By Jayar JacksonThe French car company Renault recently found itself dealing with a very touchy subject after pulling a UK ad campaign that used the phrase "N-word" over fears it may cause offense. The print ad states, “For ten days, we can’t use the ‘N’ word.” It was designed to promote a limited-period promotion where dealers were supposedly not allowed to say "NO" to customers, but it received a number of complaints immediately.
From as far back as anyone can remember there have been rules, written and unwritten, that just need to be followed in order to stay out of trouble. Mom used to always say, “Don’t run in the house.” “Stop hitting your brother.” “Stay away from that hot oven.” She wasn’t trying to spoil your fun, she just didn’t want to see you run your head into the corner of the couch or treat that burned hand you laid on the stove.
After learning those painful lessons the hard way, but still wanting to freely live adult life, a natural action vs. consequence meter develops in the mind. It's the unwritten rules that have a great deal of gray area and need some explanation.
Race relations and the historically negative use of the word nigger in the world is one subject that has so many unwritten rules to it that a different author “writes” a new version of it every day. Can rappers say it and not rock musicians? What about nigger vs. nigga? What if this one White guy is singing along to his favorite song that happens to say the word about 30 times?
What if an anchor on television is explaining the story of the infamous Kramer-from-Seinfeld rant where he exhibited deeply suppressed negative feelings towards Black people? If they use the term “N-Word,” are they in the clear? What actually happens to Black people when the word enters their ears? If a hunter says the word in the woods and no on else is there to hear it, did he actually ever say it?
When discussing such a controversial and damaging issue such as this, where virtually everyone from the Black community has an opinion and reason to despise the word, we have to realize the reasons why we condemn it. Its usage is born and bred in hate, oppression, brutal murder, and exclusion; those are the consequences we must look to evade.
Celebrities, public figures, and companies that use the word for hateful discourse get into so much trouble for it because they are often influential to many of their followers. A majority of these fans mindlessly follow their lead, causing them to develop irrational and prejudiced beliefs about Black people. Coincidentally, these irrational beliefs lead to abhorrent actions such as hate crimes, limitations of rights, or unfair treatment in everyday life, from police stops to restaurant service.
When trying to rid the world of such despicable behavior, we have to clear our minds and correctly charge each offense for the correct crime. Utilizing a play on words which is very well known throughout the world the way Renault did doesn’t automatically incite the ignorant behavior that historically comes with its usage. You can get hurt running through the house, but why can’t you run in an open, grassy field? Let this French company run, frolic, and jump in this ad. There’s no couch in sight, all they can do is get a grass stain on their knees.
From as far back as anyone can remember there have been rules, written and unwritten, that just need to be followed in order to stay out of trouble. Mom used to always say, “Don’t run in the house.” “Stop hitting your brother.” “Stay away from that hot oven.” She wasn’t trying to spoil your fun, she just didn’t want to see you run your head into the corner of the couch or treat that burned hand you laid on the stove.
After learning those painful lessons the hard way, but still wanting to freely live adult life, a natural action vs. consequence meter develops in the mind. It's the unwritten rules that have a great deal of gray area and need some explanation.
Race relations and the historically negative use of the word nigger in the world is one subject that has so many unwritten rules to it that a different author “writes” a new version of it every day. Can rappers say it and not rock musicians? What about nigger vs. nigga? What if this one White guy is singing along to his favorite song that happens to say the word about 30 times?
What if an anchor on television is explaining the story of the infamous Kramer-from-Seinfeld rant where he exhibited deeply suppressed negative feelings towards Black people? If they use the term “N-Word,” are they in the clear? What actually happens to Black people when the word enters their ears? If a hunter says the word in the woods and no on else is there to hear it, did he actually ever say it?
When discussing such a controversial and damaging issue such as this, where virtually everyone from the Black community has an opinion and reason to despise the word, we have to realize the reasons why we condemn it. Its usage is born and bred in hate, oppression, brutal murder, and exclusion; those are the consequences we must look to evade.
Celebrities, public figures, and companies that use the word for hateful discourse get into so much trouble for it because they are often influential to many of their followers. A majority of these fans mindlessly follow their lead, causing them to develop irrational and prejudiced beliefs about Black people. Coincidentally, these irrational beliefs lead to abhorrent actions such as hate crimes, limitations of rights, or unfair treatment in everyday life, from police stops to restaurant service.
When trying to rid the world of such despicable behavior, we have to clear our minds and correctly charge each offense for the correct crime. Utilizing a play on words which is very well known throughout the world the way Renault did doesn’t automatically incite the ignorant behavior that historically comes with its usage. You can get hurt running through the house, but why can’t you run in an open, grassy field? Let this French company run, frolic, and jump in this ad. There’s no couch in sight, all they can do is get a grass stain on their knees.