I am not a person who believes that we can really “take back words.” Bitch is bitch, whether a woman is saying it affectionately to another woman or a man is screaming it through clenched teeth moments before his fist connects with a woman’s face. Nigger is nigger, whether a black person is using it to describe his best friend or a crowd of rabid racists is chanting it as a man swings from a noose tied to a tree. Faggot is…well, you get the picture.

I overstated the case a little there for dramatic effect. Of course I understand “intent” and how one must take this into account in the scenarios I listed above. I don’t think that all people who use bitch or nigger as affectionate words are bad — that would mean I would have to cut off half of my friends. “Intent” goes a long way toward changing the meaning of a word. But it doesn’t. Quite. Cut it.

Not for me. Not for a lot of people.

So no, I don’t think that nigger is going to turn into a “good” word. Even if you replace the “-er” with a more friendly “a.” Why? Because plenty of people still use it as a bad word. Racist slaveowners were using it to degrade us at least 200 years ago, and many of their descendants (plus some newcomers!) are still using it today. We use it too, sure. But it’s not our word. And it won’t ever be.

There’s a larger point here. I get to it after the jump.

CONTINUED »

The Los Angeles Fire Department is out even more money, now that the city has settled with (another) black firefighter who said he was mistreated by his cohorts. In this case, Tennie Pierce sued the city after he was purposely served spaghetti laced with dog food.

Recently, Brenda Lee, a black lesbian firefighter, was awarded a record-breaking $6.2 million settlement for workplace discrimination. The string of discrimination lawsuits against the LAFD have cost the city of Los Angeles $15 million. Now, I’m not so great when it comes to money, but even I know that it would have been much cheaper to just hire more competent leaders.
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