Don’t forget the reality behind the N-word

Words with history pack a punch we can’t ignore

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The N-word — an insult that will always be an insult — is now a common term used by many to refer to a pal.

You may have heard it before: a word packed with so much history, violence and pain, a meaning that has almost been forgotten by new generations of teenagers. Someone shouts it across a hallway to some friends, regardless of skin tone, or uses it as a “friendly” greeting while joining his group for lunch.

But of course it’s okay, because the “r” sound was never rolled, right? As if. Not dotting an “i” or crossing a “t” has never diminished a word’s intensity. A mere fluctuation in sound — or the lack thereof — can’t change an entire meaning.

My point is this: it isn’t okay to change an insult’s definition when you haven’t been on its receiving end, and even if you have, the word should not be apart of the vast vocabulary leaving your mouth.

The word originated as an ethnic slur, used negatively to refer to African-Americans. Its meaning originates from the Spanish and Portuguese “negro,” and the Latin “niger,” both meaning “black.”

A word with a history like this one should not be taken lightly. The insensitivity needs to stop.

It was historically — and still currently — used to degrade and dehumanize. An entire war was once fought to establish a path toward racial equality in the U.S. Today, it becomes increasingly apparent that some of us have decided to not follow that path.

I say this because of how casually and callously people use the N-word. It’s true that history can’t be walked around or taken lightly, so of course we’ll see the word used in a textbook every now and then, or in the “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

But to use this slur to refer to a friend is pure disrespect — to not only the men who died in the hopes of ensuring equality for all, but also to the human beings who suffered deplorable conditions under backbreaking labor, only to be called something degrading.

And we mustn’t forget the desegregation crisis of the mid-20th century, in which mere children who only wanted a proper education were belittled and harassed by whole neighborhoods of white adults. Ruby Bridges wasn’t just a character made up for a movie you watched in elementary school.

It’s for these reasons that the use of the N-word in a casual, everyday context is repulsive. A word with a history like this one should not be taken lightly. The insensitivity needs to stop.

Equality is about more than securing the right to vote and dissolving segregation. Voting and being allowed to sit in the same restaurant booth as a person of another color are necessary, but a key part of equality is also the choice to not look upon someone as a lesser human, and racism is just that: another form of separation resulting from something as minuscule as another person’s appearance.

If only we’d moved on — but we really haven’t. If we had, Carlotta Ferlito wouldn’t have claimed that Simone Biles’ race was the only reason why Biles won a medal. If we had, we wouldn’t have countless news stories of unjust police brutality against African-American men. If we had, there wouldn’t be viral footage out there of a grown white man screaming a slur at a black teenage boy.

This mounting ignorance in our generation needs to end. The “funny” and “friendly” slurs need to stop. These jokes are crass at best and dehumanizing at worst.

If our generation doesn’t realize the strength certain words hold, then children of the future will only continue shouting the same slurs in school hallways.

I know this word can never be erased from a dictionary, or wiped from the memories of those who’ve been on its receiving end.  After all, we can’t expect centuries of violence to be forgiven and forgotten so easily.

The only thing we can do is accept the mistakes of the past and move forward. If our generation doesn’t realize the strength certain words hold, then children of the future will only continue shouting the same slurs in school hallways.

We talk a lot about equality. Hopefully some day we’ll truly have attained it.