Ban the "N-Word"?

Jackson Calls For Entertainment Industry N-Word Ban
Initiative Spurred By Michael Richards' Racial Rant
November 27, 2006

Los Angeles-- The Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling on the entertainment industry to stop using the racial slur that Michael Richards used against hecklers in a Los Angeles comedy club.

Jackson and others told reporters Monday that they'll meet with television networks, film companies and musicians to talk about the n-word.

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I absolutely agree with Jackson regarding use of the word. The word has never been part of *my* vocabulary. While I understood the concept presented a few years back about the black community "taking back the word", I think the idea back-fired and wound up hurting the cause more than helping it.

I still cringe when I hear hip-hop artists using it, and I am completely apalled when I hear white kids using it.

I know a word is just a word and only has the weight you allow it to have, but as I've written before, my concern is the desensitization aspect. If heard often enough it begins to sound right - and for many people, myself included, it isn't right, it's not OK.

Having said that, I do not agree with Jackson's call to not buy the Seinfeld DVD set.