A Dilemma

There's an interesting blog post HERE by another author who has written of another sad part of Madison County's history. (See the post for more details.)

He gives CROWS a nice review--very nice--but I was struck by one comment" "Still, several characters’ casual use of the N-word, while historically accurate to the time period and the Southern Appalachians, is still jarring. One character, in East Tennessee, a Quaker abolitionist involved in the Underground Railroad, reproves her sweetheart, telling him she “can’t abide that word.” 

"At the time, Democrats routinely referred to their adversaries as “black Republicans,” despite the fact that there were few slaves and fewer free people of color in the county. It is still jarring to hear the N-word used today in Madison County, where there are still few African Americans to be found. "

I think I understand--and I did agonize a bit over the use of that word (though not over 'Black Republican' as I was quoting from primary sources.) 

What's a writer to do when writing about a politically incorrect time? The war was horrible--and I wrote about it. Ditto the Massacre and the torture of the women. I put vulgar language into the speech of some of the characters, feeling that it represented the time and situation and characters. And I used the N-word--sparingly but as I thought the characters would have used it.

Balancing historical accuracy with modern sensibility isn't easy. And the fact that I'm White means that I can never truly understand what any given Black reader might feel on reading that word.

It's a dilemma.

Thinking About PC On MLK Day

Surely Martin Luther King would feel proud of this country for electing an African-American president not once but twice. He might even think that his dream was close to fulfillment. . .

Unless, of course, he tuned in to a Trump rally. There he'd see the Old Guard of hatred, delirious with joy at the Politically Incorrect talk spewed forth by the Republican candidate. And the more hateful the rhetoric, the higher the numbers go.

"I like how he speaks his mind," his supporters gush, dreaming, I can only assume, of a return to the Good Old Days where ethnic/sexist/ageist/racist jokes of every ilk were the measure of a Good Old Boy (or Girl.)

And when White People could rejoice in their God-Given Superiority -- when the pale skin of a high school dropout made him or her feel superior to any and all with dark skins, even say, a Harvard graduate who'd somehow managed to get elected president twice.

Maybe one place where things went wrong was the label 'Politically Correct.' First, it assumes you are avoiding hateful language only because you might get called out for using words you grew up with. 

Second, many folks have negative feelings about being told what not to say. Kinda makes you want to bow up and say all kinds of things, just to express your freedom.

Perhaps it would have been better to think in terms of Politeness . . . or Kindness . . . something retro like that.

In any event, Martin, your dream isn't here quite yet.  As always, fear and ignorance and mob mentality are the enemies of civilized behavior. Worse, they can be used by unscrupulous politicians as stepping stones to power . . . to the end of the dream and the beginning of a nightmare.  

May we hold fast to the dream.