Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 1:01am
Let's join the language police
Column: All Paths
Last week, the NAACP held a funeral to bury the N-word. I applaud this action, even though it was basically symbolic. Someone had to do something definitive to draw attention to the casual use of this word in our society.
As many of you know, the N-word came into focus again last year after former "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards used it repeatedly in a tirade at a Los Angeles comedy club. Then a similar controversy erupted in April when talk show host Don Imus made a derogatory remark about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, a remark that prompted his firing by CBS.
I guess it would be negligent if I didn't mention the perfunctory usage of this word by African-Americans, from professionals and churchgoers to rappers like 50 Cent, who said that as long as there are "bitches, niggers and hoes, we should be able to rap about it." They have a major hand in keeping this word alive as well.
So I agree with the NAACP: Put the N-word to rest. It's time for it to be removed forever from popular usage by Americans. But why stop there? Let's put the B-word and F-bomb, and any other angry or hostile terms, to rest as well. Now, having said all of this ... how do we accomplish this? It's not an easy thing to do.
Why is it not easy? I will tell you why: because foul language is as American as apple pie. Just about every age group, regardless of race, religion, class or gender, uses it. I think our dogs cuss. Our kids learn it from an early age. It's easy or convenient for us to say that they learn these words at school or from HBO. Yes, we can place some of the blame on them. But we know they even learn it at home from their parents as well. They are bombarded with it everywhere. So can we credibly police their usage? No, we can't, because we cannot demand something from them that we ourselves are not willing or disciplined enough to do.
The first thing we need to do is police our own usage, and become role models for our youth. No more of that "do as I say and not as I do." That didn't work for the baby boomers, and it won't work now.
The second thing we need to do is to stop being consumers of foul language. Jokes, TV shows, comedians and movies really can be entertaining and funny without the foul language. I remember "Leave It to Beaver," "The Mickey Mouse Club," "Bewitched" and "I Love Lucy." That stuff was funny and clean. It worked then, and it can work now. (God bless the golden age of television.) We have to decide that we want to return to clean entertainment and demand it from our providers by not paying for programming with foul language.
The last point I want to make about America's collective foul mouth is that it is a manifestation of our inner state. We are an angry and hostile country that is addicted to negativity and incivility. Our fast-paced, digitized, noise-polluted, demanding society keeps us on the edge. We need to look inward and to the divine for help with this. Also, let's not forget that many of our leaders foster an "us against them" form of enemy thinking that creates hostility and divides us. We need to get rid of them.
Corporate America is beginning to recognize the negative impact of foul language. An article on Forbes.com, reported that a consulting group called The Cuss Control Academy charged $1,000 an hour to help clean up corporate America's language. Apparently corporations have discovered that excessive cursing was bad for business and could even be admitted as evidence in a harassment suit. The academy offers eight steps to cleaning up foul language in the corporate environment: Acknowledge that cursing does damage; eliminate casual swearing; think positively; practice being patient; stop complaining; use alternative words; think of what you should have said; and work at it!
The Cuss Control Academy said WORK AT IT! So, let's begin the work of cleaning up America's foul mouth by policing the language of each other. All of us should ask those in our presence who use foul language to stop it. This form of language policing can be effective, and there are other methods as well.
When I was a kid, I remember my mother and her coworkers deciding that there was too much cussing in their office. So they took a big jar and put a sign on it that read "The Cuss Jar." They all agreed that anyone who cussed in the office would have to drop some money in the jar, and it would be donated to charity. I don't recall how much they would have to put in the jar, but I do remember my mom saying that the jar was always full and they raised a lot of money for an orphanage.
Now the reason I am telling you this story is because I have decided to police myself. There are several words that I would like to stop using. So, I have decided that every time I use one of these words, I am going to stop wherever I am and give the closest person to me a one-dollar bill. This could be an expensive proposition for me. I feel it's worth it, and it is my contribution to help clean up America's collective foul mouth. I challenge anyone who reads this column to do the same or something similar and let me know about it. Join the language police and make America kinder, gentler and more civil. Why the heck not!
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.
As many of you know, the N-word came into focus again last year after former "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards used it repeatedly in a tirade at a Los Angeles comedy club. Then a similar controversy erupted in April when talk show host Don Imus made a derogatory remark about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, a remark that prompted his firing by CBS.
I guess it would be negligent if I didn't mention the perfunctory usage of this word by African-Americans, from professionals and churchgoers to rappers like 50 Cent, who said that as long as there are "bitches, niggers and hoes, we should be able to rap about it." They have a major hand in keeping this word alive as well.
So I agree with the NAACP: Put the N-word to rest. It's time for it to be removed forever from popular usage by Americans. But why stop there? Let's put the B-word and F-bomb, and any other angry or hostile terms, to rest as well. Now, having said all of this ... how do we accomplish this? It's not an easy thing to do.
Why is it not easy? I will tell you why: because foul language is as American as apple pie. Just about every age group, regardless of race, religion, class or gender, uses it. I think our dogs cuss. Our kids learn it from an early age. It's easy or convenient for us to say that they learn these words at school or from HBO. Yes, we can place some of the blame on them. But we know they even learn it at home from their parents as well. They are bombarded with it everywhere. So can we credibly police their usage? No, we can't, because we cannot demand something from them that we ourselves are not willing or disciplined enough to do.
The first thing we need to do is police our own usage, and become role models for our youth. No more of that "do as I say and not as I do." That didn't work for the baby boomers, and it won't work now.
The second thing we need to do is to stop being consumers of foul language. Jokes, TV shows, comedians and movies really can be entertaining and funny without the foul language. I remember "Leave It to Beaver," "The Mickey Mouse Club," "Bewitched" and "I Love Lucy." That stuff was funny and clean. It worked then, and it can work now. (God bless the golden age of television.) We have to decide that we want to return to clean entertainment and demand it from our providers by not paying for programming with foul language.
The last point I want to make about America's collective foul mouth is that it is a manifestation of our inner state. We are an angry and hostile country that is addicted to negativity and incivility. Our fast-paced, digitized, noise-polluted, demanding society keeps us on the edge. We need to look inward and to the divine for help with this. Also, let's not forget that many of our leaders foster an "us against them" form of enemy thinking that creates hostility and divides us. We need to get rid of them.
Corporate America is beginning to recognize the negative impact of foul language. An article on Forbes.com, reported that a consulting group called The Cuss Control Academy charged $1,000 an hour to help clean up corporate America's language. Apparently corporations have discovered that excessive cursing was bad for business and could even be admitted as evidence in a harassment suit. The academy offers eight steps to cleaning up foul language in the corporate environment: Acknowledge that cursing does damage; eliminate casual swearing; think positively; practice being patient; stop complaining; use alternative words; think of what you should have said; and work at it!
The Cuss Control Academy said WORK AT IT! So, let's begin the work of cleaning up America's foul mouth by policing the language of each other. All of us should ask those in our presence who use foul language to stop it. This form of language policing can be effective, and there are other methods as well.
When I was a kid, I remember my mother and her coworkers deciding that there was too much cussing in their office. So they took a big jar and put a sign on it that read "The Cuss Jar." They all agreed that anyone who cussed in the office would have to drop some money in the jar, and it would be donated to charity. I don't recall how much they would have to put in the jar, but I do remember my mom saying that the jar was always full and they raised a lot of money for an orphanage.
Now the reason I am telling you this story is because I have decided to police myself. There are several words that I would like to stop using. So, I have decided that every time I use one of these words, I am going to stop wherever I am and give the closest person to me a one-dollar bill. This could be an expensive proposition for me. I feel it's worth it, and it is my contribution to help clean up America's collective foul mouth. I challenge anyone who reads this column to do the same or something similar and let me know about it. Join the language police and make America kinder, gentler and more civil. Why the heck not!
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.