Eulogy for N**ger

[Jux]

Please excuse the use of the word, but if you read the links you'll see why I have.

This essay (named above) has won a prize (20K no less!). It's a very well written essay, humourous and intelligent, easy to read and his arguments easy to follow.

The links are to The Independent.

This is the article about the essay www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/beyond-words-free-speech-must-never-be-curtailed-by-blanket-bans-a6686931.html

And this is the essay itself
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/world-history/eulogy-for-nigger-the-provocative-title-that-has-been-printed-verbatim-a6687016.html

So, what do you think?

I thought its a bit late, Guy Gibsons dog died in 1943

That was a joke, right?

Did you read the piece?

It was a joke, but when I saw the thread title I thought it might be about the remake of the Dambusters changing the dogs name.

I did read it and it certainly makes valid points. There was an interview on Radio 4 months ago when one of the Today program staff who happened to be blind was interviewed about PC words, he said, and I agree with him, that a lot of PC wording simply reduces actual information content. In particular he was complaining about being called "visually impaired", which inevitably led to further conversations about how visually impaired he was. He wanted to be described as blind, given that "blind" was an accurate description of his condition.

Hi folks. Just wanted to let you know we have edited the thread title, which we realise is ironic, given the subject of the article linked to. However, we know many of our members understandably find the N-word so offensive that we tend to delete it, regardless of context, especially in thread titles.

My position of censorship, censoring words and "banning" people from saying things is this.
Offending people should never be banned. How else are we meant to know who's a total idiot, who is on our side and who is genuine?

"Nigger" is offensive and ignorant. But does the condemnation of the word stop people being ignorant or racist?
Not in the slightest. It just pushes people into hiding their racist views rather than being confronted out in the open.

Racism is alive and well. By changing the word "nigger" to the word "coloured", nothing has been acheived.

Like banning the word "bitch" even if that were to happen, people would still hold misogynist views. It's best we know who they are to we can ostracise them.

It is a brilliantly written essay... Well deserving of the prize. Shame, as he is American, that he had to come to Britain to win a prize.

What I mean is that America should have given him a surprise first...

*prize - not surprise...

What that argument fails to take into account is a) the collateral damage of all those tiny micro aggressions (a thousand tiny cuts, every day of your life), and b) how much bigots gain energy from feeling that their views are broadly accepted by society, and how this drags the "centre ground" towards them.

Sorry, crosspost - was replying to squidzin

African Americans represent 60% of the USA prison population, even though the USA is overall 10-12% African American.

Opression, poverty, sociological factors and racism are without question the overriding influences to these statistics.

I don't believe linguistics is much of an influence.

slightlyglitter, they have just changed their linguistics.

Thank you Iona, I knew it was a risky title, but it is the title of the essay, so I thought I'd try being as bold as the author.

I'm sorry people were offended, though I knew some would be. I hope that people would read the essay before clicking away but that was naive of me, and I apologise for the offence.

It's an offensive word. Why ban offensive words when they illuminate debate?

I'm going to call Iona a bitch in the spirit of free speech.

I'd rather know who is actually racist, and who is covering up their racism with PR spun political masquerade.

Doublebubble, yes, that is a shame. Perhaps, as it's made it into the Guardian here it may come to the attention of something over there.

I agree that language doesn't much change behaviour, "a rose by any other name .... " as Shakespeare said. Yes, if you use offensive words then does that merely identify the speaker as a cunt, or does it make inroads into removing the sting?

Much of language relies on intonation. I could call someone an offensive name affectionately, "you dick!" to dh for instance, but if I were to say it sneeringly, it would have a very different effect.

Squidzin, I completely agree with you.

... made it into the Independent .....

I found it fascinating and complex - I didn't understand all the references, I need to read it again.

What do people mean by ban?

I think structural changes make a bigger difference to people's lives than curbs on words.

Gay marriage has done more than anything to pull homosexuality into the mainstream.

I do find the n word offensive but the fact that it's usage is relatively rare these days causes a problem in itself. While I am glad it has moved out of common usage as an extreme racial insult it's usage by president Obama brings up the question of what the word represents. The fact that racial intolerance is alive and well people as a pp have said can hide behind more respectable or socially acceptable terms thus making it more difficult to work out who is being racist.

It's really not that hard to figure out when someone is being racist. Why all this emphasis on that?

It is a brilliant essay and I'm grateful to OP for pointing me at it. The editorial on the other hand is a pile of shite - trying to piggy back on a great piece of writing to make cheap shots about political correctness gone mad.

Agreed. It's a brilliant and complex essay which makes many references that I, as someone who is not black and not American am not going to understand the full emotional weight of because it's just not going to have that punch in the gut resonance for me.

But I can see that the author's main message wasn't "White people! It's okay for you to say nigger again!" The editorial is just self-serving shite.

Agreed.

I think what it does show is how little this sort of critical thinking about race and identity issues enters the mainstream media.

In that essay I read a very different nuanced perspective - it's fascinating to me because these voices are not often heard in the mainstream.