Date:  Tue, 25 Oct 1994 11:38:53 -0400

From:  Steve Harris <etnibsd!vsh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UUNET.UU.NET>

Subject: Re: P.S. re Offending Idioms



With regard to racially offensive phrases, and their place within the

language, here are two more examples using "nigger".



1. "Nigger work": difficult and unpleasant work, work which one would

  prefer not to do (e.g., pick and shovel work on a hot and humid

  day).



  The "nigger" in "nigger work" connotes powerlessness: anyone with

  power would find a way to make somebody else do the work.





2. My college roommate, who grew up in Tennessee, had a childhood pal

  who:



    "attached a 'nigger knob' to his bicycle handlebar".



  Referring to the little hand knob that some people attach to their

  car steering wheel. Here, I think, there is a connotation of

  stupidity.





Though I would never use these phrases in public, as I run them through

my mind, I confess I find them (1) descriptive and (2) humorous. The

phrases _are_ insensitive and demeaning; nevertheless, in a literary

context, each describes in a concise and vivid way, both an activity

and the mindset of the individual using the phrase.





--

 Steve Harris - Eaton Corp. - Beverly, MA - vsh%etnibsd[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uunet.uu.net