The topic of the n-word has been one of controversy and has been a popular debate for sometime now. Some say that it should be banned because it can be used as a racial slur while some say that it shouldn’t be banned because freedom of speech and ect. The n-word shouldn’t be banned because it can be used as a term of endearment and that it's improbable to ban the n-word at school. The first reason why they n-word shouldn’t be banned is the power behind the word is no longer there, according to Jay-Z on the Oprah show “And for our generation, we took the word and we took the power out of that word you know we turned a word that was very ugly and hurtful and turned it into a term of endearment.” So according to Jay-Z the issues isn’t that the n-word is bad it's the racism intent behind it. Also in accord with what Jay-Z said Gloria Naylor states that “When used with a possessive adjective by a women- ‘my …show more content…
nigger’- it became a term of endearment for her husband or boyfriend.” So considering both Jay-Z and Naylor the n-word isn’t used to be ugly and hurtful because their was good intent behind it so it shouldn’t be banned in schools. The second reason why the n-word shouldn’t be banned is because you can't just ban a word and have it disappear, especially in school where youth has picked it up and is now mainstream.
Putting a ban on the n-word and expecting it to be a solution is unlikely, according to Refining the Word by David Sheinin “But no more unimaginable than a country where the word is completely gone.” In other words banning a word isn’t a good solution to stopping the racism intent behind it. Also trying to ban the n-word in schools is even more implausible because according to David Sheinin “Despite its expansion, the n-word hasn't really joined mainstream American culture--just mainstream youth culture.” The n-word is mostly used in youth culture like rap music or between teens so banning it in school would be the most difficult place to ban the n-word and that poses more questions like what would be the punishment for saying the n-word, how would you regulate the word since there isn’t teachers everywhere, and why just regulate the n-word when their are many offensive
words? Some people would say to ban the n-word because it's a racial slur that symbolizes the segregation that was part of America’s past. For example, Oprah on the Oprah show claims “That word carries such a sense of hatred and degradation… “ And that can be true, but it's also true that it can be a term of endearment as mentioned earlier, it depends on the intent, context and consensus of what the word means that gives it it’s power and it makes no sense to ban the word when it's simply used to express how you feel and it rarely has a bad connotation. Furthermore banning the n-word doesn't address the problem of racism the intent is still there even if it isn’t expressed in the form of the n-word. In conclusion banning the n-word is pointless because it can be used as a term of endearment, also that it’d would be difficult to impose a school wide ban on the n-word, and that even if you ban the n-word that does not address the underlying problem of racism. Therefore there should not be a CHS school wide ban on the n-word.
What does it mean to say the “N-word” both it in its original form, or as the “N-word’, and what is the context for the impact which occurs when it leaves the mouths of blacks and or whites. I begin with a look at ‘Teaching the N-Word” by Emily Bernard, she is a 30 year old African American professor who teaches at University of Vermont which happens to be a predominantly white institution. She works alongside her husband, a white man, who is also a professor of African American History ; her brother writes for The Source and urges her students to think about the ways in which the “N-word” is used in pop culture. The students in Emily Bernard’s honors literature class must question the effect of the n-word on black people and just as importantly
Naylor implies that derogatory terms have a twist and are a disguise of acknowledgement to her race. Although it was initially created to humiliate and dehumanize African Americans, ‘the n-word’ develops into a word that admires men of that race.
"'N-Word' Going Mainstream?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
How many times have you heard the “N” word being used as not an insult, but as a nickname for a friend? The truth is: In 2016, the “petrifying” “N” word has become less of an insult, and more of a simple nickname that many teens and young adults use for each other. The simple connotation of the word has been modified throughout the years from being something that was used as hurtful slander of the black population, to a petty pet name. For this simple reason alone, all of the arguments about Huckleberry Finn being “Racist
“I don’t give a fuck what a nigga say,” for a word that many different things I think most people would agree that in this since nigga means a person preferably black. Nigga is a derogatory and racist word that refers to Black people. But, we, meaning Black people, still use it. We do not care, nigga flows off the tough. In using nigga we not only show disdain but become a nigga when using it and we’re ok with it. This is why I choose Katt Williams, 2006 comedy skit Pimp Chronicle Part 1. In William’s skit he use nigga some 221 times, in 45 minute, that’s about four times per minute. I could not find a better example of someone using nigga. 221 times, he must have something interesting to say if he can find 221 reason to say the word and you know what he did. I could not help but laugh it was funny, but at the end of the day I knew though it may have been funny it was still morally wrong. In Williams, he uses nigga in ways that support Black stereotypes, which make the audience laugh. There is nothing worng with that a mans
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson teaches a valuable lesson. The book is about a young girl just entering high school. It shows all her struggles and achievements as a girl recovering from being raped at a party before entering high school. Because of the strength of the lesson Speak teaches, it should not be banned.
I found several techniques to help me refrain from using this word and other words of its caliber. I started to replace it with words like dude. Recently I have found great satisfaction in improving my vocabulary, although at times I do feel “naked” with the word to fill my gaps. I find that the best remedy for me is to become more articulate. Whenever I feel that the situation calls for a word like that I pick one from may many other word of equal magnitude. In final analysis I will continue power pledge to refrain from the usage of the N-word. Continuing the techniques that I have learned to employ had really help me refrain. I have not used the word since February 25.
“Nigger: it is arguably the most consequential social insult in American History, though, at the same time, a word that reminds us of ‘the ironies and dilemmas, tragedies and glories of the American experience’” (Kennedy 1).
Banning a book on the basis of profanity is merely a superficial reason of those who wish to limit beliefs that do not coincide with their own. By excluding a novel from a high school curriculum in order to shelter students from profanity, is an attempt to do the impossible. Profanity is found everywhere. According to TV Guide, "Profanity is uttered once every six minutes on American primetime television...
The “N word” as some people call it, is an age old name for people of African American descent. Now where in tarnation did this monstrosity of a word come from? Well of course we look to Latin American Language as the culprit. The word “niger” is Latin meaning “black” and at the time was only used as the name of a color. Eventually, the word “niger” was turned into a noun, a noun being a word for any person, place or thing. The noun formed from the adjective “niger” was “negro”. Which coincidently enough is the word for the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. From these words, the French developed the word “nigre” meaning a black man and “negress” which referred to a black woman. Now I bet you’re wondering how the word “nigger” originated from the word “negro”. Well it is believed that misinterpretation and mispronunciation from white southerners that led to the development of the word “nigger”.
One must say to simply use freedom of speech amongst peers does not necessarily mean any harm when using the “N” in comedy sketches, stand-up, and sitcoms it have been used in the black humor many decades. The “N” has to be identified by Americans whether saying the Nigga in comedy is humor or is it been used as racist
In her article entitled “Ode to a Four Letter Word” Kathryn Schulz says, “Writers don’t use expletives out of laziness or the puerile desire to shock or because we mislaid the thesaurus. We use them because, sometimes, the four-letter word is the better word—indeed, the best one.” Her grounds behind this claim are that all profanity is contextual. Writing is an expression, which like all forms of art, approximates reality or the author’s take on reality. That being said, profanity has an appropriate role in writing, insofar as it accurately represents how humans truly interact.
When it comes to the use of the “N-word”, “nigger”, most of us will readily agree that it is derived from negativity. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is this word appropriate and should it be a part of our vocabulary today. Many feel like this word is okay to use but there are some that disagree.
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
In the article, "You Can't Say That," the author Diane Ravitch talks about how certain words are deleted from books or not shown in films because they could offend certain groups. In the article, Ravitch argues that although it may seem like we live in a world where anything goes, the truth is, that's not true. Diane does research and gathers a list of more than five hundred words that regularly get deleted from textbooks and tests. Some of the words include cowboy, brotherhood, yacht, and primitive. Personally I believe that the censoring of words these days is somewhat extreme. I understand that certain groups could be offended by such words but why should everyone else not get the original words the author is trying to write because of that.