Normally, I wouldn’t even address this issue but this guy got me to thinking about the false front that so many people put forth in their daily dealings with the public.
The chairman of the Roger Williams University board, in Providence Rhode Island, admitted to using the N-word during a board meeting, saying it "kind of slipped out."
I know there was a ‘ceremony’ to bury this hate filled word, but the word itself is not the problem. The true problem is the meaning behind the word. The images that are presented from the use of this word cannot be forgotten without the passage of time. The use of the word flags the underlying prejudice that allows everyone to see that the user of the word is a prejudiced person.
Ralph Papitto, 80, who stepped down earlier this month after nearly 40 years on the board, had been, during a faculty meeting in May of this year, discussing the difficulty of finding blacks and other minorities to serve on the 16-member board, which at the time included 14 white men and two women. (Is ‘he’ finding difficulty because he thinks blacks are inferior and therefore cannot possibly ‘attain the same stature’ as he? I don’t know the real reason why the board is not already diverse).
Another board member said Papitto became irate when he discussed pressures to make the board more diverse, (he does like being ‘forced’ to diversify the board) at one point using the slur to refer to black candidates to the board. This other board member then said he then told the board he knew he couldn't say that because of Don Imus, the radio host who was fired after referring to Rutgers University women's basketball team members as "nappy-headed hos." (Here I have another objection. Why can’t the media replace this objectionable term with a phrase such as ‘racial slur’ instead of repeating what the public found so objectionable in the first place? Isn’t the media perpetuating the hurt that goes with this phrase? Yes, they are!)
I have another take on this, Mr. Papitto. You said you should not have used the N-word by referring to the aftermath of the Don Imus slur as the reason. I submit that you should not have said it because of all the negative historical connotations that are attached to this word. Connotations that I am certain you are aware of, and have been aware of your entire life. The fact that this word just "kind of slipped out” indicates that you are no stranger to this word. In fact, it shows that you are deeply embedded in a belief system that you, being white, are better than all non-whites.
You, sir, are an example of what goes on in the world everyday. People put up this front of respect for others when deep inside the prejudice remains. This activity is not exclusive to whites only. Sadly, it is also practiced by blacks. I have known blacks who have these same prejudices against whites.
We all talk a good game of wanting equality for everyone. A lot of us really do want equality for everyone. Some people actually do what they can to make it happen, and to them I applaud your efforts. But, it will never fully happen.
People like Mr. Papitto will always be in positions where they can do something about it but won’t. People like Mr. Papitto will always talk like they want to do something, but won’t.
Mr. Papitto claims to have never used that word before. This is of course an out right lie. It was bad enough to try to make us believe that the word just “kind of slipped out” it is quite another to make us believe that he is so free of prejudice that he has never used that word.
Several board members called for his resignation after the incident and I suppose he should be punished for it in some way, if it truly offended someone’s sensibilities. But the small group of people who attended the meeting who were ‘so indignant’ at the use of this word during their closed meeting are just calling for his resignation for political reasons. Their skins are not so thin that they were offended by the word. Perhaps they each want his chair at the head of the table. I am certain each of them have used this word before. Maybe not in public, but the thoughts are there just the same. The deep seated prejudice is there. They just don’t want to be honest with the public because they too would be ostracized for saying it. They want him out just as a ‘show of unity’ to the political environment that we find ourselves in today.
Writing laws that says you cannot discriminate based on ‘anything’ only pushes the real prejudice deeper inside. I applaud the passing of these laws, they were passed for the right reasons, it is just that they don’t really get rid of the prejudice. They serve only to make the offense punishable in some way. We Americans, indeed all humans, have these prejudices and trying to eradicate them will only meet with failure. So we all hide behind our public face and get through whatever business is at hand.
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