Political correctness gone mad?

[sexyrussian]

I was watching a crime stopping program on sky a few days ago and they were discussing a rasist murder.They were trying to explain that the murder had called this victim a n***** but instead of just saying the word they just said ''and called him the n word''.They must have said this 9 times during the program.I thought it was so silly because in this context the policeman could have said the actaul word as he himself was not a racist and was simply stating what the white man had said.I think all black people would agree with me that it would have been fine to simply say the word n***** if you are stating what someone else has said.

[sexyrussian]

Oh and before you go off on one .No I am not a rasist.No I would never call a black person n**** and no I do not agree with the murderer.I just want to know if you think the policeman was right or was it OTT.

[sexyrussian]

Oh what a shame.Someone tried to report my questions but they were put back.I don't expect they will get many answers but that is a triumph in itself.Thankyou.

[Postdog]

That word's a funny word. A white person uses it, it can be classed as racist, yet a black man uses it, it's not considered the same way - the amount of times I have heard it in rap songs, etc...

Political correctdess HAS gone mad - I'm not saying we should use that or any other word, but as you said, there are times when it could be used - depends on the context and circumstances.

I still remember seeing the old Dambusters film with the original name of the dog in it. Now it has to be edited out or over.

[andy-hughes]

I think referring to the word as 'the 'n' word' is designed to spare the feelings of black viewers who don;t wish to hear this ugly word in their living rooms - even if it is being used in the context of a quote from someone else.

As Postdog advises, the word has been 'reclaimed' by young blacks who use it as a term of affection and bonding, thus drawing the sting of its racist usage. It's perfectly OK for one black to call another black nigger, but if a white person says it, offence is taken!

[andy-hughes]

Apologies - I typed the word in, assuing that the auto-censor would asterisk it for me, and it hasn't, so please accept my apologies if I have unwittingly upset or offended any other AB'ers.

[noxlumos]

I agree, if it's in context with something that happened as you describe then in my humble opinion it would be fine to say the actualy word. Where it would not be fine to say it is out of context or in a negative way but clearly in this instance it was not the case. It's heard in works of fiction in context all the time and is only representative of the views of the person/character who originally said it, not necessarily the person repeating it.

[sexyrussian]

Thank you.I have recieved much more sensible replies today which is great.I agree with you all.

[:Ace:]

Apart from not being a "rasist", you're also not an excellent speller, it's raCist...with a C!

[BBWCHATT]

I am not a racist either. I think political correctness has gone mad though!!! It is however, still ok to call me things like fat, old, etc. AND it is ok here in the US to have a "Miss Black America Pagent" but not a "Miss White America Pagent" - and here in the city where I live we have a Chamber of Commerce AND a "Black Chamber of Commerce". I don't understand.

[JudgeJ]

andy-hughes�s apologetic reply illustrates perfectly the ridiculous situation we find ourselves in today.

Here we have, on the face of it, a perfectly sensible question raised about the use of a word that clearly offends some people. In posing and answering that question it is quite obvious that the word may well need to be reproduced. In making his reply, andy found it convenient to use the word. The context in which it was used is obvious to all concerned, and it was not used so as to be offensive or insolent to anybody. And yet, andy felt the need to apologise because the word had not been edited out as he expected.

So here are some facts:

- The word has been used as a derogatory and offensive term.

- This was recognised and any such use is now discouraged.

- Nonetheless, the word still exists and it cannot be �airbrushed� out of history by replacing it with asterisks. If you are to question its history and current use, it must be used.

Just when will people understand that words in themselves are not offensive? It is the manner and context in which they are used that makes them so. My point is perfectly made by the fact that some black people now use the word �nigger� as a term of endearment (something, I must say, I only learned today). God Save Us from this claptrap.

[iselda]

Meanings of words do get changed depending on how they are used, 'gay' is one example. First used as a derogatory term for Homosexual men, they took it up and made it their own. I find that most gay men are now unaware of it's origins. So go ahead, lets all say nigger with love!!

[kerliv]

My husband sometimes pinches my backside and calls me his woman (and even his b****) but its done affectionately and with no offence intended and I consider it a term of endearment. However, it would be completely inappropriate for anyone else to do it and I'd be more than offended if they did! My friends call me babe, bird, chick, honey, lovely and all sorts of other things which coming from them I consider affectionate but from anyone else would be offensive. I don't really see that there is a difference with the n word, in that it depends very much who you are saying it to as to whether or not it is offensive. And as for the person on the tv not using the word in full, well if the word had been f****r or w****r or some other offensive term, I wouldn't have expected to hear it said out loud on the program and nor would I expect to hear this word which is offensive to some and was used in offensive context in this case (albeit not by the policeman obviously)

[trevoraston]

I think the policeman was wrong not to use the word. I do not like the word. If it had been in a court of law the word would have been used on several occasions without any abbreviations being applied

[girl_lesbian]

BBWCHATT i find that its the same in England too. We have a black history month, but no white history month (could you imagine the uproar??!!) We also had a tv programme celebrating the 50 top black English people, but no programme celebrating the 50 top white English people. Oh and there's music of black origin awards but no music of white origin awards.
Doesn't seem very fair to me...

[cymrudiamond]

Andy Hughes has it right! As an American, I'm sick of people/politicians/employers insisting on everyone being 'politically correct'' and 'tolerant' and shoving it down our throats!!! What ever happened to good old common sense/common courtesy???? Practicing that will take you a long way & keep you out of trouble..