[Ads-l] Since nobody's mentioned it...

[Laurence Horn]

Re in-group vs. out-group uses of slurs, taboo avoidance, et al.:

On last night Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, co-hosts Michael Che (who’s black) and Colin Jost (who’s white), accompanied by guest host and Weekend Update old-timer Seth Meyers (also white), were speculating, in the wake of that much-publicized Oval Office love-fest earlier this week, on what has led Kanye West to become so gung-ho for his pal Donald Trump.  Che, after first observing “You know, I negotiated four n-words this season in my new contract”, explains his theory: “I just want to know, how much money does this nigga owe in taxes?”--at which point a panel with four circled N’s instantly pops up on the Update desk, with the first N x’ed out in red as a bell chimes.  

The kicker, for those like me watching with closed-captioning turned on: The captioning, a bit behind because it’s a live show after all, then prints out 

I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH DOES THIS (6 second pause, no doubt for acrimonious debate within the captioning studio) GUY OWE IN TAXES.

Presumably those hearing-impaired SNL fans who can’t lip-read were led to wonder why Che's comment cost him one of his 4 valuable N’s.  Or not.  

LH
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