the N-word
Nov. 25th, 2014 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormsewerIt does seem like our culture has gained much more mainstream acceptance and even respect than it had when I was young. Maybe it's a generational thing. But when I was growing up, being called a nerd was not good.
We didn't invent the word. But we took it up, occupied it. Made it a term of empowerment, of solidarity, of understanding a shared experience. There is such a thing as nerd pride, and it won't be quashed by those who hate or fear it.
But still I cringe a bit when someone who clearly does not self-identify as a nerd uses the word. From someone without firsthand experience with the difficulties that "nerds" can encounter, especially in the nation's schools, it's hard not to hear in their voice the derision, exclusion, and aggression intended by those who first used it against us.
Funny how that works.
[The disclaimer I hope is not necessary: I'm not trying to equate the white American nerd experience with that of African Americans. What I am trying to do is answer the question of "how come black people get to use that word but we don't?" with an analogy from my personal experience.]
We didn't invent the word. But we took it up, occupied it. Made it a term of empowerment, of solidarity, of understanding a shared experience. There is such a thing as nerd pride, and it won't be quashed by those who hate or fear it.
But still I cringe a bit when someone who clearly does not self-identify as a nerd uses the word. From someone without firsthand experience with the difficulties that "nerds" can encounter, especially in the nation's schools, it's hard not to hear in their voice the derision, exclusion, and aggression intended by those who first used it against us.
Funny how that works.
[The disclaimer I hope is not necessary: I'm not trying to equate the white American nerd experience with that of African Americans. What I am trying to do is answer the question of "how come black people get to use that word but we don't?" with an analogy from my personal experience.]
