Monday 18 January 2016

How do you spell N-I-G-G-E-R?

Here's a funny thing: bok. Here's another funny thing: zoob. And here's another funny thing: stronzo.
The first word is Turkish, the second Arabic, and the third Italian. If you don't know these languages, nothing nasty has happened to you. If you do, then you might be quite shocked, and begin to wonder why a nice boy like me can utter such filth.
Isn't it odd that we can be mortally offended by a particular combination of phonemes? In our own language, we mostly apply the Auntie Mary Test: is it a word you would not use in front of your Auntie Mary?
It's a reasonable test, I suppose, but it does mean that our freedom of speech is determined by (in the case of my Auntie Mary) someone who is very easily offended. It amounts to a serious limitation on my freedom of expression.
All this sounds trivial, but we are living in a grundian age, where people can be banned and punished for saying things that other people don't like. When those other people are our elders and betters, the leaders of public opinion and mores  - politicians, intellectuals, teachers, etc - we are on a very slippery slope indeed.
I am in fact too old and too ugly to give a fuck any more, but I fear for the world my grandchildren are inheriting. I just hope that they give a fuck, and I am not sorry if that phrase upsets you. 

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