The N-word: has it gone beyond racism?
The notorious N-word: a word that is always causing controversy and debate all over the world, and one that no one seems sure how to categorise
Earlier this term we saw Piers Morgan getting rattled for his ‘attempt’ to banish the word for good. Morgan’s view is nothing unfamiliar and a point that has been raised several times before. Unsurprisingly, his heavy use of savage slave metaphors and civil rights references, set off an ongoing debate on social media. Some people are in agreement, others are not, and those who disagree certainly aren’t holding back their opinions about the former CNN host and Daily Mirror editor.
In a reply to some of the reactions he received, Morgan began playing the victim, tweeted, “Is it what I wrote that offended, #BlackTwitter – or the skin colour of the man who wrote it? #NWord”.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at the Atlantic and a nonpareil voice on race and racism in the United States replied: “You are further evidencing your deep ignorance. Black people have been debating this among themselves long before you.”
“Not your skin colour that offends,” Coates continued. “It is your desire to cover your deep ignorance of black people, with a facade of expertise. In brief – you’re not qualified.”
Piers Morgan believes that the N-word would go away if black Americans stopped using it. “If black Americans want the N-word to die, they will have to kill it themselves,” But is this what we as a global society want? Should the word be removed, along with the awful history and stigma that accompanies it? The removal of the word could simply allow for the ignorance of future generations to forget about the severity of what happened in black history and this cannot be done. We cannot simply ‘forget’, nor can we shy away from the fact that it did happen. David Cameron said during this year’s Black History Month, “As we celebrate Black History Month, we not only look back with enormous gratitude to the African-Caribbean community for their immense contribution to Britain, we can also look forward with great confidence about the future of our country.”
We should respect every black citizen as equal and carry on in the fight to stop racism altogether. Although there is still an unacceptable amount of racism in the world; I feel that black people should be free to reclaim or use the word as they please, after all is it not a human right to have freedom of speech?
It seems the word is so far removed these days that it has almost lost its initial meaning. The N-Word among younger generations is a common synonym for ‘mate’ or ‘bro’ and is a word we hear constantly in today’s rap music, being used so freely without spite. However someone slightly older, for example aged 50+, black or white, would still view the N-Word as a derogatory insult and avoid it. On the flip side it’d be a shock if someone heard a young child say it.
Inevitably it brings us back round to the same question, why is it deemed okay for some people to say and others not? Why is the N-Word such a controversial topic? On a personal level, I have many friends who are black and will not take offence to the word in its current pop-culture usage. But on the other hand I also know a lot of people who will take offense to the word whenever they hear it, no matter what context it is in.
It is unknown whether the meaning of the word will change course and pick up yet another meaning. All we should really care about is that each and every person gets treated equally regardless of their race, religion, skin colour, sexual orientation or gender.
For humanity to thrive to its full potential we need to all come together and forget our differences, because under the skin we’re all just the same. In the words of George Mason “We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.”
Ben Skinner
In a reply to some of the reactions he received, Morgan began playing the victim, tweeted, “Is it what I wrote that offended, #BlackTwitter – or the skin colour of the man who wrote it? #NWord”.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at the Atlantic and a nonpareil voice on race and racism in the United States replied: “You are further evidencing your deep ignorance. Black people have been debating this among themselves long before you.”
“Not your skin colour that offends,” Coates continued. “It is your desire to cover your deep ignorance of black people, with a facade of expertise. In brief – you’re not qualified.”
Piers Morgan believes that the N-word would go away if black Americans stopped using it. “If black Americans want the N-word to die, they will have to kill it themselves,” But is this what we as a global society want? Should the word be removed, along with the awful history and stigma that accompanies it? The removal of the word could simply allow for the ignorance of future generations to forget about the severity of what happened in black history and this cannot be done. We cannot simply ‘forget’, nor can we shy away from the fact that it did happen. David Cameron said during this year’s Black History Month, “As we celebrate Black History Month, we not only look back with enormous gratitude to the African-Caribbean community for their immense contribution to Britain, we can also look forward with great confidence about the future of our country.”
We should respect every black citizen as equal and carry on in the fight to stop racism altogether. Although there is still an unacceptable amount of racism in the world; I feel that black people should be free to reclaim or use the word as they please, after all is it not a human right to have freedom of speech?
It seems the word is so far removed these days that it has almost lost its initial meaning. The N-Word among younger generations is a common synonym for ‘mate’ or ‘bro’ and is a word we hear constantly in today’s rap music, being used so freely without spite. However someone slightly older, for example aged 50+, black or white, would still view the N-Word as a derogatory insult and avoid it. On the flip side it’d be a shock if someone heard a young child say it.
Inevitably it brings us back round to the same question, why is it deemed okay for some people to say and others not? Why is the N-Word such a controversial topic? On a personal level, I have many friends who are black and will not take offence to the word in its current pop-culture usage. But on the other hand I also know a lot of people who will take offense to the word whenever they hear it, no matter what context it is in.
It is unknown whether the meaning of the word will change course and pick up yet another meaning. All we should really care about is that each and every person gets treated equally regardless of their race, religion, skin colour, sexual orientation or gender.
For humanity to thrive to its full potential we need to all come together and forget our differences, because under the skin we’re all just the same. In the words of George Mason “We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.”
Ben Skinner