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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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 Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:43 am Post subject: NYC Going P.C. Big Time? Ban on N-Word for Entertainers |
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First, it was the ban on smoking in all public places. Then it was the ban on transfats, forcing diners to stop cooking french fries the good ol' way. Now it's the N-word:
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New York City symbolically banned use of the word nigge-r on Wednesday, the latest step in a campaign that hopes to expunge the most vile of racial slurs from hip hop music and television. The City Council unanimously declared a moratorium that carries no penalty but aims to stop youth from casually using the word, considered by most Americans to be the most offensive in the English language.
The New York City measure follows similar resolutions this month by the New York state assembly and state senate, and supporters of the ban are taking their campaign to The Recording Academy, asking it not to nominate musicians for Grammy awards if they use the word in their lyrics. Many rap artists and young New Yorkers toss the word around as a term of endearment or as a substitute for black, angering some black leaders who consider those who use it as ignorant of the word's hate-filled history in slavery and segregation.
"This could be the beginning of a movement," councilman Albert Vann said.
Councilman Leroy Comrie, a sponsor of the moratorium, said the campaign against the word has gained strength since comedian Michael Richards spewed it in a racially charged tirade in Los Angeles.
The Laugh Factory club where Richards performed has since banned comedians from using the word there and the former "Seinfeld" television star has apologized. "The Michael Richards incident really brought it to another level. It has forced people to express their outrage. Many people had been seething quietly," Comrie said. Comrie also asked TV network Black Entertainment Television to stop using the word in its shows. Representatives of BET did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Grammy spokesman said he doubted the academy's 11,000 voting members would support any measure that might censor artists.
"They are not going to be supportive of something that excludes someone simply because they are using a word that is offensive," said Ron Roecker, vice president of communication for the Recording Academy. The city resolution calling for the moratorium traces the etymology of the word from the Latin "niger," meaning black, to its first documented written use in 1786 as a term slave masters used to label their African slaves.
Use of the word by blacks exploded with the rise of rap music in recent years, and some black comedians like Chris Rock continue to use it in their routines. "What, is there a fine? Am I going to get a ticket?" Rock mocked in a Reuters interview when asked about the City Council move. "Do judges say, '10 years, nigger!"' Rock said politicians were trying to divert attention from real problems: "Enough real bad things happen in this city to worry about how I am going to use the word." |
Nigga is bandied about by most blacks almost daily but they insist it has a positive connotation. One can hear the jingle "I'm a nigga, he's a nigga, wouldn't you like to be a nigga too?" with increasing frequency in the school corridors. I lived and worked in the black community for a decade some time ago and I can vouch for the fact that the N-word is NOT always used as a term of endearment or racial bonding, as some rapstas and cultural apologists like Jackson would have us believe. It goes hand in hand with accepting--even embracing--positive stereotypes about blacks as being athletically talented, well hung, better lovers and dancers, etc ad nauseum.
So what's your take on this. Is NYC going P.C. big time? Is it pandering to the old (black) political guard before the next general election? Or do people like Leroy Comrie have a legitimate gripe? |
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seoulunitarian
Joined: 06 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:07 am Post subject: re: |
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When the use of words is legislated, you know you're on a joyride towards dictatorship.
Peace |
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Rteacher
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:49 am Post subject: |
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And this is the same state where legendary stand-up comic Lenny Bruce was pardoned post-humously for an obscenity conviction ...
Bruce was posthumously pardoned by New York Republican Governor George Pataki for the obscenity conviction arising from his 1964 New York performances at the Cafe Au Go Go. It was the first posthumous pardon in the state's history. Pataki called his decision "a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:01 am Post subject: |
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As a New Yorker, I don't see the point.
There was a shooting back in December that left a groom dead on his wedding day and nothing has been done about that. And they waste time trying to regulate what people say?? Come on! There are much bigger problems in NYC and in the whole country that trump this issue.
Besides, isn't the KKK allowed to espouse hate speech as free speech protected under the constitution? Why should rappers (who are morons....The reason why some dumbasses actually yell "Yo!" to me instead of "hi"  ) be held to a different standard? |
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Nowhere Man
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:18 pm Post subject: ... |
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I basically agree with what your saying,
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Why should rappers (who are morons....
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but leave rap alone. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:26 pm Post subject: Re: re: |
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| seoulunitarian wrote: |
| When the use of words is legislated, you know you're on a joyride towards dictatorship. |
We have a winner!
Slippery Slope. |
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gang ah jee
Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: city of paper
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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New York City: nigger-free since 2007
Last edited by gang ah jee on Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| gang ah jee wrote: |
| New York City: Nigger free since 2007 |
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happeningthang
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Seems to me that Black Americans using the term "nigga" is a means of empowering themselves by appropriating, and changing the meaning of what was a racial slur. It's kind of like gays identifying with, and being proud of the term "queer". Originally an insult, they took over the term and are stronger for it.
It's interesting that some blacks are happy to be called a nigga, by a black guy, but not a white guy. It seems like a brotherhood thing amongst blacks, a potential insult by when used by other groups.
In any case trying to legislate against a word is a REALLY difficult thing to do, especially since it's been in common use for a long time now, and it's only considering the negative aspects of the word. Language is a lot more complex than these guys seem to realise, and I predict it's going to have no effect, apart for some votes from the older, conservative black comunity.
PS
Case in point. The gay word zapped by online-word legislation was the word...
Q to the U to the E-E-R
Has more than one meaning, just like nigga.
Use it in a normal sentence, like "Bulletin boards trying to block potentially 'abusive' words, just look really queer when the words are used legitimately". |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:26 am Post subject: Re: NYC Going P.C. Big Time? Ban on N-Word for Entertainers |
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| stevemcgarrett wrote: |
| First, it was the ban on smoking in all public places. Then it was the ban on transfats, forcing diners to stop cooking french fries the good ol' way. Now it's the N-word: |
Well, that was a logical chain of connections if I ever saw one.
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| No toxic dumping in drinking reservoirs, forcing people to wash their hands after wiping their asses at restaurants, not being allowed to spit on Jews. |
Political correctness has run amok!
Anyway, much like pot laws, it's a law of convenience. Designed to give cops an excuse to bust someone they're suspicious of, ignored when they don't need it. |
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