This happened a while ago but it's still an interesting story...
Quote:
D.C. mayor's aide quits after word is taken as racial slur
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An aide to the District of Columbia's mayor resigned Tuesday citing pressure from controversy over his use of the word "niggardly," which some deemed a racial slur.
But even as he stepped down, David Howard, who is white, said the word does not have any racial connotation.
"Mr. Howard's resignation was prompted by reports that he made an inappropriate racial comment," newly-elected Mayor Anthony Williams, who is black, said in a statement Tuesday night.
In a separate statement, Howard identified the word he used as "niggardly" in a staff meeting and said he was referring to a fund he administers. Howard said it means "miserly."
Webster's Tenth Edition concurs, defining it as "grudgingly mean about spending or granting." The dictionary dates its use to the late 16th century.
Williams told reporters Tuesday that holding a senior public office required good judgment, adding, "I don't think that the use of this term showed the kind of judgment that I like to see in our top management."
Because the word sounds like a racial epithet, Howard said, he realized other members of the mayor's staff present when he made the remark were offended. He said he quickly apologized.
But he said that since he made the remark on January 15, he has received many angry phone calls from people who thought he made a racist remark. About two-thirds of the capital city's half million population is black.
"I would never think of making a racist remark," said Howard, whose job was to hear the concerns of district residents and bring them to the attention of the mayor and his staff.
"I realize that this rumor has severely compromised my effectiveness as the district's public advocate and, in the best interest of my office, I resigned," he said.
In accepting Howard's resignation, Williams said he is "committed to representing all of the people of our city and making sure my administration truly reflects the city's diversity."
Williams said the issue reflects a "hurt" and "great divide" within the city and that race relations must be talked about openly in the nation's capital.
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I can't believe people would react so harshly to such an innocent word. Okay, so you hadn't heard the word before and mistook it for another one. That's understandable but to react so badly to it even after learning what the word really meant seems stupidly stubborn to me. Is there a reason why people can't just admit their own mistake and move on? Will they, next, object to calling a spade a spade?
PS Can a mod move this to the
General Discussion forum, please? I posted it here by mistake. Thank you...
PPS Why isn't there a "report" button on my own post?