to you that the word should never be used? I think of Lenny Bruce. And I think: when I hear the Euphemism, “n-word” or n with a bunch of asterisks, what’s the first word thst springs to mind?
Thank you for this. A voice of much-needed clarity and sanity. My musical setting of Blake’s THE LITTLE BLACK BOY recently caused a bit of a ruckus. I see many parallels in your observations on LITTLE BLACK SAMBO, a story I enjoyed growing up in England. Ultimately triumph over adversity. Context is important, but sheathing of the omnipresent nail-seeking hammer is equally crucial. This is my song, written with a less “offensive” title because…well, you know!
If the word “n*gger” were not still in use, then there would be no problem. But when I hear that word, I see an ordinary black man, woman or child hanging high dead from a rope on a tree, with white men, women and children milling around below, some taking photographs to send to friends 😢
I do not know Lenny Bruce’s work, but perhaps he used the N-word ironically, as many black comedians still do today.
The reason for the asterisk or euphemism is due to the fact that white people still find it an acceptable word to use in mixed company. As the only black woman where I live up a mountain, next to a bar in New Jersey, I asked 2 white men what they meant by the term. One said, “Not you, you work!” (So he equates “n*gger” with “lazy.) The other man told me,”But I have black family,” a day after I observed him fighting a black patron outside the bar, attempting to taser this man and yelling “N*gger!” His girlfriend immediately called the cops on the black man as he was driving away. When I asked the black man in that same bar about this a few days later, he told me in a tired sounding voice, “I hear that word all the time at work.” He works as a brick layer.
Hate speech that leads to violence must definitely be banned.
But Melinda: does that mean to you that the word should never be used? I think of Lenny Bruce. And I think: when I hear the Euphemism, “n-word” or n with a bunch of asterisks, what’s the first word thst springs to mind?
Well done. Sorting out the wheat from all the chaff.
Thank you for this. A voice of much-needed clarity and sanity. My musical setting of Blake’s THE LITTLE BLACK BOY recently caused a bit of a ruckus. I see many parallels in your observations on LITTLE BLACK SAMBO, a story I enjoyed growing up in England. Ultimately triumph over adversity. Context is important, but sheathing of the omnipresent nail-seeking hammer is equally crucial. This is my song, written with a less “offensive” title because…well, you know!
https://youtu.be/QFzw9DOqmP4?si=zUmqsoRvUV2-R7qZ
If the word “n*gger” were not still in use, then there would be no problem. But when I hear that word, I see an ordinary black man, woman or child hanging high dead from a rope on a tree, with white men, women and children milling around below, some taking photographs to send to friends 😢
Keep them coming, Melissa! Curious: have you had any pushback?
I do not know Lenny Bruce’s work, but perhaps he used the N-word ironically, as many black comedians still do today.
The reason for the asterisk or euphemism is due to the fact that white people still find it an acceptable word to use in mixed company. As the only black woman where I live up a mountain, next to a bar in New Jersey, I asked 2 white men what they meant by the term. One said, “Not you, you work!” (So he equates “n*gger” with “lazy.) The other man told me,”But I have black family,” a day after I observed him fighting a black patron outside the bar, attempting to taser this man and yelling “N*gger!” His girlfriend immediately called the cops on the black man as he was driving away. When I asked the black man in that same bar about this a few days later, he told me in a tired sounding voice, “I hear that word all the time at work.” He works as a brick layer.
Hate speech that leads to violence must definitely be banned.