What Is Good For The Goose……

I was at a presentation at a conference and I was sitting there and listening to the presenter talk about his topic when he used a racial slur for Polish people.  Immediately after he said it he excused it by saying “I can say that because I am Polish.”  There was a laugh from the crowd and the presentation continued like nothing happened.

This got me to thinking about the “n-word” controversy and debate that has been raging on forever and how come people find it acceptable for the “white” people to refer to themselves as a racial slur but when the black community refer to themselves as the “n-word” we get all upset. 

Suddenly, what is good for the goose is not good for the gander?  Why is it that the n-word is more controversial than the slur for a Polish person?  Is there some list of racial slurs and their ranking of offensiveness? 

The media has been flooded with stories lately about funerals of the n-word and banning the n-word, but why not at the same time ban the Polish slur, Italian slur, American Indian slurs, Irish slurs, and the list could go on and on.  Why is it that America is obsessed with only this one slur?  At the same time why is it that America can’t make light of the n-word like people make fun of the Polish slur?  Is it that Americans have become desensitized to the Polish slur and the others because some have downplayed these words to the point to where they are no longer hurtful, hateful words?   

Why can’t we downplay and desensitize the n-word?  Why is this the one word that America cannot get past?  Why is this the one word that is off limits? 

When the presentation was over, the speaker circulated through the room and mingled with the crowd, shaking hands and holding little discussions.  What I found interesting was that no one mentioned anything about his little slur.  What I am sure of, is if this man was Black and referred to himself as the n-word, everyone would be buzzing about it.