The "N Word"

Thanks to yet another faux pas by a self proclaimed leader of the black community the debate over the use of the "n word" has once again risen to the forefront. I thought about this while driving home yesterday. Personally I've never been comfortable with reclaiming terms, its extremely problematic and leads to confusion namely, who has ownership over the term? No one has a monopoly on oppression. The legacy of apartide in this country is woven in to the fabric of our social institutions. To over come the errors of the past it is then only pertinent that we examine how our use of language reinforces racial hierarchy. I don't care how you slice it the "n word" is not a term of endearment. Sure we all yelled out "I'm a slut or your a dirty whore." while in the the throws of passion but it wouldn't be socially acceptable to refer to ones coworker as a dirty whore. This got me thinking. What about footnotes? If you want to use a term that is controversial and may be contrived as sexist,racist or homophobic it would benefit everyone if one were to hand out footnotes. I know what your thinking. Who reads footnotes? Its all I've got right now. So the next time you meet a friend you can say,

Koz: How is it going?
Billy: Not bad you know the man is always on my back
Koz: Word
Billy: Did you see this spiel about Jesse Jackson?
Koz: I did indeed.
Billy: All I could think was n word* please.
*** hands Koz footnote***
Koz: *reads footnote*
Billy: So do you want to go to the nearest coffeehouse to discuss the gender dynamics in Anna Karinina?
Koz: I don't know. You aren't going to throw out anymore terms of the opressor.
Billy: Damn I knew those fucking footnotes wouldn't work.

* The N word is a extremely contentious word. While I recognize that for centuries it was used to oppress an entire race of people I have decided to use it in everyday speech. This decision was not made lightly and is not an indication that I do not respect the contributions of black Americans and their struggle against institutionalized racism. If the "n word" offends thee I can replace it with a less polarized term such as fool. ***

***This is bullshit. Who reads footnotes? Save a goddamn tree and don't use the "n word." Fuck foodnotes.