When Freedom Of Speech Is Hard To Explain
by Cora Wandel
Title
When Freedom Of Speech Is Hard To Explain
Artist
Cora Wandel
Medium
Photograph
Description
I recently saw this man peddling his sign around Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, and first and foremost, I was offended by his use of the term "niggers", and second, frankly, the sign did not make any sense to me, I had no idea what he was trying to say, but it was clearly an offensive, racist message. With several people gathered around me who were equally offended, I got into a shouting match with him. "Hey, man, what's up with your sign? Your use of the word "niggers" really offends me. Get out of here!" A group of school children came over and joined us, and several were African-American. He began arguing with us and said there is nothing wrong with the word "niggers" and furthermore, he was from the South, and Southerners use the word "niggers" all the time. "Bullshit," I responded, "perhaps people in your Klan use the word, but any decent Southerner does not have that word in their vernacular." "Ver-what?" he asked. "Vernacular!" someone in the crowd yelled. "What's a vernacular?" he asked, looking puzzled. The man's an idiot, I decided, and began to walk away. But in leaving I noticed the school children, they were not walking away; instead, they stood frozen-like, with their mouths agape, staring at the strange man and his sign, and I wondered how their teacher would explain what they had just witnessed.
Uploaded
February 17th, 2016
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