Dropping the “N-Word”: Examining How a Victim-Centered Approach Could Curtail the Use of America’s Most Opprobrious Term.
The “N-word.” It’s what one scholar called “the nuclear bomb or racial epithets.” Few words are so abhorrent that just their utterance can provoke rage, hatred, and conflict. Unlike other slurs, it is perhaps the only one so vile that it has been truncated to a single letter: “N-” (i.e., the “N-word...
| Published in: | Journal of Black Studies Vol. 49; no. 5; pp. 411 - 427 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Sage Publications Inc.
Jul2018
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=130000165&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 130000165 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00219347 BLT jtl: Journal of Black Studies issn: 00219347 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2018 vid: 49 iid: 5 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. artinfo: ui: 130000165 10.1177/0021934718756798 ppf: 411 ppct: 16 formats: tig: atl: Dropping the “N-Word”: Examining How a Victim-Centered Approach Could Curtail the Use of America’s Most Opprobrious Term. aug: au: Holt, Lanier F. affil: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA su: Hate speech African American social conditions Racism in language Race Epithets sug: subj: Hate speech African American social conditions Racism in language Race Epithets keyword: African Americans epithets hate speech race African Americans epithets hate speech race ab: The “N-word.” It’s what one scholar called “the nuclear bomb or racial epithets.” Few words are so abhorrent that just their utterance can provoke rage, hatred, and conflict. Unlike other slurs, it is perhaps the only one so vile that it has been truncated to a single letter: “N-” (i.e., the “N-word”), because of the negative connotations associated with it. This analysis addresses the N-word from multiple perspectives. It first examines the etiology of the word and how it became the derisive term it is today. Second, it examines the legal problems that courts have had in banning it as a form of hate speech, and how the N-word blurs the line between speech and conduct. Third, and finally, this analysis details how understanding the intent of the speaker, and using a victim-centered approach, can assist in creating polices that curtail the use of the problematic N-word. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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