Jesse Jackson wants to ban "N-word"

[Dennis R. Preston]

Wilson,

This is a little surprising to me. As I have listened to these
various presentations, I have learned a great deal about how
nonlinguists think about how it is that words mean, their
attributions of historical consistency to their meaning, and how they
confuse connotation and denotation - all worth giving a fuck about in
my opinion.

dInIs

PS: Let's not forget that Geneva Smitherman has a nice old piece in
AS "What is Africa to Me") that explores (empirically) preferences
among African Americans for just such labels. Probably needs redoing.

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Jesse Jackson wants to ban "N-word"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>The Reverend Jesse Jackson is the first and only person, except for a
>few members of this list, that I know of to argue for the replacement
>of "black" by "African-American." Well, I do know that the idea
>replacing "black" with "African-African didn't spring full-blown from
>the Reverend Jackson's forrid. Rather, he merely jumped upon the
>bandwagon and made the concept his own. And I'm aware that there exist
>other spokesmen for Black, uh, African-American America who have also
>argued in favor of "African-American." However, given that, as Chester
>A. Riley would say, "My head is made up," I have no idea who they are
>nor do I have any idea of what their arguments are. Indeed, I'm
>totally unaware even of the Reverend Jackson's arguments in favor of
>"African-American," given that ignoring his and anyone else's
>arguments, to quote Ike Turner, "was my plan from the ve'y beginnin'."
>
>However, let me ask a question: In what way are the Reverend Jackson's
>arguments against "nigger" inferior to his arguments in favor of
>"African-American"? And why does anyone here give a fuck? I don't.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 11/28/06, Bapopik at aol.com <Bapopik at aol.com> wrote:
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
>>  Subject:      Jesse Jackson wants to ban "N-word"
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Banning words? So much for Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn." I'm burning my
>>  Historical Dictionary of American Slang, H-O right now...Maybe
>>Jesse  Jackson
>>  can ban "ain't" and y'all," and "fuck" of course has to go,  and then...
>>  ...
>>  ...
>>
>>_http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003530_Jesse_Jackson_Others_Seek_N_word_Ban_in_
>>  Entertainment.html_
>>
>>(http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003530_Jesse_Jackson_Others_Seek_N_word_Ban_in_Entertainment.html)
>>  ...
>>  Jesse Jackson & Others Seek "N-word" Ban in  Entertainment
>>  05:15 PM, November 28th 2006
>>
>>
>>  Rev. Jesse Jackson will meet with TV and _film_
>>
>>(http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003530_Jesse_Jackson_Others_Seek_N_word_Ban_in_Entertainment.html#)
>>  executives to discuss banning the use  of derogatory expressions
>>in the entertainment
>>  industry. "We want to give our  ancestors a Christmas present," he said.
>>  Asked about free-speech issues, Jackson  said the word is "unprotected."
>>
>>  The Rev. Jesse Jackson and others said  they will meet with TV
>>networks, film
>>  companies and musicians to discuss the  "n-word." They also sought an effort
>>  by the public to stop using the term. "We  want to give our ancestors a
>>  Christmas present," Jackson said at a news  conference. "Dignity
>>over degradation."
>>  Jackson also asked the public to not buy  a _DVD_
>>
>>(http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003530_Jesse_Jackson_Others_Seek_N_word_Ban_in_Entertainment.html#)
>>box
>>  set of the seventh season of the TV  show "Seinfeld" that was
>>released last week.
>>
>>  "This is not simply about  whether or not the black community forgives or
>  > forgets, this is about  understanding that this is pervasive,
>that this happens
>>  in all of our  institutions, one way or the other," U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters,
>>  D-California,  said.
>>
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>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>-Sam Clemens
>
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--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself [sic] in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755

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