NYC Loves the N-Word

"Nannyism" that is.

You and I have chatted before about the freedom-squelching trans fat ban and more recently about the City Council scrambling to outlaw, well - just about everything, from cell phones to baseball bats.

But no longer is city government's thirst for behavior control slaked by dictating eating habits and banishing unpopular businesses.  For their next fix, they need a little something extra.  How about banning words?

A symbolic resolution calling for New Yorkers to stop using the n-word was introduced Thursday at the City Council, where supporters said Black History Month is a relevant time to call attention to the racial slur.

Queens Councilman Leroy Comrie, who spearheaded the nonbinding measure, was joined at a news conference by hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow Walker and community leaders. They said they hope the resolution will begin a campaign of awareness about the word, which has gained a level of acceptance among entertainers and youths that they said is troubling.

"We need to stop looking at ourselves like we are n***as or n***ers, so that we can elevate our minds to a better future," Walker said.

[Side note: I've taken the liberty of redacting the offending word, as Mr. Blow Walker appears to have missed the key thrust of the resolution.]

"So I challenge the hip-hop community, I challenge you to abolish that word during the month of February - Black History Month - and beyond."
...
The resolution is expected to go up for a vote by the council by the end of February.

Cripes.  What a bold swipe at the First Amendment.

Yes, Resolution 693 is only symbolic.  But that doesn't render it meaningless (witness the political theater (and real implications) playing out in Washington over non-binding resolutions).  A symbolic swipe at the very first item that we realized we totally spaced and forgot to put in the Constitution is more than a little troubling.

And this isn't a free speech issue the way the Dixie Chicks insist that people not buying their albums is tantamount to censorship, nor the way Mother Sheehan followers lament her being carried away from secure buildings when she stages illegal protests.  This is an actual attempt to wield the clumsy club of government in order to curb an utterance, simply because it's offensive.  The mind instantly boggles at the civil liberties implications.  I can only assume ACLU lawyers are choppering in as we speak.

Councilman Comrie's absolutely correct that people shouldn't use the word - white kids, black kids, white entertainers, black entertainers - none should hesitate to get on board.  But firing up the spastic banning machine that is the New York City Council in order to make it so is spectacularly unpalatable.

Previously:
Nannyism Is the New Black
Nannyism in New York