Greg Freeman: The N Word Might Be Hip But Its Still Hateful P-D 5/7/2000

Headline: THE "N" WORD MIGHT BE HIP, BUT IT'S STILL HATEFUL; WE'D BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT IT
Reporter: By Greg Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun. May 7, 2000
Section: METRO Page: C3 Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Evolving language

The first time I was called the "n" word, I was in Columbia, Mo.
Actually, it wasn't the first time I was called the racial slur, but more on that in a moment. About 15 years ago, I was in Columbia to help with a journalism workshop there for students at the University of Missouri. After leaving the campus, I pulled up to a stoplight. A young man in a red sports car pulled up in the lane next to me. He looked over at me, yelled out the "n" word and sped off.
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what had happened. I'd never been called that before. At least never by a white person.

Truth be told, I'd been called that by blacks on many occasions. The meaning may have been different - it was used as a neutral term when it was said to me, much like someone might call me "bud" or "dude" - the word was the same. In Columbia, of course, the intent of the user was clearly malicious.

The "n" word was a word that was never used in our home as I was growing up. My parents wouldn't have stood for it. A little corporal punishment would have been the order of the day had my sister or I even uttered the word under our breath.
Like my parents, my wife and I don't allow the use of the word in our home either.

But it's heard in plenty of other places. I was reminded of my encounter in Columbia by two recent incidents.
     The first was a phone call I received from a reader puzzled by the word's usage. "I always assumed it was a derogatory term, but I understand that some black people use it with each other, " he said. "And it shows up in a lot of today's music."
      The second incident actually took place online, in a conversation with other black journalists across the country. Some took offense at the "n" word showing up in a headline in the Village Voice. In that case, the "n" word was part of a quote, and that quote became part of the headline.
     Still, argued one journalist, whether it's in a quote or not, it's still pretty jarring to pick up a newspaper and find the word in print. Remembering that this is a family newspaper, I'll continue to refer to it here as the "n" word.

Gerald Early, professor of modern letters in the English Department at Washington University, notes that usage of the word among African-Americans is not new. "I've heard it since I was knee-high to a guppy, " he joked.
     Early, who is black, said he's heard various theories on the word, including the idea that blacks took a word that was a derogatory, stigmatizing term and got control of it by turning it around. "It's kind of a complicated psychological game, " he said.
     "I've heard it used endearingly by one black person to another, and I've heard it used by black people in anger, " Early said. "I don't like it, and I don't use it. But I understand that some blacks use it, and I accept it. I don't accept it when whites use it."
     That's probably because in years past, the use of the "n" word by a white person rarely has been as a term of endearment.

But the popularity of some of today's music by African-American artists may even be changing that. "You never heard it in blues or jazz, or in R&B, " Early said. "Now it's used so publicly" in rap and hip-hop music, he noted.
And because of black culture becoming such a commodity these days, some whites are beginning to use the word without malicious intent, but as a term of endearment. "It's a phenomenon that's originated with the Gen Xers, " Early said. "It's happening with whites who want to be hip. It's like calling someone a 'cool cat' in the '40s."

Still, it's a word that I'd prefer not hearing from anyone, black, white or any shade in between. It's unfortunate that the word has slipped into the vocabulary of some. For me, the word is still a hate word, plain and simple. When blacks use the term, it sends a message to the world - intentional or not - that it's OK for everyone to use it.

Frankly, it's a word that we'd all do better without.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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