WHAT'S IN A NAME?: DO WE GIVE WORDS MORE POWER THAN THEY DESERVE?

Certain words have so much negative power most of us only use the first letter, even when we are objecting to use of the word. Yesterday, I read an article in "Oprah Magazine" that included an interview Oprah conducted with Jay Z, a young rap artist who was once a drug dealer. Jay Z feels gangster image became less relevant after Barack Obama's election took place.

Jay Z was not uncomfortable with white people at his concert, his fans, chanting the N word (obviously, I'm still not quite ready or willing to take the plunge) along with blacks, after him. His reason: he feels he is diffusing the power of the word by using it. When Oprah objected to his logic, he told her it was a "generational" thing.

JAY Z AND THE N WORD

I have heard the arguments many white people have (of course, I've heard the arguments, because being white, white people express sentiments to me, they might hide in racially mixed company) that if white people can't use the N word, black rappers should not use it either. May I comment without malice that language is always evolving, and the meanings of words change over time. That is why the Holy Bible keeps getting translated over and over again.

As a white person who supports both Barack Obama and health-care reform, I am bound to disagree with many white people on many issues; however, this issue seems to be a matter of common sense to me. The power of a word is not found in the word itself, but in the manner in which it is used. I personally agree with Jay Z, in spite of my age, that black rappers who choose to use the word, and actually have white fans shout the word after them, are diffusing the negative power of the word. I also personally feel it is silly to give a word so much power we will not even utter it publicly, even when discussing the word in a constructive appropriate manner.

RESPECTING THE RIGHTS AND FEELINGS OF OTHERS

If I feel being afraid to even utter the N word is giving it too much negative power, why do I still not use it? Good question. I choose not to use the word because it still holds so much negative power over so many people, many of whom I greatly respect. There are other words in our language I also choose not to use, though they may not hold the same power and taboo as the N word. These include any word or word group that offends and hurts others, or demonstrates disrespect for something or someone they hold dear. There is no good reason to use language to harm others; it should be used to heal.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

I own a BIG DOG t-shirt, and on the shirt is an image of a dog in sunglasses, with an obvious attitude of defiance. The words Attitude is Everything are written in blue underneath the image. One of my other favorites is my BIG DOG t-shirt that reads Don't even think about a lease. These shirts speak volumes about my own attitudes and feelings about words, and most other aspects of life.

If Jay Z can openly use the N word himself in order to diffuse its negative power, then good for him. At this point in history, as a white person, that would not work for me. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Why would I want to use the N word, and why shouldn't Jay Z want to use it? Attitude is everything. Figure it out.

THE FUTURE OF THE N WORD

I believe the day will come when we can all use the N word publicly, and I hope that day comes soon, because when it comes it will only mean the word has lost its strong power, and capacity to create negative emotion. In the mean time, since the whole point of not using the N word is to unify Americans instead of separate them, what is the problem with Jay Z allowing his white fans to participate in his diffusing of a word that has held negative power over both races for many years now? Isn't that better than blacks being lynched, and whites losing jobs, all over negative concepts, and most recently, a single word that is given more power than it deserves.