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Re: WAY-OT (Re: Political Correctness and the Writer)
Subject:Re: WAY-OT (Re: Political Correctness and the Writer) From:Christopher Pickslay <chrispix -at- BIGFOOT -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 29 Sep 1997 10:52:29 -0700
>Of course, nobody else is allowed to call someone "crippled". Nobody
>seems to mind when one black person calls another (or even him/herself) a
>"nigger", but let a white person use the word, and all hell breaks lose.
><sigh> Talk about a double standard!
It's not a double standard. It's all about context. "Cripple" and "nigger"
are derogatory terms. They are (or were) used by members of a dominant
class to assert and affirm their power over members of underclasses. The
words are symbols of that dominance. It is empowering for members of an
underclass to take control of the language used to oppress them.
If you are outside a group to who a derogatory term refers, even if you are
not in a position of dominance over that group, your use of the term is
symbolic of that dominance. Their use of the term is symbolic of their
empowerment.
Others should refrain from using those terms not because it is "politically
correct", but rather out of respect for the pain suffered by those who've
been called "cripple," "nigger," or whatever.
Christopher Pickslay
?:^)
Christopher Pickslay
chrispix -at- bigfoot -dot- com
If mail bounces back from the above address, try chrispix -at- ziplink -dot- net
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