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New study on intermarriage patterns. Findings include: “West Indians and Africans will be more likely than African Americans and Puerto Rican non-Whites to form interracial unions with Whites.”
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“Certainly there’s nothing wrong with being someone’s wife or girlfriend. But by making such a big deal out of the word “wife”… these programs suggest that anything else these women may accomplish in their lives is less significant”
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Hmm what do you all think of this list? “we compiled a list – the “Nigger” Top 10. Hereupon, the most socially redeeming usages of “nigger” in modern history, ranked according to their cultural importance”
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Christopher wrote:
I would like to highlight “lovethesinner”’s response to the Huffington report post. I hope Carmen will allow me to cut and paste and highlight this exceptional response to the “Nigger Top 10″:
Unless you are one of the people mentioned in David Mills fabulous post, “The ‘Nigger’ Top 10″, saying the “N” word in my presence is grounds for immediate banishment from my life.
The ban isn’t symbolic here in my heart, it’s permanent and unpardonable.
I can’t cut down the “strange fruit” of bigotry in years past, but I can draw a line at the sidewalk of my house and weed the garden of my own soul.
Even my fellow travelers have been warned, “WE ARE RETURNING TO THE OLD RULES, AND NO ONE IS EXEMPT, EVEN IF THEY FEEL THEY HAVE A SUPERIOR CLAIM TO IT’S OWNERSHIP BECAUSE OF THEIR RACIAL IDENTITY.” (That’s my own bullshit legalese that translates, “It doesn’t matter if your black, it’s my house”
The “N” word belongs to bigots of all colors and creeds. It’s meant to demean the spirit of black people. And it doesn’t matter whether your goal is to demean all black spirits, or just the one’s you’re having problems with, it’s still hate speech.
Of couse, because we live in America, and we have “free speech” you have every right to say it wherever you want. But, if you say it in my home, or, while I’m at work, after you’ve been warned…you become Napolean who lives on the island of Elba.
I applaude the NY law, and wish them luck enforcing it. Till then, “the maintenance of my self-esteem is a duty I cannot delegate.”–Rex Stout
By: lovethesinner on March 09, 2007 at 10:29pm
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 8:11 am ¶
Kai wrote:
Well I was kinda dreading what I’d find when I saw your link to the HuffPo n-word list, but actually it turns out I’m somewhat impressed with the post for maintaing a consitently subversive and anti-racist orientation toward the word throughout the piece (which is more than I can say about most treatments of this subject).
Nevertheless I still don’t buy the “reclamation” project, nor do I accept the contention that the word’s power comes from its prohibition. After decades of “reclamation” by Pryor, Bruce, countless others, I think we can agree that it really isn’t working out. I prefer to let the word go the way of Latin; I see no need to keep coming back to it when I have so many other powerful and fresh words to choose from. Plus, I dunno if it’s just me, but isn’t it simply more fun as a writer or speaker or performer to show some originality and spread some love around the thesaurus?
I grew up hearing the n-word constantly, at school, in rap, hanging with peers, used in every positive and negative way. And this bombardment since childhood has done nothing to desensitize me to the word’s power to harm, humiliate, demean, dehumanize, and divide. As I see it, the word’s power comes not from some modern-day prohibition but rather from a half-millenium of the most extreme white supremacist genocidal violence that is still flashing in our collective consciousness like a grizzly blood-soaked nightmare. We cannot simply wish all that away. Even when deployed with the best intentions, the word taps into a still-live vein of the most sadistic cruelty human beings are capable of mustering against one another. And that’s not my bag, baby.
Peace.
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 8:04 am ¶
ssu wrote:
cosign on kai’s comment. well said.
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 8:50 am ¶
vandia wrote:
Kai,
I can’t agree with you more……
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 10:47 pm ¶
rockport wrote:
excelent links!
Posted 16 Mar 2007 at 3:47 pm ¶