Wednesday, January 5, 2011

"The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named”: Huck Finn, Joseph Conrad and the dreaded N-word


"The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” holds more power then even Voldemort
 It is a word that was once buried, yet rises from the grave with increasing rapidity to haunt all ears who hear the two-syllable pejorative uttered. Uttered frequently by Black people in casual conversation though scrubbed completely from white people’s vocabulary, this one word holds more power than Little Boy or Fat Man, capable of destruction beyond words.
If you have seen or read Harry Potter you are aware that Lord Voldemort is simply known as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” for the following reason:
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Rowling got the idea for this from two 1950s London gangsters called the Kray Twins. "The story goes that people didn’t speak the name Kray. You just didn’t mention it. You didn’t talk about them, because retribution was so brutal and bloody. I think this is an impressive demonstration of strength, that you can convince someone not to use your name. Impressive in the sense that demonstrates how deep the level of fear is that you can inspire. It’s not something to be admired." (TLC). As soon as Voldemort took control of the Ministry in 1997, he reinforced this fear by putting a taboo on speaking his name. Anyone brave enough to say 'Voldemort' would have their locations immediately revealed to "snatchers" or other enforcement squads who would come and take you into custody (DH).
The word that was ceremoniously buried and is deemed an offense worthy of prosecution in New York City if uttered elicits a greater level of fear in the real world then the fictional Voldemort’s name conjured in the world inhabited by wizards and witches.
White people cringe when they hear this word spoken aloud, frantically searching around them to ensure that no Black person was in ear shot. When they see this word in print, that same fear washes over them and a sense of trepidation follows knowing that reading “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” is the modern-day equivalent of sneaking looks at your dads Playboy.
People have been conditioned to cower in panic at the word, even phrases that sound similar yet have no racial connotations, such as the word “niggardly” and this hysteria has now seeped into other terms such as “black hole”, “black ice” or other variations of using the “black” to denote negativity.
The taboo surrounding “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” is firmly in place and remonstrations against the vernacular noose that goes around the neck of the white person daring to utter it are exceedingly rare.
As in Harry Potter, few brave souls have the courage to stand up to Lord Voldemort and in Black Run America (BRA) few souls can be found who understand the rhetorical battle that has been won and the significance of what the fear surrounding “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” means.
White people have capitulated to the power of BRA, and the one word that forever coerces this surrender is the power over “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” and efforts must be made to remove every reference to this word from the annals of history:
 A classic turn-of-the-century English novelist whose works have been read by countless millions of people is having his work sanitized for a new generation of readers.
Joseph Conrad, whose "Heart of Darkness" and "Lord Jim" have been scrutinized by English students on multiple continents for decades, wrote a lesser known novel in 1897 called "The Nigger of the Narcissus."
Now, in what critics are calling a blatant act of politically correct censorship, a Netherlands-based publisher has reprinted the novel under a new name: "The N-word of the Narcissus."
The new version is the first installment of WordBridge Publishing's classic texts series, featuring "texts with a message for moderns, made accessible to moderns."
But some critics say updating a Conrad novel by replacing all mentions of the offensive term "nigger" with "n-word" is just as offensive as the word itself.
"It's outrageous," said Niger Innis, spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality, a New York-based civil rights organization. "Are they going to go to Mark Twain as well and take out all of those references?
"It's censorship, and to blacken over a word does not mean that you can blacken over the history.”

One should never underestimate the enabling powers of Disingenuous White Liberals (DWLs) and yes, they did in fact go after Mark Twain:
What is a word worth? According to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books' upcoming edition of Mark Twain's seminal novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" will remove all instances of the N-word -- I'll give you a hint, it's not nonesuch -- present in the text and replace it with slave.


Race matters in these books," Gribben told PW. "It's a matter of how you express that in the 21st century."


Unsurprisingly, there are already those who are yelling "Censorship!" as well as others with thesauruses yelling "Bowdlerization!" and"Comstockery!"


Their position is understandable: Twain's book has been one of the most often misunderstood novels of all time, continuously being accused of perpetuating the prejudiced attitudes it is criticizing, and it's a little disheartening to see a cave-in to those who would ban a book simply because it requires context.


On the other hand, if this puts the book into the hands of kids who would not otherwise be allowed to read it due to forces beyond their control (overprotective parents and the school boards they frighten), then maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge.


It's unfortunate, but is it really any more catastrophic than a TBS-friendly re-edit of "The Godfather," you down-and-dirty melon farmer.
He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future. By scrubbing“The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” from novels, the offending word is removed forever from entering the vocabulary of impressionable young people who don’t understand yet that BRA dictates every level of their life and thereby ensuring that the aura surrounding the word will never fade.
Just like in Harry Potter, where anyone standing up to Voldemort will be instantly crushed, those who dare use “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” will find a fate just as severe as what awaits a Muggle, witch or wizard in the world of J.K Rowling:
A federal jury will be asked to decide whether it is acceptable for an African American person, but not a white person, to use the "n" word in a workplace.
U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor Tom Burlington's lawsuit against the station, claiming a double standard and alleging that he was the victim of racial discrimination, may go to trial. However, Surrick denied Burlington's claim of a hostile work environment.


Burlington, who is white, was fired after using the "n" word during a June 2007 staff meeting at which reporters and producers were discussing reporter Robin Taylor's story about the symbolic burial of the word by the Philadelphia Youth Council of the NAACP.


Burlington, who began work at the station in 2004 and is now working as a real estate agent, was suspended within days and fired after an account of the incident was published in the Philadelphia Daily News. He alleges that he "was discriminated against because of his race," according to court documents. He claims in his lawsuit that at least two African American employees at Fox29 had used the word in the workplace and were not disciplined.


The dispute began after Taylor, who is white, used the phrase the "n" word during the 2007 staff meeting. She said participants at the burial had said the full word "at least a hundred times or more," according to court records.


"Does this mean we can finally say the word n-?" Burlington asked colleagues, according to depositions.


Nicole Wolfe, a producer and one of the three African American employees among the nine people at the meeting, exclaimed: "I can't believe you just said that!"
We at SBPDL have long looked at “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” with curiosity, knowing full well the power the word has, yet feeling uncomfortable letting it escape our lips.

No more. Defiance to BRA means “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” must be shouted aloud and one day, people will be mandated to say it 100 times over or for as long as it takes to forever remove the sting that the word holds.

A toleration of the continued censorship of “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” means the continued existence of a world where men and women possessing the grace and stature of those who frequent The Nightly News or Thug Report will be continually celebrated.

You can’t bury the past, just as you can’t bury a word. Attempts make the past more palatable to the current zeitgeist only show the fear in the hearts and minds of those who pull BRA’s levers. Those who can see grow in number, with each passing event like the Mayfair Mall incident showed.No act of defiance in BRA is greeted with such exacting repercussions as what awaits the person who dares utter “The-Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named” and expunging historical documents, fictional works and movies of such references to it forever ensures BRA’s hegemony over white people.







28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Want to hear what blacks in America and the music industry really think about you? Read up.

http://www.amren.com/features/rap_lyrics/index.html

“Kill the white people; we gonna make them hurt; kill the white people; but buy my record first; ha, ha, ha”

“Kill d’White People”; Apache, Apache Ain’t Shit, 1993, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner, USA.

Anonymous said...

There was a time when I would never...under any circumstances...use the word "nigger".

These days, I simply refuse to play along with this stupid fucking charade, so I use it all the time. Nigger this, nigger that, nigger whatever...it's just a word, it can't hurt you, GROW UP!

White Guy said...

I use the word 'nigger' all the time and apply it to: black, white, red or yellow, without prejudice, and to anyone who acts like a ... well ... nigger.

BRA will never censor me.

Anonymous said...

White guy,

When was the last time you called someone white a "nigger"?

That would be like me saying that I call black people "wet backs" all the time.


You have to be joking.

-Black guy

Anonymous said...

I own the original version of Huck Finn and my children and grandchildren will be exposed to the original.

The bottom line is that I will not support censorship in any form.

-Black guy

Porter said...

On the CNN piece, it's surreal to watch grown men yammering "N-word this, N-word that" with straight faces. This is how children speak when they have been forbade to curse. How humiliating for an adult.

I'd love to have been on set with the pretentious Cooper and savored the following exchange...

Anderson, I'm stumped. To what "N-word" are you referring?

Well...ummm

Indeed I haven't a clue. There must be thousands of words that start with N. Just spit it out, what's with all the stammering?

Well you see it's a very hurtful word.

Well then I'll certainly want to avoid it at all costs...If you'll just say it clearly now so I have no mistake?

(fumbling, shifting, furtive glances to the producer)

Do you mean Niger? Nigeria? Niggardly? Negrophilism? Nigella? Niggling? Nigerkordofanian? Oh fuck it...I give up.

Anonymous said...

Porter,

Wow, you are exactly right.

It is so pathetic.

Robert said...

Rap star Kanye West makes video where he kills white women.
Two of the biggest black celebrities in the world got together to make a video glorifying violence towards women (in which most of the women are white). The images are shocking, especially considering the close connections between one of the rappers and Barack Obama.

The song will appear on Kanye West’s new album titled “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Based on the video, his fantasy appears to be to kidnap, rape, and murder white women. The initial cover art, which has already been rejected by Walmart, features a black man holding a beer bottle in a sexually explicit pose with a naked white woman. Click Here for more info.

Kanye West was the featured speaker at a conference held by the militant white hating National of Islam in 2005. The NOI presented him with an award. That same year the NAACP presented him with an award for “most outstanding black male artist.” It remains to be seen if groups like the NOI and NAACP will denounce the video, which seems to re-enforce the most negative stereotypes about black men.

Kanye West, a world famous black rap star notorious for anti-white outbursts on national television, is depicted holding the severed head of a white woman in his new video. The video also features Jay-Z, another big name, who campaigned with Barack Obama.

West’s CD’s are released by Rick Rubin’s Def Jam, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. MTV recently named Kanye West its 2010 Man of the Year.

The video shows dead women hanging from the ceiling and several images of women being held captive. In one scene Kayne West is in bed with two dead white women positioning their bodies in a sexually provocative way. In another scene West holds the bloody severed head of a white woman.

The images are particularly disturbing considering the steady increase of black on white violent crime in the United States.

Sample of the Lyrics…

Conquer, stomp ya, stop your silly nonsense
None of you n*****s know where the swamp is
None of you n*****s have seen the carnage that I’ve seen
I still hear fiends scream in my dream
Murder murder in black convertibles
I kill a block I murder avenues
Rape and pillage a village, women and children
Everybody wanna know what my Achilles heel is
LOVE I don’t get enough of it
All I get is these vampires and blood suckers
All I see is these n*****s, I’ve made millionaires


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f4EZwOdgwI&feature=player_embedded

Anonymous said...

It seems strange that you write an article denouncing the censorship of a certain word then refuse to write it even once in the article.
Whites shouldn't allow themselves to be cowed into using terms like N-word or "the word that must not be named". The writer of the article should have used the word nigger not once but repeatedly in the article, otherwise he shows himself to be, or at least appears to be, a part of the problem he was describing.
I don't expect this comment to be posted but hope at least the feedback makes it to the writer.

Anonymous said...

"When was the last time you called someone white a "nigger"?"

I call them "whiggers".

I use both words on a daily basis.

Anonymous said...

There is also a company that must not be named. It is a joint venture between the Nigerian governement and Russian gas producer Gazprom.

Nigaz!

Apparently the power inherent in the free exchange of goods and services has made Russiansthe only white people in the world allowed to to say the word that must not be named with impunity.

And I'm not making it up either, my Nigaz!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8130334.stm

Anonymous said...

My elementary school had 1 black kid in my grade. He was truly the token black, and we all loved him because he was funny as hell. Kindergarten through 5th grade he represented what I thought of blacks, funny, athletic, always cheering people up with a song. I remember when a kid called him a nigger and he started crying, so me and the crew pounded that kid into the dirt. Then we got to junior high, where multiple elementary schools from diverse backgrounds came together. He made friends with a bunch of other black kids and to my dismay they constantly dropped N bombs. I was shocked. What the hell I thought that was a bad word, but there they were nigger this nigga that with loads of profanity interlaced of course just to describe a trip to the store.

Our token black friend stopped hanging out with us. This is a guy who came over for sleep overs, cub scouts, skateboarding, etc from the age of 5. By 8th grade he had been suspended and arrested multiple times for dealing drugs, and by 10th grade he completely disappeared.

Anonymous said...

SBPDL - Just saw this video. I don't know where it fits into things, but I think it represents what many of us wish would occur within the black community to instill a sense of discipline among their youth. Strict boundaries, respect for authority, and a rejection of "gangsta rap thug life" culture should be unapologetically enforced by corporal punishment.

http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2011/01/e-thug-gets-a-good-ol-fashioned-belt-whooping/

Stuff Black People Don't Like said...

Nigger. Is that better?

Anonymous said...

"The bottom line is that I will not support censorship in any form. -Black guy"

Who cares what you think??? Go away.

Anonymous said...

I don' t see anything cowardly about using the term "n-word". As a matter of fact I'm getting a kick out of how it is replacing nigger but means exactly the same thing. I'll bet you will actually see "n-word" become socially unacceptable.

I'm looking forward to the sign, "No n-words allowed". How is the EOC going to handle that one?

J.P.

Anonymous said...

Re the "token black friend" above: water seeks its own level.

Anonymous said...

"My elementary school had 1 black kid in my grade. He was truly the token black, and we all loved him because he was funny as hell. Kindergarten through 5th grade he represented what I thought of blacks, funny, athletic, always cheering people up with a song. I remember when a kid called him a nigger and he started crying, so me and the crew pounded that kid into the dirt. Then we got to junior high, where multiple elementary schools from diverse backgrounds came together. He made friends with a bunch of other black kids and to my dismay they constantly dropped N bombs. I was shocked. What the hell I thought that was a bad word, but there they were nigger this nigga that with loads of profanity interlaced of course just to describe a trip to the store."

"Our token black friend stopped hanging out with us. This is a guy who came over for sleep overs, cub scouts, skateboarding, etc from the age of 5. By 8th grade he had been suspended and arrested multiple times for dealing drugs, and by 10th grade he completely disappeared."


Oh my fucking God! This little story was funny as hell. Was this real life or an after school special? I find it a little difficult to believe even a token would have a pussy style meltdown upon being called a nigger, but I digress.

The only black kid in a predominately white elementary school would probably be called nigger so many times it would become his or her name.

He had a crew of white "henchmen" ? Do you guys wear capes and travel the country kicking the asses of white people who call black people niggers? Just like an 80's movie. Was his name Leroy? LOL!


"Kindergarten through 5th grade he represented what I thought of blacks, funny, athletic, always cheering people up with a song."

Yeah at my predominately black school we would always break into impromptu musical routines. Who the hell was this kid Mr. Bojangles? I'm sorry but I'm picturing some black kid with a big Afro dancing in a crowd of laughing and clapping white people.

It should at this point be obvious that I have no sympathy for tokens. The truth be told I despise them.

Like me or hate me(I'm black so, hate me), but the above story was corny as fuck and easy to mock.

I guess the moral of the story is don't have white "friends". I had none and I've never seen the inside of a jail cell.

-Black guy

catonaroof said...

If you watch any true crime shows you will find yourself screaming "nigger" at the television constantly as you see niggers killing our white people. It is a nightly occurence at my house.

Anonymous said...

Black guy,

Is the 5:57 PM post really you? If so, I'm surprised at your language and attitude.

Offending a little kid is not hard. There's nothing pussy about it. And you're wrong to think that the token black kid would constantly be called a nigger. Whites aren't as hateful as you seem to think they are.

White Guy said...

Black Guy,

To me the word 'nigger' describes a set of behavior patterns and tendencies well documented on SBPDL.

I can't recall the last time I called a white person a nigger because whites rarely act like niggers.

I guess I was trying to make this point: there is a difference between a black person and a nigger.

Judging from your comments on SBPDL, you clearly are not a nigger. I've dealt with many niggers in my life and you, sir, do not fall in that category.

By and large, you would be rejected by a ghetto(nigger) community, not because you're a Tom, though that same ghetto community will - and probably has - branded you as one at one time or another, but because you're endowed with an IQ above the black average of: 85.

This IQ disparity is crucial and is the underlying source, the undefined root if you will, of constant tension and conflict in all your interactions with lesser blacks ... I'm sure you already understand this because, undoubtedly, it has been your experience.

Anonymous said...

Most white people won't use the word "nigger" period. Out of fear of the social consequences of using it, or fear of physical assault. Thinking it, however, is a different matter entirely.

Sean

Anonymous said...

"It should at this point be obvious that I have no sympathy for tokens. The truth be told I despise them."

You are a token black on this site. And we know you despise yourself and your black brethren, so this makes total sense! Thanks for clearing it up for us.

Anonymous said...

"You are a token black on this site. And we know you despise yourself and your black brethren, so this makes total sense! Thanks for clearing it up for us."


I hate to break it to you, but there are a lot more blacks reading the posts on this site than you would like to believe. Also, tokens are despised not for being in close proximity with whites. They're despised for constantly begging for acceptance.

If you laugh at stupid black websites with your friends(white people), you are not being a token white "hanging" with black people. The internet is not an actual place.

How's that for clearing things up?

-Black guy

Anonymous said...

"I find it a little difficult to believe even a token would have a pussy style meltdown upon being called a nigger, but I digress."

Similarly, I find it difficult to believe that blacks react so emotionally and even militantly to a harmless word.
Then again, blacks are like infant children, so it shouldn't be surprising.

Anonymous said...

"The only black kid in a predominately white elementary school would probably be called nigger so many times it would become his or her name."

The stupidity of this statement is staggering.

40+ years ago there was one black kid in my elementary school (his mom was a teacher), and he was treated like a celebrity by the white kids, all of whom wanted to be his best friend.

Anonymous said...

"the above story was corny as fuck and easy to mock."

You failed miserably.

Stuff Black People Don't Like said...

Black students at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) are treated as gold, for their continued enrollment - meager as it may be - shields the university from cries of racism.

They are given vast support networks and incentives to stay on campus.

At the elementary, middle and high school level, Black students who attend predominately white schools are treated much the same way.

Everyone wants to be friends with them - it isn't rare to see schools with five percent or less Black enrollment elect Black girls to Homecoming courts - and administrations are highly sensitive to their needs.