Replies to '09/12 The N-Word Debate'

Quote From: tired66

Since when do we define freedom as the right to hurt others?  If a word hurts, don't use it.  It is a silly excuse to say that others use a hateful word, so I will.  I teach social psychology and despite warnings from others we have open discussions on racism in class.  Whether it matters or not, I have light colored skin and I am a woman.  I start my discussion by explaining that, although genetically there is no basis for the concept of race, racism is a very real social problem.  While overt racism has been reduced, there is still a lot of scientific evidence that implicit racism still exists and effects the way important decisions are made( such as hiring processes and fear of crime).  It cannot be argued that the experience of living in the US as a person of color is a experience, than living in the US as a "white" person, just as the experience of being a woman is different.  When I was in college, one of my best friends was a black man from a large urban area.  We went to a very diverse and very liberal private college.  One night when a group of us were cramming for an exam, my friend and I made a snack run to a town close by.  When we were in the convenience store, the clerk followed my friend the whole time.  I could have robbed them blind because he paid no attention to me.  That kind of experience changes your experience of the world.  Persons of color, (black, Hispanic, Asian,  or other) experience different perceptions and sometimes it hurts. If a person who has experienced a painful experience asks not to use a term that is associated with that experience, why would we refuse to abandon that word, even if other do not.