Gregory Freeman: It's A Slippery Slope From Slang To Slur. P-D 12/22/1992

Headline: IT'S A SLIPPERY SLOPE FROM SLANG TO SLUR
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tues., Dec. 22, 1992
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 1B, Edition: FIVE STAR

AFTER TODAY, don't look for "bubba" when reading this column.
I used that word in a recent column about President-elect Bill Clinton in which I referred to the votes of white Southern, blue-collar males as the "bubba vote." The word's hardly original. In fact, "bubba" ran in the Post-Dispatch 55 times this year alone.

But when I used it in the column, I received several calls protesting my use of the word. One caller, who said he was a regular reader, felt the word conveyed to him a stereotype of Southern, uneducated white males who drive around in pickup trucks. To him, I was using a slur about a particular group of people.
The complaints bothered me at first. I'm a political junkie, and I've seen the term "bubba vote" in newspapers from The New York Times to USA Today and heard it used on CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC. I'm not sure how many complaints they've received on the term. Clinton himself has used the term on various occasions. It baffled me why my use of the term disturbed some readers.
I asked one of the callers if my being black might actually have been the reason for his reaction. He thought about it for a moment and conceded that, indeed, that might be the case. In fact, he said, in the Atlanta area - where he once lived - the term was used all the time, and he took little offense at it.

The use of certain words is sometimes reserved only for particular groups.
   While I might not be outraged if an African-American person used the "n" word in a conversation with me, it would be a fighting word if used by a non-black individual.
   I've heard Italian-Americans use the "d" word when referring to one another, but from me or anyone else who isn't Italian - presumably that would include Marge Schott - it would be considered an ethnic slur.
   The Irish have certain phrases to refer to one another, as do many other groups.

But in fact, we probably should drop all of these phrases altogether.
For the record, let me express my own displeasure with the use of the "n" word, regardless of whether it's being used by blacks or whites. There are better ways of expressing ourselves without the use of slurs, and I'm particularly bothered to hear the word used as a term of endearment. Some women refer to their boyfriends using the term, and guys often use it as a synonym for "homeboy." When we use the term in reference to ourselves, we're sometimes inviting others to use it as well. We're sort of saying that it's all right to use. It's not.
Similar, then, is the word "bubba." If I hear Southern males like Clinton using it, I figure that I can use it, too. If the word is indeed offensive, it shouldn't be used by anyone.

Similarly, I think we can do better than to use slurs when talking about people who may be different than ourselves.
  My use of the word "bubba" was not meant in any disparaging way, and I know that in many circles it has become common parlance.
  But because it's taken as a slur by some readers, I will refrain from using it again.
  Enough people use slurs when referring to one another for me to join the anti-"bubba" bandwagon.

We can all learn little sensitivity lessons along the way, and this incident proves that I'm no exception.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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