Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs. --Pearl Strachan
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. -- Popular Nursery Rhyme.
Words, spoken or written have an immense amount of power, they can inspire a million different feelings and create brand new worlds. The two quotes above offer two very different evaluations on the power that words have, but do words really have the power to cause destruction, pain, angst and grief for years after they are spoken/created?
One of the most powerful words in the English language is often spoken in the 21st century but do any of us really remember its meanings and its history? The word nigger causes great controversy amongst the majority of people, why does this word hold more power than other curse words? And should it after all these years still have the same impact on black people of the 21st Century.
Perhaps more of an American issue then a British one, the controversy of the word like many other parts of American culture managed to filter through to everyday Britons in what some may say an all to blasé manner.
My Experience
When I first heard the word or to be more accurate first called the word I was 6, I was at a swimming pool and had just shut my door in a locker so was to busy dealing with a bloody finger to pay attention to the boys who threw the racial slur and spat at me. Before that I had been called a paki (yeah go figure), blackie, black jack and various other slurs, but I was too young to know what such words meant and I predict that the kids who said the words knew either. Although there intent was to hurt I truly doubt that they knew the true impact or historical meaning of the word, as I grew older I soon learnt the historical meaning of the word and have since been conflicted of its use no thanks to what I have studied versus the music I hear and some of films I watch.
A History Lesson
The etymology of the word lies with the Latin "niger", Spanish "negro", and middle French "negre" meaning black.
One of the earliest uses of the written word was in 1786 by slave masters to label their Africans. It is through its application in slavery that it has come to be seen by many as the most offensive racial slur in English.
By the 1960's the Civil Rights Movement in America was in full force and use of the word was soon beginning to lose its place in every day vocabulary. White racists of a middle class background distanced themselves from the word instead choosing to use the word negra as their preferred racial slur, however those of a lower white class still continued to use the word freely.
The Black Power Movement brought about what many called a cultural revolution for African-Americans, black's were made to feel proud of their features that were so often mocked and embrace their natural hair, along with this they adopted with the Nation of Islam's approach of calling themselves Black rather than Negro's and Niggers.
With the word Nigger basked in the blood of hundreds of thousands of people both black and white, it does beg the question as to why anyone would want to use it (black or white). For hundreds of years this word was forced upon blacks, replacing their names and used to ensure they knew they were the lowest of the lowest, so why has the word become so common place amongst black and white kids alike.
Rap Music & The Glamorisation
After the Civil Rights Movement the word seemed to take a brand new direction, comedians such as Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy would bring it to both black and white audiences around the world with seemingly little regard for the words historical past. Sketches would be casually filled with the word and in a sense it seemed to make it okay to say the word, this feeling was soon to be further taken on board as rap music became a dominant force.
Rap music takes a lot of blame for the ills of American society, violence,sexism and the continued use of the word Nigger are claimed to be alive and ringing in the ears of Americans because of this obnoxious form of music. In the early 90's rap groups such as N.W.A (Niggaz with Attitude) used the word liberally as they spoke about their frustration with American society, they managed to re-popularise the word and glamorise it on the mainstream music world. However this new generation offered the defence that Nigga now meant something different, it was now an empowerment term that no longer meant the same to the young generation as it did with the old.
As rap became more popular and artists such as Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg & Ludacris became global figures, the word has filtered into other communities, It now appears to be commonplace for youths and adults of white and asian heritage on both sides of the Atlantic to use the word as if it never meant a thing. Some may argue that its is an embracing culture,but no-one would try to embrace Chinese culture by calling someone a "Chink", Italian culture by calling someone a "Wop" or Irish culture by calling someone a "paddy".
And whilst the popularity of rap music has spread around the world, it doesn't mean that history has erased itself, hip-hop artists have a responsibility this is without a doubt true, but at the same time everybody is responsible for their own actions. Rap music or any other kind of music or form of entertainment for that matter shouldn't educate kids, parents and teachers should.
Perhaps the explanation below offers a reason as to why it is not just a word used in hip-hop songs...
In the documentary "The N Word" one commentator declares that the word Nigger was used for almost 300 years as a derogatory term, how in 20 years of Hip-Hip Culture have people tried to claim a re-branding of it.
The fact that people will quite happily defend their use of the word nigger by claiming that so and so rapper says it, should also think of the above statement before believing they have the right to brandish around the word. This goes for White and Black people.
What is interesting is that some figures who so brazenly brandished the word in the past, came to later abhore the word and tried to shed it from their vocabulary. Unfortunately in the cases of popular figures who made it part of their acts, the damage was and is already done.
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"Niggers V Black People"
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In Chris Rock's bring the pain the comedian has a sketch that is called Niggers V Black people, the comic declares differences between ordinary black people and Niggers. Rock describes niggers as all the negative stereotypes that any racist would associate with a black person and black people as people trying to move away from this stereotype. Whilst the sketch is hilarious, it in a way further allows people to defend their use of the word, Chris Rock later removed the sketch from Bring the pain as he said he felt it gave others from other racial backgrounds an excuse to use the word nigger.
Whilst I do not agree with censorship, some popular figures should think when they write (in the case of many rap stars)
The banning of the word
So what can you do about the use of the word?
Essentially nothing, however people who use it and then claim it doesn't mean anything should then find no problem with someone calling them the worst insult possible, nor should they find any other word offensive. After all to them words mean nothing and have no power behind them at all, right?
In 2007 the New York City council decided unanimously to ban the "n-word", whilst some civil rights campaigners and other high profile African-Americans applauded the symbolic banning of the word, censorship is by no means an answer to ensuring that the importance and history of the word is not forgotten. No amount of political correctness will ever erase the the word from history books or from some peoples memories, after all its not as if racism has ceased to exist despite what politicians in countries such as America & England will tell you. Multiculturalism in the biggest cities in both countries has by no means burnt away the racial tensions that still languish in the suburbs of little Britain or America.
Interestingly, New York also recently banned the use of the word Oriental as it has a history of being a racial slur, and the word. Just as the banning of the word Nigger it has been met with applause by many of the older Asian-Americans in New York and across America.However, is the banning of these words just political correctness going to far?
Is censorship the solution to try and overcome racial tensions?
Surely education on the impacts of words such as Oriental and Nigger would be far more useful than out of touch government officials banning the words in the public sphere.
It seems that people are instead of dealing with the real issue (racism), would rather the subject be swept under the carpet with legislation that will do nothing more lthan create animosity and hostility (even if it does appear to be the right thing).
In my opinion and I'm sure many will think different, I don't think that a crusade to ban words will have the desired impact nor will it decrease the use of the word.
I will end the blog with this poem:
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Peace & Much Love.
Watch the documentary "the n word"
Links:
http://abolishthenword.com/
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.09.98/cover/nigger-9814.html
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/06/28_williamsb_nword/
http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/whats_the_matter_with_saying_the_orient