The ‘N’ Word

If you are hyper-sensitive to the use of vulgar language or are a closet racist, don’t bother reading this post……  Remember, you’ve been warned. 

So I was watching The View last week when Whoopi and Elizabeth had a heated discussion about the use of the ‘N’ word.

I have very passionate feelings about the topic. For me, the ‘N’ word (from here on out referred to as ‘the word’), is abhorrent. Awful. Vulgar. Hateful.

I would never use it. My momma taught me better. In fact, my introduction to ‘the word’ was in about 2nd grade when my little sister came home and repeated it. (She heard it on the playground). My mom took us both aside and told us in her most serious voice that if she ever, ever heard us use that word or call anyone that word, she would slap us clear into tomorrow.

That was enough for me. In fact, I prefer the ‘f’ word to ‘the word’ and would much rather hear it any day of the week. Any vulgar word, actually, shit, damn, hell – is much, much better than ‘the word’. Because ‘the word’ is a word of hate and degradation. And that is much worse, in my humble opinion, than your typical 4 letter word.

So – the debate – is it ok for Black people to use the word? Well, in my perfect world, no one would use it. BUT,  there has been so much that the Black community has had to deal with for so many generations that I can accept that this is the place they are at. (Think Blacks in America don’t still have crap to deal with? Read this article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/btsc.obrien/index.html).

And what I want most is to see honest dialog open up so we can heal as a nation. The first step, at least for White people, is to acknowledge the pain and the anger and the bitterness that many have had because of slavery, segregation and racism in general. And, validate those feelings as having a definite legitimacy.

Why post this in a blog primarily focused on being a mom? Because to continue the conversation, we need to raise our children to repect people of all cultures. And they learn how to relate to others by our example. So, I think it’s worth the time to just pause for a minute every once in a while and consider the feelings of others and examine how we fit into a solution for a better world.