Sure, I’ll stick a fork in that socket
Awww, look at the adorable baby chickens! Now let’s talk about Paula Deen. I thought I’d share my specialist knowledge of the use of the n-word in the 1960s South. Because that would be a real dumb thing to do, and I’m kind of stupid.
When I was a kid, you would never, ever, EVER use That Word to a black person’s face. Just not something a respectable person would do. Talking to a white person, you might use The Word, but it would be regarded as pretty strong language. One never used The Word lightly in describing an actual person.
But as a general descriptor, The Word was ubiquitous. It was attached to black neighborhoods, soul food, loud colors and dogs of indeterminate breed. It still hung around in songs and rhymes. There was a hill in the town I grew up that had been called That Word Hill (by persons of all colors) for so long, it’s probably on the maps like that. I was in my teens before I heard a brazil nut called a brazil nut.
So Paula Deen, who is ten years and more older than I am, may have thought it was pointless to deny she had ever used The Word, without realizing how far the earth had shifted since she learned the rules. So, a pity post. I dread the day I look down at the earth under my feet and don’t recognize the terrain.
Now, I feel pretty silly having written this whole post without ever using the word in question. My mother taught me not to invest more power in the plain syllables of particular words than in the ideas they represent. But, hey, when the world has gone a little crazy on a topic, best don’t poke it with a stick.
The chickens? They play outside in the sunshine all day, and at night I bring them in to sleep in a cat carrier on my desk (and occasionally flutter around, strut about the desktop and perch on my shoulder). They’re so little, and it’s been so cold. Today, I thought it was warm enough and they were old enough to sleep in their box in an enclosure for the first time, so they could run around at first light.
Then, as it got darker, a sad, frightened peeping came from the run. So, ummm…one more night won’t hurt anything.
July 1, 2013 — 10:38 pm
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