Opinion | The New N-Word Standard Isn’t Progress – The New York Times

Not too long ago, it was considered OK for people who arent Black to refer to the N-word in conversation. Not to use it, but to mention it. Within the limits of decorum, of course: Someone who, even if only mentioning the word, did so repeatedly within one conversation came off as noxious. However, under normal circumstances, white people could passingly refer to the word without the now-predictable pushback. Im old enough to have done a couple of radio interviews in the mid-90s where this was the case.

But today, the Rogan reel has become fuel on the fire Rogan ignited by hosting people with controversial views on everything from race relations to, in particular, Covid and vaccination, in the wake of which singers and podcasters, from Neil Young and India Arie to Bren Brown and Roxane Gay, have announced that theyre pulling or suspending their work from Spotify, the streaming service that hosts Rogans podcast. Yes, Rogan is also responsible for an inexcusably gross comparison of a movie theater in a Black neighborhood to Planet of the Apes, which he addresses in his Instagram video. That said, I hear Rogans mentions of the N-word as just that mentions. And the idea that mentioning as opposed to using the N-word is a cardinal sin is questionable regardless.

The case for making this distinction is perhaps clearer with what happened to the journalist Mike Pesca, who hosted his podcast, The Gist, at Slate until last year. Pesca was investigated and then, The Washington Post reported, mutually agreed to part ways with Slate. First, for two incidences of mentioning rather than using the N-word, once in an interview and once on a podcast, neither of which, apparently, ever made it to publication. And then for a discussion on Slack about whether non-Black people are forbidden to speak the N-word in any context. Pesca seems to have been judged as rendering the workplace unsafe in the parlance of our times and his podcast is now on another platform.

But its fair to surmise that 20 years ago, an outlet like Slate wouldnt have cut ties with Pesca over something like this, and its not clear that mores on race then were especially backward compared with today. On the Slate podcast I hosted at the same time Pesca was hosting his, I myself ventured that we all need to observe the difference between use and mention with the N-word including that I said the word out loud and the full word was included in the written subtitle of the episode. Apparently, this left the workplace safe because Im Black. But Pesca, in effect, got canned for doing more or less the same thing.

And then theres the former C.E.O. of a Planned Parenthood regional affiliate based in Seattle, Chris Charbonneau described in December by The Seattle Timess Nina Shapiro as a formidable figure in reproductive rights who worked for Planned Parenthood for nearly 40 years who was removed from her position. Why? Because in a conversation with colleagues in which Charbonneau recounted a previous conversation with a Planned Parenthood donor, she quoted the donor, who had spoken the N-word (even, according to Charbonneau, bracketing her retelling with quote-unquote). Reportedly, among those who took umbrage at Charbonneaus mention of the N-word were two white Planned Parenthood staffers who later resigned, citing this episode, seemingly attempting to demonstrate to signal their commitment to what we now call antiracism. Charbonneau was faulted for her handling of the interaction with the donor, even though, according to The Seattle Timess reporting on her side of the story, the donor quickly said she shouldnt have said that and Charbonneau replied, No, you shouldnt have.

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Opinion | The New N-Word Standard Isn't Progress - The New York Times