Dr. Laura should realize with all the diplomas she possesses that the use of the “N’ word is more than about exercising ones 1st Amendment rights.
“My contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I’ve made the decision not to do radio anymore,” she told Larry King. “The reason is I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest groups.”
Let me understand what she meant by that statement; She wants to be able to say nigger, nigger, nigger around her circle of friends and not be censored. Okay, I got it now. What the good Dr. Laura should understand is that the use of the “N” word by non-African Americans doesn’t have the same meaning when a person of color uses it.
The word “nigger” carries with it the blood of our ancestors. They were called this word while they were lynched; they were called this word while they were hung from the big magnolia tree.
“That word, in the history of America, has always been a degrading word toward African Americans. When they were brought to America, they were never thought of as human beings in the first place, and this word was something to call a thing that wasn’t human.
In the American educational system there were many books that were used in public schools that possessed the “N” word in them and while they were viewed by some as relevant lessons for American History others viewed it as a way of continuing to promote racism in America.
For example, Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” actually used the “N” word over 200 times which didn’t mean much to me when I was coming up because I like so many others thought since it was in our school system it was okay to read it. It wasn’t until I was older did I began to do more critical thinking about the material I was reading and how it affected how I viewed the world and the people around me. Of course I don’t know what was in her heart when she used the word and I really don’t care because she should understand that the word is unacceptable no matter what she thought was ok.
