Monday, April 13, 2020

Nigger

Belladonna has some friends who are computer savvy. One of them whipped up a private version of Zoom and hosts it on his own server.

Then, "the guys" hang out, just like they were at the bar and talk "guy talk".

Sometimes, Bella drops in.

A couple of the guys are fond of dropping the word "nigger". Bella, who happens to be African-American, informed them that:

A.) Using that word is a stupid habit to get into
B.) She personally finds it offensive. She understands if it occasionally slips out (like an F-bomb after hitting a thumb with a hammer) but she would like them to try to tone it down.

The rationalizing was highly energized and almost comical.

For instance, one of the offenders said "It should not matter to you what words I use if I am not directly addressing you."

Another tack was "Words are just arbitrary sounds and have no intrinsic meaning."

For a lack of more interesting material to post about...I intend to address both of those excuses.

...I am not directly addressing you
I worked in one factory where we had a new hire (eighteen months) who was already labeled "Hi Potential". She was being groomed as she was given a "palette" of supervisory assignments to give her a broad background.

She had gone to the right schools. Her dad was a big-shot somewhere in the corporation. She carried herself well and spoke well. To recap, she was "bulletproof" by virtue of gender, education, family and having impressed local management.

While standing talking to a second person about an employee who had gone on sick-leave, Jan said "We will just have to hire another 'trained monkey'."

A third person was walking behind Jan at the time and overheard that one sentence.

Jan was given a choice: Quit the corporation or restart her career at another factory in the corporation.

BAM! Just. Like. That.

Context did not matter. It was a simple job. It did not require an Industrial Athlete Superstar to do the job.

It did not matter that she was not talking to the third person who walked behind her, out of her sight.

It did not matter that she wasn't referring to race or that she, herself, was bulletproof.

She was wrong.

Words are just arbitrary sounds and have no intrinsic meaning
Why not say words are arbitrary?

Then contracts have no meaning. You can squat in your apartment and not have to pay rent. Of course, the landlord can also evict you in spite of the contract you signed.

If words are arbtirary, then so are the words "One-hundred dollar bill"

The only value words have is the fact that their meanings are generally agree upon. If words are arbitrary, then you would babble your own made-up language and expect other people to understand you. So much easier than actually increasing your vocabulary beyond monosyllabic grunts.

Stupid
The reason it is stupid to use any hot-button word like "Nigger" or "Cunt" in any capacity is that we are so accustomed to communicating "virtually" that we completely tune out our "meat-space" environment.

We visualize the people we are communicating with.

Suppose one of Bella's friends got a call just before lunch from the other N-word using buddy. I doubt that his professional colleagues or his boss will be favorably impressed when "Sure Nigger! Lunch. Great idea." falls out of his mouth without a thought.

9 comments:

  1. A non black person can not use "nigger" in any way...it is considered raciest. Black folks use "nigger" as a term of love,hate, and everything in between. Double standard of course.....so what else is new?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Stupid black folks and black rappers who are exploiting stupid black folks use it.

      Black folks who are trying to get ahead don't...unless they have had too much to drink. Then it might slip out.

      Pop culture sets a very low bar.

      Delete
  2. Words have meanings. Miscommunication occurs when people assign different meanings to the same word.
    Some words are offensive. Some people deliberately use those words to offend and hurt. Sometimes people accept a word/label and wear it with pride. For example 'deplorable'... Others cannot be accepted or worn, like the term cuckservative...
    I believe the ability and willingness to twist words as politicians and lawyers do is an indicator of flawed moral character.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I get the sense that these young guys are playing pecking-order games. Who can they call a demeaning name and get away with it?

      "Grown-ups" do the same thing but we are far more subtle about it. We have to work with the people we are jostling with for status. Consequently, we lean more toward gradual shades-of-gray rather than Zhit/Gold categories.

      "The toes you crush beneath your boot today might be connected to something you have to kiss tomorrow."

      Delete
    2. "Words are just arbitrary sounds and have no intrinsic meaning."
      Does that mean what I think it does?

      Delete
  3. Heck - even my DOGS know that words have meaning. The "arguments" from the guys in response to Bella's calling them out on the idiocy is just typical adolescent (yep - I picked that word and it means exactly what I intend) bluff and bluster. Perhaps they're really not worthy of being considered as friends. In my book one GOOD friend is worth 25 acquaintances.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Wait a minute, my dog has one word, "Ruf"; then I have to figure out if it means let me outside, feed me, play with me, pick me up. You have to be really smart to figure out what one word means.

      Delete
  4. Lewis Carroll nailed it some 150 years ago. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks Humpty Dumpty about the way he arbitrarily changes the meaning of words. To which Humpty Dumpty says, "When I use a word, it means just what I cboose it to mean, neither more nor less". Alice replies, "The question is how a word cam mean so many different things". Humpty Dumpty retorts, "The question is to be master - that is all".

    Leftists and would-be tyrants great and small have been doing this a very long time. They change the meaning of words to suit their agenda. And their agenda is to be lord and master over all of us. Same as it ever was.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once again proving that there is nothing new under the sun. Lewis Carroll did nail it.

      Thanks for commenting.

      Delete

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