Re: From M to N: The Case of Madonna and the N-word
Penn Jillette once said:
The person on the other side of my date stands up and says, “Well if there’s no God, what’s to stop me from raping and killing everyone around me?” And my date raised her hand and said, “May I change my seat?”
That really is the point. The question I get asked by religious people all the time is, without God, what’s to stop me from raping all I want? And my answer is: I do rape all I want. And the amount I want is zero. And I do murder all I want, and the amount I want is zero. The fact that these people think that if they didn’t have this person watching over them that they would go on killing, raping ram[pages is the most self-damning thing I can imagine.
Historically, the word was both an everyday noun, and sort of an insult. Then over time it became exclusively an insult, and the only reason to say the word was to belittle someone, or try to.
I actually think that was a mark of progress. I think the unpleasant side of human nature is to insult only the people you fear could be mistaken for your equals. In the early history of the word, people using it to describe others had enough arrogance to believe no one would ever confuse blacks and whites as equals. When it became exclusively an insult, it was in many ways an admission of defeat. All bigots had left was to try to throw the past back in the faces of people who were starting to win.
Then it morphed again so another reason to use it was as a badge of honour and a political act to indicate indifference to, and contempt of, bigotry. And claiming of a political identity.
And then of course the word comes up in intellectual discussions of the word. Linguistics. Politics. Sociology.
So, this brings me back to Penn Jillette. There is nothing to stop me or anyone from saying it. And I say it as often as I want to...
The older meaning of the word, the everyday noun used to describe someone with African ancestry, is long since dead and gone, so I don't use it. I don't use it as a belittling insult either, because I don't believe anyone's ancestry or genetics has anything to do with why we might be having a disagreement. And because I want to at least try to be taken seriously in life as a civilised person. I don't use it as a reclaimed word because it's more politically powerful and relevant when a person uses the word to describe themselves in defiance of anti-black bigotry, and it doesn't apply to me because I'm white. It's directly the same kind of reclaiming as when gay people use the word "faggot." I don't go out of my way to describe myself that way, but I understand the idea behind reclaiming words, and whether I do it or not, it is a legitimate option in politicised language. And between friends I also think it is appropriate, and I would use it, when it is clear that we're on the same page. So anybody who knows me well enough to say "Hey faggot, where have you been?" I could also reply to with "Hey nigger, long time no see!" and it would not be inappropriate. Though...to be honest I don't talk that way and neither do my friends. Like I said I don't really use reclaimed words, even though I don't cringe when I hear it and I get what it's about.
And that brings us to the last occasion to use the word: in discussions about the word itself. I will use it in that context mostly because I think any of the mock-censored versions are just silly for an intellectual discussion. n-word. nistarstarer. Pff. It is unacademic. Would be like a gynaecologist talking about the "baby coming out the woo woo." If we're going to have a serious discussion about the word, we're going to say the word.
It would be hypocritical for me to jump all over her when I have used the SAME terminology in the SAME manner.
Okay what does it mean? I don't have the first clue what she is even trying to convey, other than guessing she is probably bragging about her son.