I read MsJ's last blog entry,
The "N-word" and Censorship... - Poetry in Color Forum and found my comment to it was running long, long enough to make into an essay. Please read the blog entry, then this. I think it will explain why I was inspired to write this essay.
~~~~~~
Speak Up!
This started out as a comment to MsJacquii’s blog entry about her non-censorship policy and her thoughts about politically correct people saying ‘the N-word’. Nigger. That’s the word. What is a nigger? Mom had me look it up in a dictionary. It defined nigger as a liar and a thief. So why are we labeling a entire race of people liars and thieves without benefit of doubt?
What's in a name? My father used that word quite a bit. My mother threatened to wash our mouths out with soap if WE did. She said the correct word was negro. I had a black friend in third grade, Debbie Hopkins and I told her my mother said she was a negro. It hurt her feelings, so she was just Debbie after that.
Then the Black Panthers came along and said they were not 'colored' but 'black' so my 'colored' friend was now 'black' though I remember a nice shade of brown for her skin....
Years passed by 'colored' people were now 'black'. Ok, I can deal with that, easy to say though I still heard that other word in Texas, Phoenix, Alabama, and other places I lived over the years. I'd made friends of different ethnicity and thought nothing of it. What's the big deal? Then I heard African-American was the label 'black' people wanted to be called.
I love Whoopi Goldberg. Not just because she's a comic, or that she's black, or even that she's a woman. I love her because she’s the rare outspoken woman comic, black or white, who speaks her mind and doesn’t give a rat's ass what people think. She says things which make me laugh and then think about what she has said because she’s RIGHT.
My husband bought her book for me one Christmas. It’s titled, Whoopi Goldberg Book. I love it because it reflects her voice and her opinions. It also has a great chapter on farts.
I spoke about Whoopi and her book because of her opinion on the label 'African-American'. She insisted she wasn't 'African-American' because she wasn't born in Africa. She was born here. She was an American, period. Again, she had me thinking and again she was right. We are all, no matter our ethnicity, Americans born and raised. My family tree includes Swiss, Native American (there we go again), Scot, German and a bunch of other countries thrown in. We call ourselves mutts or Heinz 57.
Nigger. Whop. Spic. Kike. Dike. Dumb blonde. Fuck. Aggie. Shit. Gook. Nerd. Jock. Geek. Weird. Unique. Sticks and stones? What’s in a name? I have friends from all over the world, of different ethnicities, religions, beliefs, traditions, tenets. We are ALL human beings…homo sapiens. Why are we hurting each other? Why do we pass down the pain and rejection to the next generation?
A thousand years from now, if we can manage to get along well enough for our ‘civilization’ to survive, will the color of our skin, the deities we pray to, the food we eat, the words we write, make a difference in how we view each other? I can remember being impressed with hearing someone came from California…so sophisticated, so up-to-date on everything that matters…until I found out that he came from California, PA.
I don’t use the above words for one reason only…because it would hurt the person I’m referring to. For that, I would be broken hearted. I can’t stand the thought of hurting anyone’s feelings. This is my opinion. This is how I live my life. I went through my first 18 years of life being insulted by people with hurtful names. I won’t do that to someone else. It’s not a matter of being politically correct.
MsJ also mentioned that using ‘the N-word’ was just the same as saying it. She’s right. Mom, bless her heart, pointed something out to me one day. I was using the word ‘fudge’ in place of ‘fuck’, ‘shoot’ for ‘shit’, ‘darn’ for ‘damn’, etc. She said to me, just as MsJ did, that it was just the same as saying the word I was substituting. Damn! I hated when she was right.
Anyway, so we’re using ‘the N-word’ now. What’s next? Which word will we use to describe a race of people? I heard on the news recently that by 2040, I think that was the year they used, white people, Caucasians, will be a minority in the US. Will we be the ones verbally tiptoed around? I’m over 50, I’m a woman, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a writer, and a blonde with graying hair. I’m a person, damn it!
Speak up! We write, we influence our readers with our work. I didn’t know MsJ or Kim were black until I saw their pictures. Had no clue. Didn’t care one way or the other. I read their work, chatted with them in the Shoutbox and connected with them in a way I can’t achieve in the ‘real’ world because I’m a shy person. I consider them my sisters and am so happy they feel the same way.
If I’ve offended anyone with what I’ve written, I apologize. If I’ve given even one person something to ponder, I feel justified writing this. I didn’t understand my father’s prejudice, and don’t understand why those words are still used. I don’t understand why, in this new century, we feel the need to insult entire races. I’m assuming those who do, no matter the breeding, education, pedigree, whatever, either lack something in their character that cause them to demean others different from them or their vocabulary is lacking.
I do appreciate it, Sarah.
Say it LOUD and say it PROUD Gail
Sort of rambling - but here's some interesting points... Perhaps...
j/kidding.
--- At anyrate - just wanted to post briefly to say it's wonderful that someone else has a shared opinion on the matter... PCworld (politically correct) has done a great disservice IMO ((will have more on that later perhaps...)) 
--- Um... Yeah... Hmmmm....
the word "Nigger" and what should I find but an interesting 
--- A show of respect no doubt.