Here we go again.
If you've been paying any attention to the local media, you're probably aware that OU students are – once again – having to protest use of the N-word on the university's campus.
This time around, the word wasn't spoken by a bunch of jovial frat douches on a charter bus, or a brainless blonde ditz on a Snapchat video, but by real-life university professors who you'd think – whether they're racist or not – would be smart enough to know that it's not socially acceptable for any white person to say the n-word, regardless of context.
Here are details of the protest via The Oklahoman:
OU student protest calls for provost resignation, new multicultural center and Popeyes on campus
Following two controversial incidents of professors using a racial slur while teaching, dozens of University of Oklahoma students staged a sit-in Wednesday outside the OU’s president’s office.
Organized by the Black Emergency Response Team, students sat outside of interim President Joseph Harroz’s office with signs demanding action and calling for the resignation of OU Provost Kyle Harper.
One of the signs said “‘Sorry’ does not undo years of historical trauma.”
Demands from the group also include a semester-long class focused on diversity, and a new multicultural center that will feature meeting spaces for marginalized students, common areas, study rooms and a Popeyes restaurant.
Wait a second. Popeyes??? I know their chicken sandwiches are all the rage, but that sets a dangerous precedent. If we start installing popular fast food places on the OU campus every time some racist or idiot drops a n-word bomb, the campus will be littered with them.
Anyway, while OU students continue to protest, I thought I'd do the public some good and share five ways for white people – especially those who think it's okay to say the word in what they consider to be "benign" circumstances – to avoid saying or using the word on the OU Campus, or basically anywhere that isn't a Donald Trump rally.
1. Don't Say The N-Word
Even if you're a professor reciting a racist US Senate document from 1920, just don't say the word. It's that easy. Use another word in its spot, go with the mainstream media approved n-word, or say something like "Aaaaaand we're skipping that word."
Sure, you may be tempted to give a trigger warning, or try to make an Orwellian-style argument that banning words are bad, or even attempt to explain that the context and intent behind the use of the word should matter more than the actual use of the word, but those are all fruitless endeavors, especially on college campuses. Sure, there may be some nuanced grains of truth to your arguments, but it doesn't matter – the court of social justice has ruled that it's not an acceptable word for any white person to say out loud under any circumstance. It's a very easy rule to follow. Otherwise, prepare to suffer the consequences.
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2. Don't Say The N-Word
Really, just don't say it. Even if you're old an old out-of-touch professor who's absurdly trying to compare snarky generational ageist insults to four hundred years of deeply rooted American racism that included things like slavery, lynchings, and suppressing civil rights, just don't do it. Using the N-word will not only make you look even older and even more out of touch, but it will also make you look more like a racist.
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3. Don't Say The N-Word
No lie, just don't say it. Even if you're on a bus with some of your racist frat douches and they're all singing tunes about how you can hang a black man from a tree but not let him join your fraternity, just don't do it. Herd mentality is not an excuse to be a racist or say racist words. In fact, be brave and stand up to their racism. That would actually be commendable and cool!
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4. Don't Say The N-Word
I like a bunch of rap and hip-hop artists – Wu-Tang, MF Doom / Madvillain, Snoop, Dr. Dre, Kanye, Odd Future, and Kendrick Lamar, just to name-drop a few. If you're rapping along to some of their lyrics, and the N-word comes along (even if it ends in an "a"), just skip it or put a word in its place. For example:
"Alls my life I has to fight... fella!"
Also, if you're one of those people who gets mad that African-Americans can use the N-word, but white people can't, I have question for you – what are you doing here?! You're probably on the wrong website. How did you find this place?
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5. Don't Say The N-Word
Seriously, just don't say it. It doesn't matter if doing so may inadvertently result in one of the most popular fast food places of the moment landing on your college campus. It's still a racist thing to do. Instead, be a good person and remove the word from your vernacular. Even if you're a contrarian, try to understand why it's not a word to say or use. Yes, the word will still exist, and you'll still hear it and read it and see it in the news when some out-of-touch or racist college professor says it in a classroom, but don't say it. You'd think that would be an easy rule to follow, but it's apparently not.
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Anyway, that concludes our list on how to avoid using the n-word on the OU campus. If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment.