Last Friday, television host, Bill Maher, deemed himself exempt from the ban on using the word NIGGER when during his talk show he referenced himself “a house nigger.” Getting an immediate reaction from viewers through social media and otherwise, Maher issued a non apology that wasn’t really seen as “enough” by most who heard it. The television personality blamed a lack of rest for his tacky quip at Senator Ben Sasse, (R-Neb.), Maher’s guest on the HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher. Sasse (who almost seemed to joyfully pee his pants in the moment) later released his own disclaimer concerning what some are labeling an unfortunate gaffe on Maher’s part. Others have called for HBO to cancel the show.
There are some who want to give Bill Maher a “pass” since he’s “done so much for the Black cause” and because he loves dating Black women. I dissent from this dumb ass rationale and I wish you could see my face.
Here are a few other examples of White folks who scratched their own personal itch to use the word nigger.
Andrea M. Quenette was placed on paid leave for using the word nigger as she taught a course to a classroom full of students.
Senator Frank Artiles threw the word nigger at his African American colleagues while ranting about politics.
Baton Rouge judge, Mike Ervin, called a woman a nigger while showing off in front of classmates in a restaurant.
Charleston County Magistrate James B. Gosnell Jr. used the word nigger to reprimand a defendant in a case before his bench.
(I think this is more than enough examples of White people in important positions wielding this word.)
NIGGER is a word that has made Black people cringe since they found themselves in the bellies of slave ships. And since so many White Americans are quick to say we are living in a post-racial America,
Why does the use of this word seem to be the forbidden fruit for White folks?
Why can’t White folks seem to just let it go and give up their struggle for control of the word?
In a day and age when people are fighting for their identities through names, labels, titles, and pronouns, what a person allows or does not allow himself, herself, or themselves to be called is important. Though we teach our children to be mentally tough, the age old nursery rhyme: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me was proven fallacious long ago. Words do hurt. They have the power to create and to alter what was created. In fact, there are millions of people worldwide who believe this earth was created through words.
Slave traders did not find slaves when they arrived on the shores of Africa. They found African men, women, and children who were rooted in family, speaking many different languages, and sharing in rich cultures. In order to create the slaves they wanted, however, slave traders had to find a way to perpetuate a slave mentality. Simply put, all sense of identity had to be stripped from the Africans.
To all who haven’t yet figured it out, the word nigger is a key component of the systemic racism used to “make” slaves. It was the foundation for the subjugation of African people on American soil. It is one of the first tools used to strip those people of their own names, families, and the culture that accompanied them. The use of the word nigger was the “again and again” assault after the kidnapping and the Middle Passage. It was the painful stripe of a mental whip used to seemingly gain submission, thereby helping to impose the psychological chains of slavery that would make their brand of racism systemic.
Names are important. Most people understand this without ever really understanding it, even early on. Proof is the small child that is deeply wounded when a younger, even smaller sibling calls him a “poo poo head.” Have we ever really known what a “poo poo head” is? No. But no child and no person wants to be called out of his or her name. It is why we take time and consideration after whom and what we name our children. It is the thing that a child will hear over and over again even before he can speak it for himself.
So, to all the White people just itching. . . No, fighting, to add this rotten word to your vocabulary (whatever the reason) please remember there is power in words. The use of the word nigger is a speech act. It is an utterance that has performative function. It is a word that gives and creates a reality for all those who hear it. For those of you who believe it only defines and subjugates those you call nigger, please know you also christen yourself RACIST by using it. So don’t be surprised that folks look at you differently when you use this word. Please don’t be offended that we call you racist.
