The N-Bomb

In a recent television episode of South Park on Comedy Central, Randy Marsh competes on the game show Wheel of Fortune and manages to get to the final round, where he must solve one last word puzzle. He is given the category, "People Who Annoy You." As contestants normally do on the show, Randy picks several letters in addition to letter hints already given to him until he is left with the letters, "N_GGERS." At this point, Randy is sure that the solution to the puzzle must be the dreaded N-Word, and isn't sure what to do. Obviously afraid of offending people, he says to the host, "Well, I know it [the answer], but I don't think I should say it!" With 30,000 dollars on the line and all his friends and family watching on television, he decides to take the plunge and yells out what he thinks is the answer: "N*GGERS!"

It turns out that the answer is actually "NAGGERS." Randy is publicly humiliated for his utterance of the N-word in front of millions of viewers on national television (in addition to getting the answer wrong), and subsequently is teased and abused whereve he goes as the "n*gger-guy." Because of that one wrong answer, he is immediately condemned in society.

But in a broader sense, how exactly would a person in Randy's position be treated in the real world? What exactly would he be accused of doing wrong? What sort of cultural label would modern society slap onto his chest? It can be safely assumed that some sort of public outrage would result from the N-Word being spoken on television. It can also be safely assumed that some portion of people would be offended and infuriated by such a person's (we'll call him Randy) actions. Hypothetically speaking, it's hard for any of us to imagine a world where the use of the word or other such sensitive words would escape scathing public condemnation, let alone criticism.

What crime did Randy commit, however? Randy didn't say the word to offend anyone, or to attack anyone, or to avocate some racial standpoint. He knew its potential for controversy and was reluctant to say it at all. He was aware that despite his complete unintention to hurt any group of people, our culture today has made the N-Word such dangerous ground that I've chosen not to write out the full word in this blog. In the end, Randy's only "crime" was to make the specific phonetic sounds that comprise the N-Word.

The N-Word was originally offensive because it suggested that the speaker held the same derogatory, racist beliefs as those who coined the word a long time ago. It became an insult, a way to express hate and cruel intentions towards a group of people. The N-Word then understandably became offensive to people when used in verbal attacks.

Modern culture, however, have pushed the N-Word taboo to new heights. The mere public utterance of this word, in many cases, is pretty much verbal suicide, an invitation for condemnation and social disdain. Most importantly, the actual circumstances for using the word are often overlooked. The initial public reaction will never focus on why the word was said, merely whether or not it was said in the first place. This is where an initially understandable resentment towards racism starts going beyond reason. Essentially, saying the N-Word in public will not cause people to attack you for being racist, but just for saying the word itself.

One the one hand, it can be argued that certain words have almost universally-understood meanings, and that some of these words should never be used because they will "undoubtedly" hurt people no matter what circumstances they are used in. I agree that language generally should not be used in a hurtful way, as a pointed attack towards other people. I agree that people who use word like the N-Word with malicious intent deserve our criticism and reprimands.

On the other hand, it is ridiculous to me to condemn a word itself, instead of condemning the offensive ideals that the word usually expresses. In the end, a word is merely a set of phonetic sounds. What counts are the ideas behind them.

Imagine an objective television documentary were to be made about the history of the word "N*gger," in which the word itself is said again and again. Once again, there are people who condemn such "offensive" language. But is it really offensive if the show was merely made to educate? Is it offensive if not used to attack someone? I don't think so. Anyone can say the word "idiot." I could write "idiot" all over the wall, and I wouldn't receive much criticism (besides that regarding vandalism). On the other hand, the circumstances change once I call another human being an "idiot." Then, it becomes an insult, an offensive gesture.

Modern myth promotes the idea that certain words are dangerous just as words themselves, and that we should punish those who use them. What I think we should be punishing instead are the malicious ideas and beliefs that cause hate and conflict between different people.