RANT: Usage of the N-Word

 Several years ago, a South Carolina acquaintance casually dropped the offensive slur in the course of conversation and I could tell that it was a regular part of his vocabulary.  To my credit, I did speak up and told him firmly not to use that word.  He justified it on the grounds that it only applied to "lower class blacks" and denied that he was a racist person.  His response was something like this:  "I just don't have any tolerance for idiots.  Not all black people are n______ just like not all white people are rednecks."  

NO!  That is a filthy and disgusting word that should NEVER be used by anyone under any circumstances!  Yes, you are a racist.  Just hearing it in movies about segregation is enough to make me cringe.  I could never be friends with anyone who holds such hateful views.  

What about rap lyrics and black people who use the word as a term of endearment?  I don't like it but I'm not going to say anything.  The justification is that the word that ends in a has a different meaning that the one that ends in er.  Tupac Shakur came up with an acronym: Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished.  Think about all the people who were crammed on slaves ships and beaten by cruel overseers on the plantation while being called the hateful slur.  Somehow, I don't think that they would be pleased to hear their descendants using it to each other.  To be fair, I will admit that I am not offended by a redneck joke from Jeff Foxworthy.  However, if a comedian from Massachusetts or Connecticut told the same joke, I would be offended.  

How should we punish people who use that word?

I say it depends on the context.  I heard a story about a fire chief in Pittsburgh who called Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin a "no good n_____" on social media.  He was fired and rightly so.  No place for that kind of crap and I wouldn't want him as a co-worker.  

If you are quoting somebody else and use the whole word instead of the first letter, I'd be more lenient.  A football coach was forced to resign for reading aloud a note passed between players that contained the offensive slur.  I'd discipline him and tell him to offer a sincere apology but no, I would not fire him.  If he was caught on tape making a racist rant, that's entirely different.  

Two other instances that I thought were overkill:

A football recruit lost his college scholarship because of a TikTok video in which he rapped the n-word, which were song lyrics.  Also a girl had her college admission rescinded because a jealous ex-boyfriend posted a 3 year old video of her using the offensive slur.  IIRC, she was also quoting song lyrics.  

I would have sent them to mandatory counseling and/or make them do a service project but no, I would not deny admission to University.  

With the exception of sexual misconduct, there are few things more damaging to a person's reputation than being outed as a racist.  Would I give them another chance even if the context was extremely offensive?  Not right away.  I will say that some people change so don't give up hope.  If after a few years in which they show genuine remorse and repentance, yes I could be talked into giving them another chance.