Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley wants offensive use of the “n-word” to be punishable by a fine of up to $500 in his town….”It’s not a particular problem in Brazoria,” Corley said, “but it’s a national problem.”….Corley said he got the idea while watching two black ministers talking on television about how offensive that word is. “I just think it would be great if this little town of Brazoria, with 2,800 people, leads the way in fighting against this offensive language,” said Corley. He said if the ordinance passes, he may ask for it to be expanded to include other racial slurs.
No reasonable person would argue that the use of the word “nigger” in it’s pejorative sense is a good thing. We should all be endeavoring to avoid using the word under any circumstances…and, honestly, I think most of us do. In the (mostly White, middle class) circle I run in, I never hear the word used. Sure, there are still those knuckle-dragging troglodytes whose sense of race relations is still stuck in the ’50s, but there are fewer of these knuckleheads out there than you might think. From what I’ve seen and heard the use of “nigger” is far more prevalent among African-Americans than any other social setting.
So now the solution is to legislate against this form of speech? And if it proves successful to expand the list of proscribed speech? Is it just me, or does this look as if we’re headed down a very slippery slope? How long before the list of proscribed speech is long enough that we’ll be forced to carry and/or memorize an entire pamphlet of illegal words?
I think I understand what Mayor Corley is trying to accomplish with his proposed ordinace. I just can’t help but thinking that his approach is completely bass ackwards and horribly wrong-headed. Once we begin outlawing certain forms of speech instead of educating people on their offensive and hurtful nature, we risk trampling on the Bill of Rights. Calling someone “nigger” may be deemed hurtful and offensive, but Constitutionally-protected speech and expression can be and often is.
If Mayor Corley thinks that using “nigger” is wrong, that’s certainly his prerogative. Unfortunately, legislating to enforce this point of view is both dangerous and wrong…never mind that it ultimately won’t stand up to a legal challenge on Constitutional grounds…and is that really the best use of scarce tax dollars?
