DominicCobb said:
If you're not going to acknowledge the historical significance of the word I'm not going to respond.
And I don't have a problem with people using the word in literature and film (or even how Possessed used it with quotes), but I do have a problem with people who are quicker to attack political correctness than defend the victims of political incorrectness.
I know, you have a problem with just about all my views. But I do think for one who demands so much tolerance, it might do you some good to at least tolerate a different point of view. I'm not attacking you for disagreeing, just trying to point out why I think it is more destructive than productive.
Historical significance is of course important, and I understand the ties to slavery and the ultimate belittling of humans. But don't you see that what I'm talking about is moving past that? Look, black people call each other that all the time. But that's okay because they are black, right? I have been told that the reasoning is that instead of letting the word hold them down, they have allowed it to empower them. I can see this. However, if one continues to allow it to offend, to be insulting, to degrade, it continues to allow the word, and thus the racist thoughts behind it, to have power.
Let's compare this to bullying. Bullying is a big problem. But there are those who have been bullied who simply have allowed the cruel words of others to roll off their backs. As a result, the bully in fact lost the power to belittle because the bullied refused to grant him that power. The same applies to this word. Apparently this one word is the worst word any white person can ever say. And because of that mentality, white racists continue to use it, black people continue to feel insulted when they do, and racial divides persist. Remove the meaning behind it, and we're one step closer to the end of racism.
Have you ever gotten nearly as offended when someone says, "Oh, he got jewed," or, "What a gyp!"? What suffering have the Jews and Gypsies endured throughout history? I'd say those ethnic groups from whom those phrases are derived have suffered persecution at least as bad as those of African descent. Both were victims of the Holocaust, and the reason the Nazis targeted them is in fact the very same stereotype associated with the etymology of both phrases.
You clearly think very little of me because of my personal values, Dominic, as evidenced by another recent discussion, and that makes me sad, as I used to think we were on better terms. But my goodness, I have an opinion that might actually help solve racism, and whether I am right or wrong, my intentions are good, but you will still condemn me as insensitive for not simply taking the the PC route.