Ban the 'N-Word'

New York City councilman Leroy G. Comrie is tired of hearing people use the ‘N-word,’ the epithet so caustic to the black community and a career-ruining utterance for others. After listening to a group of black teenagers toss the word back and forth, Comrie decided to propose a measure that would enact a moratorium on the use of the word inside New York City. To avoid the obvious First Amendment challenge, Comrie wants to enact a "symbolic" ban, which means the law would have no enforcement component. The debate, however, has raised issues within the black community, as it is their use of the word that prompted Mr. Comrie’s resolution. Councilman Comrie, who is himself black, feels the term is "ignorant and derogatory," but others think that blacks’ appropriation of the word has stripped it of its power and allowed black people to turn the previously noxious epithet into a "term of endearment." Black author and filmmaker, John Ridley, has argued that any effort to ban the word is actually insulting to the black community, as it suggests that black people can be bested "by six letters and two syllables."