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A L S O+T O D A Y Peace with honor? What did the president touch, and when did he touch it?
T A B L E+T A L K Is the American prison system out of control? Join the discussion in the Politics area of Table Talk
R E C E N T L Y Tom DeLay, defender of sweatshops When Sid meets Jim Combover Congress The mysteries of Bill Clinton A twisted tale of two brothers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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WASHINGTON -- Mayor Anthony Williams and the "niggardly" scandal may be easily dismissed on the op-ed pages of our nation's newspapers, especially now that Williams has reversed himself and hired David Howard back into his administration. But on the streets and in the living rooms of Washington, it's been taken quite seriously. It matters here that anyone like Howard, involved in D.C. politics and putatively well-intentioned toward blacks, would use an obscure word that incorporates the hated slur, rather than one of its many synonyms. Would the openly gay Howard not flinch, not even a little, if a superior found a reason to mention tossing a "faggot" on the fire or going outside to smoke a "fag"? Two more perfectly harmless and obscure words -- but why go there? Regardless of what SAT prep guides say about the derivation of the archaic word, to many Americans, "niggardly" quacks like a duck. Keith Watters, an attorney, told the New York Times, "Do we really know where the Norwegians got the [14th century] word?" You can roll your eyes at that -- and I admit, I did -- or you can accept the depth and severity of black hatred of the N-word. For the last several days I made a point of discussing the "niggardly" controversy with black Washington residents every chance I got. And repeatedly, in response to my unscientific street corner surveys, they were bothered by Howard's use of the word. They dismissed the notion that he had no idea it might offend. They differed on what the response should have been, but not on whether the word was loaded. Howard, a new minority in a majority-black world, just learned the hard way the bilingualism of blacks like me, who operate in a majority-white world. Even I was surprised by the depth and unanimity of black concern about Howard's unfortunate word choice -- but I shouldn't have been. It is a staple of black stand-up comedy that whites long to use the N-word and will go to great lengths to find an excuse to do so. As one resident put it, "Do you really think [Howard] didn't notice he had to pass 'nigger' before he could get to the 'dly'?" Others pointed out that you needn't be a Klansman to get a kick out of using the N-word, especially if you thought you had cover. (Salon's own James Poniewozik noted this week how gleefully racists and black critics have used the word "niggardly" since the scandal broke.) It is interesting that conservatives, the champions of a "return to civility," scoff at the notion that whites can avoid useless conflict by simply being careful with their language. But make a comment that can be construed, however torturously, to be anti-religious -- well, you might as well change your name to Torquemada. A co-worker once tried to have me reprimanded for putting up a sign publicizing the office "Xmas" party. Hellion that I was, I was trying to take the Christ out of Christmas and thereby interfering with his free exercise of religion. Would those now scoffing at Howard's black critics have scoffed at him? (I thought he was full of it, but I have taken care since to spell out the word. Why offend?) I have a friend who bridles at being referred to as a "fundamentalist"; he prefers "evangelical." I do what I can to make him happy. Having said all that, however, the fact remains that I think Williams failed his first test as D.C.'s much needed new mayor, after these long years of Marion Barry. He should never have accepted Howard's honorable resignation. He should have acknowledged the incident for the legitimate controversy that it was (maybe not to me or you, but to lots of other folks) and ended it with a gentle reminder to Howard that language matters and a firm "that's enough" to his attackers. Instead, Williams buckled. Quickly. But his was not the only failure. Too many D.C. blacks are still too willing to act like petulant children, holding their breath till they turn blue over a broken toy -- and then be mollified by an extra scoop of high-fat, high-cholesterol ice cream instead of dinner. They prefer symbolic skirmishes with white America, and white racism, to the hard work of radically overhauling this troubled city, the stronghold of black America. N E X T+P A G E+| No more crudity masquerading as defiance |
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