
Originally Posted by
Analyst
When I read this, what I hear is that the word under discussion is not inherently offensive to you. Are you making the argument that it couldn't possibly be inherently offensive to someone?
An analogy: A young boy has been beaten most of his young life by his father. His father often used the phrase "be tough!" while beating him, as his twisted justification for his abuse.
How do you suppose the boy, now grown to a man, would react to that phrase when he heard it, even out of context? Those words are now a trigger for him reliving a very painful experience in his mind.
I imagine this is similiar to how a black man hears the word under discussion. It's not rational, it's an automatic negative reaction and it behooves anyone with a shred of decency and sensitivity to consider avoiding it and other such words, especially when requested.
What's ignorant about that? It's actually much more thoughtful than the default position so many here seem to take "words aren't inherently harmful, they require context". Context may be significant, but it's not required.