The 'N' Word

The word 'nigger' connotes some of the most terrible aspects of our nation's history and heritage. It invokes memories of over two hundred years of chattel slavery, and another hundred years of continued social oppression. It conjures images of the overseer's whip, of mob lynchings, and of the segregationist campaigns to keep black people separate, indigent, and powerless.

Does that mean we should make a law banning the word 'nigger'?

Since the Michael Richards gaffe last year, the debate over whether there should be formal laws or bans prohibiting the use of the notorious 'n' word has heated up.

But no no word should ever be banned, regardless of how derogatory, how ugly, or how inappropriate it may be. Freedom of speech is the foundation of a free democracy, and the reason that such a freedom exists is precisely for cases like this. The very reason we have a constitutional protection of free speech is because there are people who will voice unpopular opinions and use unpopular language. But freedom of speech also allows the more rational and ethical among us to openly criticize such opinions and language. That's the free exchange of ideas, and it's what makes a democracy work.

Also, if we were to ban the word nigger, what about kike, fag, chink, spic, dyke, gook, wop, dago, cracker, guinea, towelhead, and redskin? And what about bitch, idiot, and dumb - words that are pejorative to women, the mentally handicapped, and the mute, respectively?

How would you enforce such a ban? Fine people who are overheard saying the word? One would think there are more serious crimes that the police should be fighting than the use of naughty words.

Lastly, and most importantly, banning words won't change people's mindsets. A law might stop a racist from saying 'nigger', but no law can stop him from thinking it.

The whole problem with the word 'nigger' is not the word itself; it's the profound ignorance that is a precondition for using the word. Banning words won't solve anything; it's as impracticable as it is contradictory to our nation's ideals. Curtailing free speech is not the solution to the problem of racism. Education is the solution to racism, and keeping free speech free is necessary for an educated, open-minded society.