FORUM
Shame on Whoopi too
Lewis
Smith
Guest
Columnist
Though he has issued a for
mal apology for his use of the n
word. Reverend Jesse Jackson's
actions were irresponsible,
incomprehensible, and reflect
poorly upon him as a supposed
role model for today's African
American youth. And to com
pound this issue even more,
Whoopi Goldberg sang praises
to the n-word before a national
television audience of millions
of people on her show, "The
View." Not only did she deval
ue herself - as she is an African
American, but also the sacred
memories and history of her
ancestry, and the black commu
nity in general. This type of
behavior is totally unexpected
of such influential African
Americans and completely
unacceptable by any African
American.
Today, in this 21st century,
the n-word has been reduced to
being only a racial slur? in that
it solely refers to one's com
plexion, and none of the strug
gle, strife, degradation, and dis
honor that pieced together the
very foundation of the term.
Thus, in this light, some people
believe that the word can be
desensitized; metamorphosed
into this acceptable, unsubstan
tially mind-controlling term;
and embraced by all. These
same people believe that the n
word is just a word, no different
from any other negative word.
However, they are wrong.
I challenge anyone to take
any word in the English lan
guage. pit cit against the n
word ? 300-plus diabolical
years of heinous acts, mental
and physical bondage of a peo
ple. and telj me unequivocally
PRNewsFoio
Whoopi Goldberg recently debated the use of the n word on
her daytime chat show, "The View."
and without a single doubt in
your heart that neither of the
terms is any worse than the
other ... Impossible. "N**ger"
is the most infamous, profane
word in the English language.
White America claimed that
the slaves were subhuman;
three-fifths of a human; lesser
than a brute animal; bestial and
savage. This very definition,
therefore, gave them the right to
dehumanize the slaves by
slaughtering, butchering, and
maiming them; brutally raping
slave wives and daughters; exe
cuting mental genocide on a
race of people; sodomizing with
hot pokers; boiling and burning
alive innocent people; disem
boweling and castrating young
men; and unmercifully beating
ascendants until slivers of skin,
shown to the red meat, dangled
from their bodies? only to be
met with more unbearable pain
as the ridiculers poured whiskey
and kerosene on the open
wounds. As the victimized
gasped for their last breath, they
heard the jeers of "n**ger,
n**ger, n**ger" in their final
moment.
For those who say this
glimpse into the past is nothing
more than a hyperbole of
America's racist mentality that
prevailed for more than 300
years, they do not have to look
any further than the recent West
Virginia, Megan Williams case
of kidnapping, raping and tor
turing to realize that this is not
an exaggeration and that
racism, and its foundation logic *
of mental enslavement . is still
alive and well.
The n-word cannot be sani
tized, cleansed, inverted, or
redeemed as a culturally liberat
ing word. The argument that the
n-word can be changed into this
endearing and meaningless term
is a fallacy of enormous propor
tions?regardless of who uti
lizes the term or the excuse for
its use. It is impossible to undo
all that was executed upon
African- American ancestors, so*'
why would one believe that
they could miraculously trans
form the meaning of the term
and disregard all of the indigni
ty attached to the idiom?
All African Americans
should regard the argument for
transforming the n-word as an
insult to their intelligence.
Regardless of how {fifvwrd is
used today, its sinister and evil
history cannot be eradicated,
transformed or successfully
redefined. The term will always
suggest that black people are
second-class citizens, ignorant
and less than human; propo
nents' use of the term implies
that they have accepted their
role as such, and informs others
that it is okay to live up to the
definition and expectations of a
"n**ger."
Whoopi and others like her
have forgotten and/or are per
haps blissfully ignorant to the
pain, sacrifices, life and death
struggles of their ascendants
and how they survived tremen
dous obstacles, trials and tribu
lations. Embracing the n-word
is an effrontery to her ancestors'
glorious legacy, a mockery of
their memories. N-word sup
porters fail to understand their
affect on the minds of today's
youth with their deleterious
dysfunction and culturally
degrading acceptance of this
word.
The n-word is a surviving
remnant of a psychological war
fare conducted to create
dependency and behaviors that
support achievement of a devi
ous national objective: mental
enslavement of a race of people.
It is a passively slick form of
psychological, social, mental,
and spiritual abuse tfiat only
results in the death and destruc
tion of a race of people at the
hand of that race of people ?
African Americans.
H. Lewis Smith is the
founder and president of
UVCC, the United Voices for a
Common Cause, Inc., and
author of "Bury that Sucka: A
Scandalous Love Affair with the
N-Word." Contact him at
www.theunitedvoices .com .
Legislating to protect homeowners
David
Scott
Guest
Columnist
The mortgage foreclosure
crisis is in full swing and not
looking to ease soon. Mortgage
lenders continue to report their
highest foreclosure and delin
quency rates in five years.
Rising default rates have not
only affected those in the sub
prime market, but higher mort
gage rates are putting a
squeeze on borrowers with
good credit, as they have in
metro- Atlanta.
Mortgage reform legisla
tion recently passed by the
House of Representatives and
the U. S. Senate will go a long
way in ensuring there is some
relief for those families caught
up in the current housing crisis.
H.R. 3221, the American
Housing Rescue and
Foreclosure Prevention Act, set
for signature by President Bush
this week, would provide relief
to millions of Americans
affected by this crisis by insti
tuting the reform necessary to
ensure these problems do not
recur. This important legisla
tion incorporates a number of
bipartisan bills designed to
modernize the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA), reform
the GSEs (Government
Sponsored Enterprises) Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, and
increase liquidity in the mar
kets.
This legislation is designed
to help borrowers who are at
risk of default by allowing
them to refinance with a loan
guarantee from the govern
ment. The existing lender
would voluntarily decrease
mortgage debt below the
home's current value, which
will give the owner equity in
the house. Lenders may also be
able to recoup more money
than if the house went in to
foreclosure and the govern
ment would receive part of the
gain if housing prices rise in
coming years. Moreover, with
fewer foreclosures and forced
sells, nearby homes would be
more likely to retain their
value, thus saving whole com
munities from devastation.
The legislation passed by
the House and now under con
sideration in the Senate
increases the Veterans Affairs
home loan limit. The bill
would also provide $11 billion
in tax benefits including tax
credits for first-time homebuy
ers, a real property tax deduc
tion for non-itemizers, an addi
tional $10 billion in mortgage
revenue bonds for states and
would improve access to low
income housing.
As a member of the House
Financial Services Committee,
I have worked with my col
leagues to build greater finan
cial literacy. To that end, I have
introduced legislation, H R
3133, the Financial Literacy
for Homeowners Act, which
would provide grants to states
and non-profit agencies to edu
cate consumers on mortgage
lending practices.
It would also create a
national toll free number where
consumers can report cases of
abuse by lenders. It is of
utmost importance that we pro
vide consumers with education
about lending laws, counseling
and referral services. H.R.
322 1 contains many of the pro
visions of my legislation, and
would provide $180 million for
housing counseling programs
I remain concerned about
the inordinate percentage of
minority families suffering
during this crisis and the
affects this has on our commu
nities. The facts are disturbing
at best: black and Hispanic
individuals have been dispro
portionately targeted for high
cost subprime loans and are
more likely to face foreclosure.
In Georgia's 13th
Congressional district, neigh
borhoods with an excessive
number or foreclosures nave
become magnets for crime.
Solving this problem is a mat
ter of protecting our neighbor
hoods. We should also focus on
the high social costs involved
with this crisis, as schools can
expect to receive less property
tax funding as home values
fall.
H.R. 3221 will allow many
Americans to remain in their
homes and fight predatory
lenders. Consumers will be
ensured of acquiring good
loans, credit availability will
be preserved, lender and con
sumer interests will be aligned,
consumers will get a simple,
understandable and meaningful
disclosure of their loans terms
and mortgage originators will
no longer have incentives to
steer consumers into bad loans.
I am hopeful continued
negotiations on this measure
will prove fruitful and the
Senate acts soon to pass this
necessary legislation. In my
opinion, all involved should
get behind this strong legisla
tion to address this housing cri
sis. not only for our economy's
sake, but for those millions of
affected Americans.
U. S. Rep. David Scott, a
Democrat. represents
Georgia's 1 3th District in the
US. House.
5
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Talk much with your doctor?
Communication between doctors and
patients can be powerful medicine. But too
often, both parties come up short Better
communication lets doctors and patients
assess treatment options more clearly, and
make shated decisions as partners. A public
service message from the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, where
Patient-Centered Care means getting better
together. For more information on Patient
Centered Care, visit orthoinfo.org
Amfrican Academy of
Orthopaedic Surgeons