I'll try to be as brief as possible. NO OFFENSE WHATSOEVER IS MEANT BY THIS POST; IT IS FOR CONTEMPLATION ONLY.
Alright so one of the "worst" words is said to be what many people will only call the "n-word." It's supposedly more foul than any other in the English language. Why? Because it is not only an extremely offensive slur but is also closely linked to slavery and the brutalities of that subject. The funny thing is that when a white politician was called that word a few years ago, the white people were far more freaked out than the ethnic group it's supposed to be offensive to. In like 75% of rap that word is used repeatedly. In my favorite movie (Django: Unchained) the word is used 38 times (although it was supposed to be over 100). In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it's used 213 times. A teacher makes his students say it out loud 6 or 7 times to get them comfortable with the word before they read the novel. Why? Because it's part of history, and history needs to be remembered. In fact, I'm only not saying it here because KS would probably delete my account if I did. Which goes to only further the point I'm making here.
Now with that background, I'd like to mention another word that KS may or may not consider a swear but I'll censor it anyway: sq**w. Not common but still very offensive, it was used to describe Native American women. Just as the n-word was used in regular day-to-day language, this word was too. Today, it's only spoken rarely and is silenced immediately. But why should these words be forgotten by society? Why should culture lose what was once an essential part of everyday life? Why should we sacrifice one of the important aspects of remembrance?
I was inspired to write this for you today because a few weeks ago I watched a bit on SNL Weekend Update where a guest (a real one; this wasn't a skit) was talking about the word, its use, and cracking jokes about it. After her discussion with Colin Jost, he asked her: "Wait so, can we, like, can we say it here?" while they were on air. She said "Up to you, ******." This was all while they were on air and live, and I have no idea if the last part was actually in the script.
Guess what? Honestly I think that "****-skin" and "red-skins" are more offensive than the other two I just talked about because the former ones are generic names that were considered proper, while these latter two actually show hatred and immense disrespect. I've been made fun of for my complexion although never been called names like this.
You decide the moral. Comment your thoughts. Again, NO OFFENSE is meant by this and it was only for contemplation. I'm not saying that I'm going to go around using super offensive racial slurs. I'm just pointing out that these are a crucial parts of ethnic histories and it seems wrong to treat them the way we do. Yeah, they're offensive and probably always will be. I also don't advise going around and using them in everyday language (although there are plenty that do). I will repeat that you have my greatest apologies if this offends anyone and I promise to take this question down immediately if it does. I just hope that we can all remember something from this. Maybe, you, something about the subject of remembrance itself.
