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Using the N- Word Without Saying the N- Word
by
Sudhama Ranganathan | 01.29.2008
The recent flap over what were interpreted as coded, abstract or insinuated insults regarding Barack Obama’s electability as a black candidate brought up a much deeper issue. The issue is relevant today more than ever as Jim Crow laws have long ago been ploughed under to clear the way for a cleaner playing field and now work is being done on keeping the weed population at bay. However, certain words like weeds stubbornly creep in where people are not paying attention...  The recent flap over what were interpreted as coded, abstract or insinuated insults regarding Barack Obama’s electability as a black candidate brought up a much deeper issue. The issue is relevant today more than ever as Jim Crow laws have long ago been ploughed under to clear the way for a cleaner playing field and now work is being done on keeping the weed population at bay. Weeds in this case are what’s left of centuries of one segment of society being allowed exclusive rights to freedom, upward mobility and power sharing. Like all areas that were once untouched, weeds in the expanded playing field are a constant struggle and have to be tended to lest any progress revert to former traditions. However, certain words like weeds stubbornly creep in where people are not paying attention. When racially charged words were outlawed in public places this presented a quandary for those raised on the premise it was their god given right to openly refer to people of another race using racial epithets. Politeness, however, has its loop holes. There are various ways to insult someone without being blatantly insulting or blatantly impolite, blatant being the key word. With affirmative action came new rules for racial insults and like all rules regarding social interactions these contained loopholes. These loopholes are a muddy area as nobody wants to point them out, and they are often utilized to circumvent laws regarding civil behavior because, among other things, opinions can be difficult things to keep to oneself. Racially charged language never left it just moved behind closed doors and is publicly used as abstract references. The references can be used in many ways but still have the power to insult, humiliate and hurt. At times they can be more powerful than blatant insults because of an unspoken agreement not to point them out (that would be considered impolite), thus the target of the insult can be left to stew. Typically, however these are easy to dismiss, can be used in jest and waved off as nothing. It’s when the behavior happens repeatedly, with other behaviors and becomes a noticeable pattern which interferes with one’s right to quality of life, employment or education that it becomes racial discrimination. There are numerous ways this form of harassment can be carried out. One way is to use words that sound like or rhyme with racial epithets until the target of the epithet notices. Once the target has become aware of the behavior, one need only continue with varying degrees of frequency until it becomes an annoyance. Over time this can morph into a tool for harassment. The method becomes ineffective if the target of the harassment ignores, gets used to or doesn’t notice the behavior or if witnesses to the behavior either explicitly or implicitly express disapproval. At this point the harasser may cease and move on to something else. Another common form of implicit harassment is to insinuate the target of the harassment’s race is somehow lesser, more primitive or otherwise not on par with the harasser’s race. For example one might infer the targeted persons’ race is a dog race, otherwise animal or somehow sub-human. The object is to demean, humiliate and anger the target. The target for his or her part may evince traces of normal responses to such behavior. If the verbal harassment was effectively subtle the responsible party may now claim they are perplexed as to why the targeted person is upset, and the target of the discriminatory behavior may now falsely appear overly sensitive. Should the target of the behavior complain the harasser or harassers can feign ignorance as they never blatantly insulted anyone but kept up a string of implied insults which hit their mark. Witnesses may be leery to come forward in such cases as they are sometimes forced into explanations containing kind of’s and sort of’s. The above method may be used in other ways by supplanting any references to “lesser races” with known stereotypes for example. Another way might be to make color references using black, brown, yellow, red, white and so-on to achieve the same goal. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing and similar methods are utilized in cases of gender, religion based, other kinds of discrimination as with sexual harassment. Discrimination and harassment charges should not be entered into lightly, but when the behavior is meant seriously it should be taken seriously. If the purpose of the harassment is to interfere with someone’s job, education or noticeably affects the target’s quality of life there deserves to be accountability. In sum these forms of harassment most often happen to minorities and women, but can happen to anyone given the situation. If you decide to take action it is important to try and work out any situation before going to a superior or entering into a law suit. To take legal action a pattern has to be shown and a targeted person should write down information as each event happens using dates, times, being specific and gathering as much evidence as possible. Be prepared as most often your harassers will deny any grievances you file. The way it works is an attempt will be made to make the targeted person appear paranoid, overly sensitive or just plain crazy. Good people who witness the discriminatory behavior might not fess up to superiors for fear of rocking the boat or losing their job. It’s the next level of discrimination and it’s tough so you have to be tough, clear and focused when dealing with it. Don’t make moves until you can establish a pattern and have proof or you run the risk of making things worse. Civil rights are ever evolving towards the ideal most Americans have in their hearts and minds. The job isn’t finished but together Americans can rid our society of any weeds on the playing field. To read more about my experiences with racism and discrimination click here.
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