More than an ugly word:
Giving 'nigger' its due
A recent story with legs among bloggers who focus on human rights issues has been the saga of Brian Emanuels, a Seattle schoolteacher who entered the public eye in a troubling way. Prometheus 6 describes him as "that brilliant teacher that called the kid 'nigger' twice to teach him not to use 'gay' as a synonym for 'uncool.'" Yes, the controversy is about the n-word, and to a lesser extent, the g-word, but it is also about a whole lot more.
There has been a plethora of excellent entries from a variety of bloggers about the Emanuels episode. Several of them are collected here. However, the blogger I want you to focus your attention on now is Trish Wilson. She has written an entry that considers the situation in many of its permutations, explains her reasoning with a special clarity and offers new insights.
She begins by asking herself who Brian Emanuels is.
Emanuels is a white and solidly middle class. He had worked for fifteen years in computer product development and management for Microsoft. Two years ago, he gave up his lucrative career to teach computer science to poor high school kids. He has never been at the receiving end of the N-word, nor can he appreciate the full impact of what it means. He does not comprehend the power imbalance that already exists in comparing his life to his student's lives. He is the Great White Savior placating the savages that has its roots in Albert Schweitzer's patronizing attitude towards his patients in Africa, as described by J. at Silver Rights.
A typical response to a blogger focusing on the use of the n-word in the exchange has been to criticize him or her for not treating the use of 'gay' as equally offensive. My response is that they are not equally offensive. Trish addresses the argument with additional insight.
I don't agree with Frank at I Protest that "gay" is "hardly worth consideration, let alone punishment." By his own admission, he's not around adolescents at all. I am. I've seen how they use that term, and I find it offensive. One thing critics of the slur "gay" do not always consider is that the word debases the feminine. Not only is it offensive to gays, it negatively impacts girls. Anything "girly" is also likely to be viewed as "gay," and not in a good way. I believe the use of that word encourages those who use it (and those who suffer at the receiving end of it) to devalue girls and women. That said, I agree with Frank that using "nigger" was a disproportionate response. "Nigger" it offensive and racist beyond par, and most inappropriate to use in a classroom regardless of the intent Emanuels had in using it.
Some of the discussion, albeit a minority, became unpleasant as some gay men, or sympathizers with some gay men, either dismissed the racism inherent in the situation or expressed approval of it. The only explanation I can think of is that groups tend to view themselves in hierarchical terms. I believe the persons who responded that way think of homosexuals as a group as ranking higher than blacks as a group in the societal hierarchy because most homosexuals are white. Therefore, they are asserting their white privilege. (Be sure to read the views of Ronn of A Burst of Light, who is black and gay, in the roundup entry cited above.)
I hadn't thought of the use of 'gay' by teenagers as a partial replacement for 'sissy,' but it makes sense to me. So, does Trish's point about being sissified and being female being perceived as related, meaning females are also being put down by the usage.
She also directs our attention to a public discussion of an episode of the television show Boston Public in which a white teacher used the word 'nigger.' An African-American studies professor comments:
"It seemed as if the teacher was being established as the "hero" of the episode against the principal who was trying to get in his way of teaching it. You have this exchange set up between the teacher and the principal whereby it seemed the teacher's positions were based on reason and logic, and the principal's position was based on emotion. And the episode never really resolved it, because we don't get to see how the discussion unfolds. Unfortunately, this juxtaposition between reason, logic vs. emotion echoes a longstanding "understanding" between fundamental differences between whites and blacks. Where whites represent the intellectual and Blacks the emotional."
That take on the situation is very much present in commentary from the Right about Brian Emanuels, who is being deemed a hero wronged by blacks. In browsing the Right Wing blog where the discussion began, I found only one comment that did not blame the students or the NAACP for the situation. Some had a definite tone of 'why not call them what they are?' However, since that site is maintained by a participant in the 'scientific' racism blog Gene Expression, I won't go so far as to say the views reflected there are those of most conservatives.
I have not done Trish's entry justice and urge you to take time to read the whole thing.
Meanwhile, Brian Emanuels has resigned from the Seattle public school system rather than accept a letter of reprimand. His parting remarks are consistent with his stance all along. Instead of admitting wrongdoing, he expresses regret that some people fail to comprehend the wisdom of what he has done.
