04-15-2005, 07:06 AM
|
#22 (permalink)
|
|
Easy Rider
Location: Moscow on the Ohio
|
I don't think one should apologize because of other people's misunderstanding or ignorance. An example of one such incident which you may remember is listed below. The head of the District's Office of Public Advocate, David Howard was pretty much forced to resign because of people's ignorance of the English language:
Quote:
DON'T BE NIGGARDLY WHATEVER YOU DO!
To those aware of its ancient origin, niggardly means stingy and has absolutely no documentable racial overtones. To those who don't know the word, niggardly conjures up dark images of mean-spiritedness and racism. To David Howard, who resigned Monday as the head of the District's Office of Public Advocate, niggardly could mean an abrupt end to a public service career. There may be more to Howard's resignation than meets the eye, or the ear.
The new mayor, Anthony A. Williams, who's under fire from some quarters for "not being black enough," said yesterday that he would re-evaluate the situation. But if one believes Howard's public statement, that he used the word innocently and in its correct context and that he "would never think of making a racist remark," then the fact that he lost his job over a misheard word is truly remarkable. Howard said: "I will have to be niggardly with this fund because it's not going to be a lot of money."
Both Brown, a black veteran government worker, and Fanning, who is white and also has worked for District government, looked stunned at Howard's words. Howard, who is white, said he immediately knew that the two men were unfamiliar with the word, which he learned while studying for his SAT tests as a high school junior. Brown stormed out of the office as Howard tried to explain and offer an apology. Two days later, Brown called Howard at home and asked him to apologise, but Howard said "he didn't want to hear what I had to say" about the word.
All over Washington yesterday, folks were debating whether Howard should have resigned. People pointed out other common words whose contemporary meanings are supercharged. "A chink in the armour," said one Asian American, can be taken more than one way. So, he said, can "a nip in the air."
"Niggardly" and the noun "niggard" have been traced back to the 1300s and the words nig and nigon, meaning miser, in Middle English. It may have earlier roots in older languages.
There have been other incidents involving loaded words. A food reviewer for the Dallas Morning News, for example, caused a similar controversy last year by reporting that a certain restaurant had bland food because of "a niggardly hand with seasonings." The chef, as it turned out, was black. The paper ran a clarification immediately, apologising to any readers who misunderstood the use of the word. Because of the incident, however, the newspaper has decided to avoid the use of the word, said Sue Smith, an editor.
The word also shows up occasionally in Supreme Court decisions. "It is time we stopped being niggardly in construing civil rights legislation," wrote Justice William O. Douglas in a 1970 opinion.
Poet E. Ethelbert Miller, who directs the African American Resource Centre at Howard, said, "I think that as a society we have to be a little more mature about our use of language. If a person uses a word and apologises for it, I don't think that person should be chased out of office."
|
|
|
|