Word came down from above that we are no longer allowed to use "niggle" or "niggly" or any variety thereof in writing or speaking with students because "they sound and look too much like that other word" (the N-word) and we don't "want to upset the student body." I thought they were joking at first until I also saw a warning against using "spook" in class, too.
What are we protecting them from by banning certain words: Poor reading and listening skills? Is this new policy what the Jena 6 have wrought? Is this the real lesson in the lynching of Black children? Have we finally found the aftereffect of Isiah Thomas' Black bitches?
We have used the word "Nigger" here in various forms and consequences and the most famous instance is my "Nigger Tax" article. We use real words with real -- perhaps even unpopular -- meanings here because those words are accurate and definite even if they stab and wound. Our intention is never to hurt. We only wish to provide a forum for analysis and a community well for the discussion of unpopular and uncomfortable topics. So let's do the right thing and crack open the Merriam-Webster dictionary to learn the truth of these words in context and their use in American colloquial speech. Let's start with "Niggle:"
Is this censorship a matter of political correctness or one of the misbegotten elementary need to appear protective? Here's the definition of "Niggly" and it sends you to "Niggling" for more definition:
Now let's hold our breath and cross our fingers and type "Nigger" into Merriam-Webster -- not a simple feat -- to see the real definition of what has become a denigrated and caustic word that now bothers other non-related words:
Now let's look at all the other Merriam-Webster definitions of words that include the word "Nigger" -- they're listed in the sidebar when you search on "Nigger" via their online portal -- to see the context and meaning of those word throughout the history of American culture:
Are all of those definitions variations on a "Nigger" degradation?
Should those words be added to the "Do Not Speak or Say" mandate at all universities colleges and high schools?
Do we forbid words from being employed in everyday usage because they may look and sound and even feel like other words some do not like?
Now let's take a look at the word "Spook" and its meaning in definition:
Do we ban the use of "Spook" because of its fourth definition?
If we refuse to allow "Spook" to be written or spoken in any context -- can "Spoof" and "Spoke" be far behind as banned collateral damage along with "Niggle" and "Niggly?"
How ridiculous ............
Over int he UK - "Nigger in the woodpile" is the most common use .
They will be banning Nicorette smoking patches next as that can sound like Niggerette ..........
And as for banning the use of the word *Spook* that is even more ridiculous .........
Talk about destroying language - we will all be talking grey soon.
Nicola!
Yes, this movement towards political correctness in speech and writing brings a dangerous blandness to the language and our history of using it in everyday reference.
I think the "spook" policy was alarmingly inspired by Philip Roth's fictional book, "The Human Stain" and here's an excerpt:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2003-09-05-human-stain_x.htm
It is a troubling thought when stories written in fictional books by great Authors become a forced reality in the classroom by administrators who fail to understand the underlying lesson of the original context.
So if you follow this through to it's conclusion you have ignorance breeding more ignorance ......... at and by the hands of the educational system.
CRAZY
Right, Nicola!
The ignorant perpetuate ignorance.
That's what happens when these kind internal, unofficial, memos that are spewed out daily by institutions of higher learning are made the policy of the day.
These crazy ideas are expected to be enacted even though they are not official university policy.
Unofficial policy often carries more clout that official policy too.
Social responsibility!?! Since when can social responsibility be defined as fearfully avoiding any word, phrase or bit rhetoric that might offend someone? This "Political Correctness" must never be misconstrued with any form of responsible behavior!
On a funnier note, it's going to mess up geography. No more Nigeria. No more Niger river. LOL!
Nicola!
Yes, that's right! Unofficial policy is also much harsher because it can be revoked at any time if too much heat comes down. The trick is to keep it all spoken and unrecorded and you have individual meetings with people to propagate the policy to deter the power of groups.
jonolan!
Ha! I think we're in for a world of hurt when we protect people from unpopular ideas and hateful thoughts. Most people I know, when faced with a choice between doing the right thing and the wrong thing, will do the right thing -- and I think that also translate to the common use of language. Banning bad words doesn't make them go away -- it just helps protect them as they move to underground usage.
You're "Niger" reference is especially interesting -- Merriam-Websters defines its first usage as a modification of "Negro" -- and it's so funny how, lately, the mainstream TV news organizations now make a special effort to slowly and methodically pronounce "Niger" as "Neee-sheer" instead of "Ny-jur" as we ordinary human beings have pronounced it all our lives.
The Roth story has its own reality. People think it reAlly happened.
I'm finding that out as well, Anne, and it's always in a quiet whisper... "did you hear about the guy who called the Black students 'spooks' in class"... to foment outrage in an event that didn't even happen!
It is a whispering campaign from students mostly because as Roth writes students are quick to blame.
Anne --
It amazes me how myths become legends and when fiction turns into reality merely by believing, inference, re-telling and swearing on the truth of an imaginary matter.
That's why scholarship demands proof beyond the self. Critical analysis also provides an opportunities for claims to be reasonably and put to the test of public inspection.
Hi David,
It's dangerous when the administrators try to be the moral guardian and decide what the society will be exposed to.
The political correctness will cripple us one day if not properly dealt.
Hi Katha!
Administrators are all about neutrality and getting along -- because if there's trouble, they have to deal with it. So it's better for them to keep everything calm and vanilla and non-challenging.
What's good for an administrator, however, is terrible for helping for the mind of young people. To "round off" minds instead of sharpening them with lots of various points is what dulls us into a dangerous complacency.
Oh, and the fact that Roth's "The Human Stain" was a movie starring Anthony Hopkins gives it even more "reality" because people who know better can, in fact, say... "Did you hear about the professor that called a Black student a 'spook' in class?"... that's when fiction becomes reality and facts and the truth are irreversibly blurred.
My daughter was suspended from school over the word nigler. I have tried to fight it but the superindendant of the school district won't hear of it. It was taken directly from a Harry Potter book she said. The school stated it sounded just like nigger. I tried in vain to explain it to them, they will have nothing to do with me, help
I don't understand the problem, Heidi.
What was the context your daughter used the word?
What is the school district?
Do you have an attorney?