by Rob Purifoy

Created on: April 17, 2009

It is inherently difficult to "ban" a word that is currently in use and accepted in some classes of our populous. When it comes to laws vs. social trends, there will always be a clash, why is this? The answer is that the very essence of a law is to eliminate any gray areas so that everyone knows what the guideline is and what line not to cross. Society is full of gray areas, with different classes, ethnicities, cultures, and sub cultures each with it's own slang languages. With all of this, the matter of law itself does not mesh well, and in fact goes fully against changing societal trends.

We tend to veer toward making a law banning something that some of us don't like rather than to engage in conversation or education about a subject. The current state of the ability to ban something such as slang terms is non-existent because what's okay for one to say isn't okay for another, which again displays the gray areas of our society. The word "Cracker", for instance, is a term used by non white's in a derogatory fashion to describe white's. It is also true that just a short 30 years ago that on network TV we saw the banter between George Jefferson and Archie Bunker both of whom more than hinted of the "N" word and outrighted blurted the word "Honkey", behind which were heard laughs from the audience. Those were the fun days when society didn't get into such a Politically Correct madness over words. For today, society will accept the on air use of the words "Cracker' and "Honkey", but can't dare say the "N" word. Fair? In the realm of fairness it's not fair, nor equal, which is what people supposedly want, equality. Aside from being unbalanced as slang and slander goes, the words in themselves have a meaning for both classes, but said words seem to warrant hurt feelings more so in one class than the other.

Free speech and political correctness, along with law, all are intertwined yet make for a boiling kettle when it comes to what is acceptable to say and what isn't. The simplest answer is not a ban on a word currently in use which is essentially a term of endearment or greeting to another of the same race. This happened, whether subconsciously or as a societal transformation of slang, to desensitize the once hurtful N word so that it becomes so diluted it no longer means what it once did. No one wants to be labeled a word that has ill intent attached to it, and it's quite possible that the continuous use of the N word was a purposeful act which helps the user of the once derogatory word have control over it's use. In other words, it's okay to use the N word if it's spoken among blacks as they want to have control over the word and no one else, which thusly empowers them.

It takes generations for prejudice to ease in any society as it always has throughout history, not just in America. With the exception of separatists and the hard core racist groups, it's fairly well known by the general population that non blacks are not to use the N word in public. It is certainly used in the home, under the breath, or in conversation of the opposite race no doubt, but quite typically the word does not denote what it once did, even in it's private use. The N word is not said on the radio, except by blacks, nor in comedy routines, except by blacks, so there is really no need for a ban.

It is obvious that some are more forgiven or overlooked than others when it comes to using slang in public venues, just as it could be said that some have to quell their choice of words so as not to offend. However, when it comes down to it, we can restructure a sentence to get our point across without offense, so in the end, no harm, no foul.

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