My opinion is that I thought the two people who ended up under fire in these situations deserve what they got. Why??? For being culturally insensitive. But mainly, FOR NOT DOING THEIR HOMEWORK.
It is well known in Black America that the term nappy is offensive. A lot of black people do not like our hair in the natural state. We see it as being ungroomed. This is why the perm is so popular. Or the jeri-curl. (If you think this is a quirk of the black race, then ask yourself, why do so many other people fry their skin in the sun in order to get darker??? What�s wrong with their original skin color???) Why then, would someone use this term? Simple: there have been many efforts by progressive thinkers to turn around the negative words associated with black people into positive ones. We have learned that these terms came to us from slavery, so we should not be ashamed of our "nappy" hair, but instead embrace it, and our blackness, and so on, and so on.
But the truth of the matter is that FOR THE MAJORITY
OF BLACK PEOPLE, THE TERM NAPPY HAIR IS STILL OFFENSIVE.
IT DOESN�T MATTER IF ONE INDIVIDUAL CAN WRITE A BEST SELLER
WITH "NAPPY" IN THE TITLE. A teacher in touch with the
culture of the students would have known this. She would not
have sent a book home with that title, even if the students
did not object, without at least talking to some of the parents
or a trusted colleague. PARTICULARLY IF THE TEACHER WERE
BLOND AND BLUE EYED. It does NOT matter what the culture of
the majority thinks about the meaning of the word nappy, the
fact is that the minority culture in this instance considered
the term offensive and reacted accordingly. As a result, a
teacher made an idiot out of herself.
Lets talk about the word "niggardly".
Webster�s defines "niggardly" as "not willing to spend, give, or share" and "cheap, scanty, meager". A "niggard" is "a stingy person: a cheapskate". (I will admit that I am a niggard when it comes to the web: that�s why I�m hoping that buy the time you read this webpage, it will be on a server that gives me webspace for FREE. I�m also one of those men who�s T-shirts has to deteriorate into a fishnet before I listen to my wife�s pleas to throw the damn thing away.) The word is of Scandinavian origin.
I doubt that the majority of Black Americans have been to Scandinavia, know how to speak the Scandinavian language, know a lot of Scandinavian words, or even CARE where the word comes from. From the perspective of the average Black American, "niggard" and "niggardly" SOUND TOO MUCH LIKE "NIGGER". THEREFORE THERE ARE BOUND TO BE SOME PEOPLE WHO WILL HAVE A KNEE-JERK REACTION AND TAKE OFFENSE. An administrator dealing with other colleagues in a predominantly African-American city, who was in touch with the culture of his colleagues, would NOT have used that word. In fact, in SOME of circles it is NOT acceptable for one black person to call another black person "nigger". The NAACP took a stance on this and stated that the DC Financial Board Members were overreacting. Yes, I think they were too. But, would I have used that term, even without the benefit of hindsight? HELL NO. I KNOW BETTER. I know it could be taken out of context, because I know something about African American culture. And the guy that ended up resigning because of this incident, were he not looking at the world solely from his Ivy Tower, should have known better as well.
Yes, perhaps we Black people are being a bit sensitive. Think of it this way: if someone had repeatedly punched you in the arm for a long period of time wouldn�t your arm become so sensitive that it would hurt if someone even gently touched it? The same applies to the collective psyche of Black Americans: the oppression has gotten to us.
I�ve got an even better analogy for you: Homosexuals as an oppressed minority.
Now, I do not consider homosexuals as a culture or subculture, I consider it more of a lifestyle. Yet I do know that there are certain terms like "fag", "faggot", "queer", and so on that are offensive to members of this group, so in that sense, regardless of my opinion, I am aware that members of this group may find certain words offensive, and I act accordingly. It�s called being considerate of other people�s feelings.
Now let us suppose that the person I work for is a homosexual. If my gay boss asked me if I were tired, should I respond with "Yeah, man, I am fagged out" ("fagged out" means tired). Or, if I wanted a cigarette, should I go into a gay man�s office and say "Hey, Bossman, do you have a fag?" (a "fag" is a British term for a cigarette). Or if he asked me if I thought my work were tedious, should I say, "Yeah, this job is a real fag" (meaning tedious or fatiguing work). Would it be smart of me to tell him that I tripped over a bundle of sticks one morning that my son tied together, or should I say I tripped over one of his "faggots"? If he asked me if I thought something going on at work were strange, I guess I ought to say, "You know, things have been a little queer lately." These are all acceptable expressions in BRITISH ENGLISH but in AMERICAN ENGLISH they could have a duel meaning, particular if the listener is sensitive about the issue. How long do you think I would last at the job?
Do you think it is just blacks and gays? I have been told by a manager buddy of mine that he is told by his seniors to pronounce the word "harass" as "hair-res" because "harass" sounds like you are saying "her--ass". I told him I thought it was crazy. However, even I, as down home as I am, am trying very hard to say "hair-res" in order to stay politically correct at the job. One of the classic marketing blunders taught to business students is the story of how the car Nova did not sell well in South America because the word "nova" looks like "no va" in Spanish, which means "no go" or "won�t go". Who wants to buy a car that won�t go?
So I suppose that all of these people who misinterpret things are getting bent out of shape for nothing? Right? MAYBE. But the SMART thing to do is to do your best to be aware of the cultural perceptions of the person you are speaking to before you end up making a jackass of yourself.
IF NOT, I will have no choice but to laugh at you
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