Would respectable individuals greet their friends by using racial slurs, specifically those related to whites, Hispanics and Middle-Eastern Americans? Those who believe it to be wrong must be wondering, why has the “n” word become acceptable?
Over the last couple of years, many young people from various nationalities have adopted one of the most widely known black racial slurs into their vocabulary – a pejorative that was used to demean and belittle people of African descent. Nowadays, many individuals argue that the “n” word is just a term of endearment.
During the summer, I attended a party for one of my friends at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. While amongst the diverse crowd of blacks, whites, Middle-Eastern Americans and Hispanics, most of them openly addressed each other as the “n” word.
Would a white, Hispanic or Middle-Eastern person express tolerance in being addressed as a racial slur? No!
One would think that if people were at all proud of their ancestry, they would not accept being called or use a slur that was used against their own people for hundreds of years during a time of great agony and depression. People constantly hear rappers and comedians use the “n” word in their acts.
This, however, does not erase the word’s negativity. Could it be that those rappers and comedians may not be as articulate or artistically blessed to think of something else? Or, does the use of the “n” word come from a lack of true consciousness and understanding of the struggle of blacks? Rappers like Nas who are cognizant of the struggle of blacks, however, leads one to believe that these reasons are not sufficient.
Nas and other rappers, who unfortunately choose to use the slur in their lyrics, have actually mastered the use of rhyme, metaphor and creative concepts at the same level of any true poetic genius. For example, Nas masterfully expresses such artistic creativeness in his song “Rewind,” where he coherently tells a story in reverse. Yet, all the while, he still uses the slur to identify different people in the story.
In regards to influence, rappers and comedians are not the only ones responsible for young Americans’ use of the “n” word.
The molding of a child begins in the home. At a young age, parents and guardians should begin to teach their children, along with other “bad” words, that the use of racial slurs is inappropriate. In order to help their children understand, parents should begin to make their children socially conscious of their community’s varying cultures.
For children who are not culturally exposed at home, schools must act as a substitute. The elementary and secondary school systems must adopt classes based on the history of the various ethnicities represented in America to promote social awareness.
Successful strides have been made in the School District of Philadelphia to require African American courses to be taught in its high schools. Schools throughout the country should follow suit.
With so many factors in our society leading people to believe using the “n” word is acceptable, it may be impossible to successfully delete it from people’s vocabulary. However, if parents and schools work harder to teach children to be more respectful and culturally conscious, maybe the younger generations will use their knowledge to discover that using the “n” word is being disrespectful to the history, struggles and triumphs of blacks.
Diona Fay Howard can be reached at dionafay04@yahoo.com.
Be the first to comment