A similar situation occurred when a conservative broadcaster criticizing Kamala Harris for not attending Netanuyahu's address complained that instead she was attending a reunion of her "college" sorority which sounded an awful lot like "colored" sorority to some, because of his Northeast accent.
Meanwhile, rappers use the word incessantly. We really need to lighten up.
And for those who still retain a sense of humor, Blazing Saddles (Fifty this year) still has some of the most outrageous and laugh-out-loud funny parodies of racism about almost slipping and using the n-word.
In one scene, a mumble-mouthed lookout keeping an eye out for the new sheriff spots him and announces to the waiting crowd that the new sheriff is a "Nih. . .," when a church bell rings to cover up the next syllable. That scene goes on to have the new sheriff use the N-word himself as if he, were one of the racist crowd. Hard to describe, but still hilarious.
In another scene, Mel Brooks as the Governor needs to point out to Harvey Korman, his factotum, that the sheriff, Cleavon Little (who's in the office), is black, thinking perhaps that Korman might not have noticed. Except the Gov unknowingly grabs the new sheriff, ushers him toward the camera and stage-whispers to him, "He's a Nih. . . " at which point he sees who's he's talking to, brings the sheriff back, grabs Korman and repeats the line exactly.
Maybe today's exaggerated, cultural censorship of any parody of racism is the problem. Maybe we need that space and the ability to laugh at our own bad traits, and taking that space away makes things worse.
Great piece as always, Professor McWhorter. And rest assured that not every White person's grandparents used the n-word as a regular go-to expression, even back in the day. If either of my grandmothers had heard it come out of my mouth, it would have been washed out with soap before I could repeat it. And I'm 73.
I wish everyone thought like John McWhorter. “Recreational apocalypticism” is the exact BS i grew allergic to growing up in a cult and getting out in my 30s. Politics has become more than a little bit culty.
Is this true? Are there really millions of people who believe that whites use this word secretly behind their backs? Does anyone really believe that educated North-easterners use it so frequently that they would slip up in an interview? Impossible.
This is an amazing cultural phenomenon. I have heard francophones in Canada and in France say N-word in broadcasts, as if there is any cultural or linguistic history in these places. Likewise, I have read it in francophone newspapers. Incredible! We are to believe that not just African Americans, but all people of African decent will be struck dead or hurled into a psychological torpor from which they cannot escape if they hear a word in a different language coming from a different culture. This is astounding.
I guess that I am not part of the secret society that does this since all of these people must be saying the the word behind my back too. Another possibility is that nobody really believes this and we just have too many malicious souls in public life. I am going with the latter.
Arg... we need to round up all the social justice word police and put them on an island where they can yell at each other until they turn blue and die.
And let's be honest here... this is all a construct from left Democrats as a vulnerable narcissism media weapon to destroy their political opposition. Conservatives, right, Republicans... they don't do this crap except to call out the blatant hypocrisy of the Democrat left.
“The culture should be better than that—and capable of giving Lowry the benefit of the doubt. To acknowledge this is not giving a pass to racism, but engaging with, and welcoming, reality.”
Certainly. But the most fanatical partisans on both sides think they’re in a battle for the soul of the country that makes everything but political combat an unpardonable luxury. They don’t need to believe anything about people’s intentions. All they need is a target of opportunity.
A similar situation occurred when a conservative broadcaster criticizing Kamala Harris for not attending Netanuyahu's address complained that instead she was attending a reunion of her "college" sorority which sounded an awful lot like "colored" sorority to some, because of his Northeast accent.
Meanwhile, rappers use the word incessantly. We really need to lighten up.
And for those who still retain a sense of humor, Blazing Saddles (Fifty this year) still has some of the most outrageous and laugh-out-loud funny parodies of racism about almost slipping and using the n-word.
In one scene, a mumble-mouthed lookout keeping an eye out for the new sheriff spots him and announces to the waiting crowd that the new sheriff is a "Nih. . .," when a church bell rings to cover up the next syllable. That scene goes on to have the new sheriff use the N-word himself as if he, were one of the racist crowd. Hard to describe, but still hilarious.
In another scene, Mel Brooks as the Governor needs to point out to Harvey Korman, his factotum, that the sheriff, Cleavon Little (who's in the office), is black, thinking perhaps that Korman might not have noticed. Except the Gov unknowingly grabs the new sheriff, ushers him toward the camera and stage-whispers to him, "He's a Nih. . . " at which point he sees who's he's talking to, brings the sheriff back, grabs Korman and repeats the line exactly.
Maybe today's exaggerated, cultural censorship of any parody of racism is the problem. Maybe we need that space and the ability to laugh at our own bad traits, and taking that space away makes things worse.
Great piece as always, Professor McWhorter. And rest assured that not every White person's grandparents used the n-word as a regular go-to expression, even back in the day. If either of my grandmothers had heard it come out of my mouth, it would have been washed out with soap before I could repeat it. And I'm 73.
I wish everyone thought like John McWhorter. “Recreational apocalypticism” is the exact BS i grew allergic to growing up in a cult and getting out in my 30s. Politics has become more than a little bit culty.
Is this true? Are there really millions of people who believe that whites use this word secretly behind their backs? Does anyone really believe that educated North-easterners use it so frequently that they would slip up in an interview? Impossible.
This is an amazing cultural phenomenon. I have heard francophones in Canada and in France say N-word in broadcasts, as if there is any cultural or linguistic history in these places. Likewise, I have read it in francophone newspapers. Incredible! We are to believe that not just African Americans, but all people of African decent will be struck dead or hurled into a psychological torpor from which they cannot escape if they hear a word in a different language coming from a different culture. This is astounding.
I guess that I am not part of the secret society that does this since all of these people must be saying the the word behind my back too. Another possibility is that nobody really believes this and we just have too many malicious souls in public life. I am going with the latter.
Gee, I sure hope no one is calling me White Trash behind my back....
Thank you. That's exactly what I heard.
Arg... we need to round up all the social justice word police and put them on an island where they can yell at each other until they turn blue and die.
And let's be honest here... this is all a construct from left Democrats as a vulnerable narcissism media weapon to destroy their political opposition. Conservatives, right, Republicans... they don't do this crap except to call out the blatant hypocrisy of the Democrat left.
“The culture should be better than that—and capable of giving Lowry the benefit of the doubt. To acknowledge this is not giving a pass to racism, but engaging with, and welcoming, reality.”
Certainly. But the most fanatical partisans on both sides think they’re in a battle for the soul of the country that makes everything but political combat an unpardonable luxury. They don’t need to believe anything about people’s intentions. All they need is a target of opportunity.