Monday, Westchester County, the county directly north of New York City, passed a resolution banning the ‘N’ word. While the ban is symbolic and there are no punishments for using the word, Westchester becomes the first county to outlaw the word. Clifton Young, the black lawmaker who drafted the resolution said, “I hear it just too much in my community and in other communities throughout America. No matter who uses it or how they use it, it’s demeaning.” While ostensibly, the resolution is a positive measure by which to eradicate the racial slur from usage, many people see the resolution as being wholly unconstitutional. In a MSNBC.com online poll, 73% of nearly a thousand voters believe the ‘N’ word ban to be a direct infringement on freedom of speech. While I recognize the hurtful nature of the word, I can’t say that I disagree with the majority on this one. Banning words not only seems a bit excessive, it establishes a very dangerous precedent. First, if this racial slur is symbolically eliminated, should all of the other racial slurs be banned as well? And then what about slurs for homosexuals, women or other groups like midgets or fat people? When asked about the freedom of speech issue, Young said, “We can exercise free speech by choosing not to use this hateful word.” OK, yeah, but that makes no sense. On a side note, 4% of those who responded to the MSNBC poll voted “not sure” about whether they agreed with the resolution. What possesses people to click on an online poll to vote for “not sure?” According to an AP article Tuesday, there is a similar resolution on the table in Manhattan and Congressman Charlie Rangel is considering bringing such a ban in front of the U.S. Congress. If this happens it will be interesting to see which members of Congress, if any, are brave enough to vote against it.
•AP: NY County Calls for an End to Slur
•Flumesday: The End of the ‘N’-Word