I didn’t read the article but it’s clear that he used it as part of whatever point he is making. So the hell what? I’m so sick of “the n word” (OP, I’m not singling you out, I just mean in general). As long as you’re not saying it to or about someone just grow up and say nigger. The word itself will not make either your tongue or the listener’s ears spontaneously combust. People do understand context.
Politico didn’t print it. Personally, I am not glad he used it, exactly, but I certainly don’t mind its use in the abstract (and that would be true of any white politician.) We dance around the word like we’re nine-year-olds, worried somebody will say, “you said nigger, I’m telling!”
Sigh. The use-mention distinction is probably a lost cause with most people, but here goes. Using the word “nigger” is almost never acceptable, and if Obama had in fact done so, it would in fact have demeaned the dignity of his office. But Obama did not use the word “nigger”; he mentioned it, and that is completely appropriate in a discussion of racism.
I was hoping to find a rant about this, after seeing “Obama uses the N-Word!!!” as a lead story on NBC News and Time. Clearly, “Obama has a discussion about race” doesn’t manufacture enough controversy.
If it’s possible for us to be infantilized any further by the media, I can’t imagine how. RNATB got it exactly right… it’s as though we’re to be a classroom of children howling “AWWWW!!! Barack said a bad wooooord!” when the teacher steps out of the room. Completely pathetic.
The day Fox News is not upset about something Obama did is the day Obama should really look himself in the mirror and ask if he’s done the right thing.
I’m at work, and haven’t seen/heard the quote, but I’m confident that Obama had good intentions however he used the word. What fox news knows about dignity can fit on the pointy end of a very sharp pin.