Oh, man, I hardly know where to begin with this one, so, let’s just start with the CNN piece that explains how black leaders are now asking the collective American entertainment culture to stop saying nigger… excuse me… the N Word.

Now, this is obviously (at least to me) a pretty tricky and complicated topic to write about… that is… if you disagree with the whole thing! And, where to begin…

Okay, let’s begin here: There is a God in the universe, and, all living creatures have a certain, innate divinity. That’s my belief, so, that’s my initial supposition. That having been said, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to elaborate my beliefs that racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other type of hatred are, simply put, wrong and in contradiction of Christ’s message of love.

Now, please, don’t peg me for a Holy Roller. I believe in the message of Christ, certainly, and, I appreciate a good orgasm. I’m a girl that tries to keep it real. Okay, moving along.

Before looking at the etymology and historical context of the term, I’m going to tell you in plain English why the very existence of the term nigger is just so incredibly fucked-up and troublesome. I assure you that what I’m going to tell you is absolutely true, disturbing, and something you’re unlikely to hear on television. And, it’s simple.

The term “nigger” is obviously a disparaging term aimed at folks with dark skin: folks that have been socially categorized into the group known, generally, as either black or African American: which are also two ambiguous terms lacking scientific meaning: rather, the terms have social uses. For the purpose of this piece, I’ll use the term black. And, believe me when I tell you that the day will come when the racial term “black” will be considered as offensive as the term “Negro” currently is.. but, I don’t want to get too sidetracked here.

Okay, the term “nigger” is so socially complicated (and, historically involved), but, when used by the group of folks that’s socially constructed as “whites,” oh, boy, does that term have some serious venom. I mean… it has a bite like a King Cobra. It’s absolutely poisonous. And, Michael Richards did a very good job of substantiating my position. I mean, if a white guy tosses the word nigger into a room, it’s the equivalent of a verbal hand grenade. This is a fact. You may disagree with me about any number of things, but, it’s a brave individual who’s going to dispute the essential power of the word nigger. I don’t feel the need to further argue just how powerful the word is…

And, it’s power is, ultimately, directed against the group that has been socially constructed as being “black,” and, as indicated, there are a lot of problems with this very construction, but, for the sake of this particular dialogue, it will do. So, yes, feel that power. Search the web and see the deluge of articles and posts about what Michael Richards did at the Laugh Factory.

And, then ask yourself this very important question? What could a black comedian have said to a white audience that would have produced the same effect? What verbal hand grenade of a word could the black comedian toss out there that would create this same controversial (at times hysterical) flood?

Answer: None. And, that’s key. There is no term so offensive, so venomous that exists in the English language: there is no term which so disparages the so-called white race with the equivalent disparaging power of the word nigger against the so-called black race. This is a fact. You almost never hear this crucial, fundamental idea mentioned. And, it is so important to understanding this subject. Did you notice that when one of the black members of the audience, who had just been called nigger repeatedly, who had just been told that 50 years ago he’d be hanging upside down with a fork up his ass etc., did you notice that his strongest reply (and, given the context, he would certainly choose the strongest reply available) was to call Michael Richards a cracker.

A cracker? That’s the best you got? A cracker? That’s something that you smear a little peanut butter or cheese on… c’mon… that ain’t no fighting word! Well, the equivalent fighting word doesn’t exist! There, simply put, isn’t a word in the English language that conveys the same sense of hatred, that so thoroughly belittles the entire group of white folks, as the word nigger does to black folks. Does anyone care to dispute this point? If so, please leave a comment and tell us the word.

So, where does this linguistic reality leave us?

I’m glad you asked, because it leaves us in just the fucked-up spot that we’re currently in… Now, some black folks (particularly savvy rappers) recognized this linguistic power structure and attempted to subvert it from the inside out. How? By using the term nigger themselves liberally. Now, you rarely hear this view expressed, but, that’s what it’s largely about. The idea being, “White man. You got nothing on me. You think you have ownership of a word so powerful that it annihilates my culture’s humanity while I have no equivalent to direct against you. Wrong? You got nothing. See, I’m a nigger, these are my niggers, and, fuck you, I’ll take ownership of the word away from you by giving it my own twist… behold: NIGGA!

As indicated, in America, where we can scarcely even have a rational discussion of skin color and race-construction, you don’t hear such explanations very often… but, that’s what’s really going on… think about it. It makes sense. The problem, however, was the black folks appropriation and spin on the term didn’t take the venom away from it when coming from white mouths. The premise was sound… but, see, that’s just how powerful the word nigger is! Do you understand that very important point… that’s how powerful the word nigger is! It can’t be eviscerated. And, sadly, using the expression “The N Word,” perhaps ironically, only adds to its power.

Now, I’m very sorry to say that. Truly. It makes me quite sad to say that using the N Word expression only makes the word nigger more powerful, but, I have to be honest whether I like the answer or not. I swear to God it makes me sad as hell. When I see wonderful, brilliant, and beautiful people like the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Paul Mooney, Maxine Waters et. al together and advocating that the entertainment world stop using the word nigger… yes, I understand why they are making this effort. But, I am a scholar, and, I have to write truth as I see it, and, sadly, this effort will only make the term more powerful.

Right about now you may be thinking: Okay, if you’re so smart Katie, you tell us what to do about it? Okay, I will…

First, you have to ask yourself this very fundamental question:

How Did The Word Nigger Get To Be So Powerful?

Okay, now we’re really starting to get somewhere. How did this word get to be so venomous. It’s because of the historical context of the word. You see, if I made up a word, let’s say, Hoogiebaba, and, we all decided to call people with red hair Hoogiebaba, and, see, we don’t like red heads, so, we’re going to call them Hoogiebaba, and, the redheads understand that we’re calling them Hoogiebaba because they have red hair… you know, the red heads definitely know they’re being singled out and being called Hoogiebaba … and, this word Hoogiebaba is known by everyone… it’s a red head… and, I’m performing at the comedy club, and, a group of red heads come in and they’re a little noisy or whatever, and, I start yelling, “Hoogiebaba! You’re a Hoogiebaba! Hoogiebaba! Look, there’s a Hoogiebaba! There’s a Hoogiebaba!” What would the effect be? That’s right… it would be nothing… it would just be ridiculous.

Why? Because the disparaging racial term needs a historical context. It needs a legacy of brutality behind it in order to get its power. Once again, this is a simple idea that you just don’t encounter… but, do you notice what Richards said… this is very important… in addition to saying nigger repeatedly, he said, “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass.” Ah ha! A historical context. Oh, fucking history is a son of a bitch as you’ll see. And, this is the key. This is where the venom comes from.

Richard wasn’t fabricating. It was a short time ago that black folks were tortured, hung, lynched, and brutalized by such methods as having their genitalia mutilated and sharp objects shoved into their anuses. Yes, this is part of our shameful and thoroughly disgusting history. Actually, the words don’t exist in the English language to convey just how shameful and disgusting this is… but, it is reality!

History is reality, and, when these black folks were being tortured and brutalized and lynched and killed, what were their torturers calling them? What word were their torturers using? What word encompassed the entire sick philosophy and evil doctrine of white supremacy which justified the legacy of brutality which lasted for hundreds… that’s right… hundreds of years? You got it… the word is nigger. Can you smell the venom. Can you taste the poison. The word’s power comes from historical blood. Please understand that point, because that’s what they won’t tell you on television. That’s what you won’t encounter in a text book that’s handed out in school. The power of certain disparaging words comes from historical blood. And, why did the men who Richards had called nigger not have an equally strong response? Because the American whites have not suffered the same legacy of brutality! They were the ones killing the Native Americans, enslaving the Africans, imprisoning the Japanese, harassing the Muslims, etc. Please try to understand this point… I beg you.

Furthermore, the point of this post is not to condemn the early European settlers… nor is it to condemn any constructed group of folks. If you look at history deeply enough, over a long enough course of time, you’ll discover that virtually every culture has been quite inhumane. That’s just the way it is… but, we are growing! All praise to Jesus. As a world culture we are evolving, and, it’s a beautiful thing!

Now, as a world culture, there are some stumbling blocks: like a lot of the perverse and destructive ideas coming out of mainstream Hollywood celebrity culture which are just totally terrible and make people feel lousy. And, I’m not just talking about the overt racism (like Michael Richards and Mel Gibson), I’m also talking about the more subtle Hollywood messages of racism and sexism through their bludgeoning ax of a conventional beauty standard that we’re all getting beat over the head with every day of our lives. Now, I’ve written about this elsewhere, and, I’ll continue to write about it here.

Now, I promised that I was going to give my answer to the linguistic dilemma that I outlined… and, I will. Find God! Find God! PRAY! PRAY!

But, I better end this now. I could say a lot more, but, I had better go do some things like have a little dinner and drink a little coffee. Take care.

“Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move hence to yonder place’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Yours truly,
Katie

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