On language, history, and racism
January 24, 2008 by onpurposeumd
Disclaimer: This article contains discussion of the “n-word”. I am including it because it furthers what I believe to be an important discussion on the power of language and the question of whether a word can ever be divorced from its historical meaning. Please read with the awareness that we are in no way condoning or encouraging the use of the “n-word” or any other epithets.
It’s easier to argue language than to argue the world we live in; language, however, always has and always will reflect the world we live in. Our befuddlement over appropriate language mirrors a general befuddlement over the route by which American society has passed from legalized segregation to economic resegregation, without ever having clearly established its ethics vis-à-vis race, class, and economics.
What do you all think? Have any of you read either book?
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