The “N” Word…
Yes. THAT “N” word…
Yes. THAT whole brouhaha…
And, yes. I am now going to add my voice to the elebenty-bazillion others. Why? Because people keep asking my opinion. This way I can just say, “read my blog” and save myself a little time.
Now, just in case you don’t know the brouhaha I mean, I’m talking about the 21st century editing of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to remove the “N” word.
Now, you may notice that I just keep referring to it as the “N” word instead of going ahead and typing it out. Given my position on this – which I am about to relate to you – one may think I’m being a bit hypocritical by not just going ahead and letting it fly. But read on…
I’m not self-editing out of a need to be politically correct. If you know me at all, you are well aware that I despise political correctness with every fiber of my being. I am also not self-editing out of a fear of repercussions. The truth is, I don’t particularly care for the “N” word. Not a fan of it at all, in particular the universally accepted connotation it carries in this day and age., therefore I don’t use it. While its origin carried a somewhat different meaning, as words and language often do, it quickly devolved, and has taken on a much different definition as we all know. And here’s a news flash – truncating the hard “R” at the end and morphing it into a guttural vowel doesn’t alter anything other than the pronunciation. The vile and negative connotation is still there, and you aren’t going to change that by using it as a nickname, honorific, or putting it in a “song”.
Now, in the interest of complete honesty, I’ll admit something – In the boundless stupidity of my youth I am guilty of having used the “N” word on a few occasions. While never launched directly at an individual, I cannot deny having uttered it in descriptive narrative during a conversation about another person. However, it was to describe a negative behavior rather than as a racial slur, especially when you consider that at least once that I recall, the individual in question was Caucasian. Not that such makes it okay. It definitely does not.
However, in the heat of those moments I knew exactly what the connotation was, and intended it so, simply because it was the ugliest word I could think of to say . These incidents were many, many years ago.
Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to do this. However, fortunately, I recall my stupidity with vivid clarity, which is why I will not repeat it.
Am I sorry that I stooped to such vulgarity? Hell yes.
Am I ashamed of myself for having done so? More than you can imagine.
And that brings us back around to the paradox…
As much as I despise the word and the connotation of the age, its use within Mark Twain’s work is important. Why? Because in my way of thinking it is a reminder.
While I wasn’t afforded the opportunity to hear the NPR interview with the editor behind this change, I was told by someone who did listen to it, that the change apparently is not intended to rewrite history, nor to redact this vulgarity from every edition. The idea is to provide a sanitized version for teachers and readers who are offended by the “N” word.
Well… The prose is public domain at this point. You can do to it whatever you damn well please, and no amount of whining from me or any other author is going to change that.
But, I am going to offer my opinion anyway…
We need to remember that we learn from our mistakes, therefore erasing them teaches us nothing. In fact, it dooms us to repeat our stupidity.
Does the word offend? Yes. It offends plenty, me included. I’m relatively certain I have illustrated that here. But by the same token it evokes a response. One that provokes thought. Terrible as it may seem, sometimes it takes being offended to get your attention.
And, it’s not as if Twain was the only one to use the word… What about Sounder? To Kill A Mockingbird? And many other classics… And, dare I say it, the word has even been used effectively in literature of a more recent age. The argument is made that the prose is antiquated. Well, that’s true. But an antique desk is worth more than it was new, so there is definitely value to be found in antiquated prose.
In each case, it makes a point. It reminds us of a different time, and how far we have come. Removing it in favor of a more “politically correct” noun is no different than stabbing yourself with a spoon. You might bruise yourself a bit if you try really hard, but you aren’t going to make yourself bleed.
And sometimes, to truly understand, we have to bleed…
More to come…
Murv
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