Parents try to fire teacher for assigning "niggardly" as a vocabulary word

The Wilmington Star ^ | Sept 1, 2002 | Sherry Jones

[jslade]

And wear something warm 'cause I think there's a little nip in the air...

Were you slurring Japanese-Americans?

[StopGlobalWhining]

Tony Snow on the Fox News Channel made a statement about a white DC budget director a few years who was fired after characterizing the budget as "niggardly", because it failed to provide adequate health and other social services.

Following the budget directors reinstatement after apologizing for his use of the word niggardly, Tony Snow said

"He apologized for their ignorance".

[StopGlobalWhining]

Add to your list the ivy plant "Wandering Jew".

[Under the Radar]

1759 Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 II. 156 By the niggardly treatment of good masters they have been driven out of the school.

[Caesar Soze]

I wouldn't use the world niggardly to describe anyone today anymore than I would use the word, "gay" to refer to someone as "happy". Language does change, although an educated person would want to know the previous way a word was used.

Alright. 'Gay' used to mean 'happy,' but now means 'homosexual.' (Though it seems to me people don't agree on its gender.) Similarly, 'faggot,' 'queer,' and several other words have, through popular use, come to mean 'homosexual.' 'Negroe' meant black, but now has an unsavory connotation because of its prominence in a time when negroes were denied many rights (though 'negroid' is still used in a technical sense).

Anyway, lots of words used to have respectable meanings but are now vulgar. Language changes. How, exactly, has 'niggardly' changed? What is it supposed to mean, if not 'stingy?' Have you ever heard it used in a rap song? A Chris Rock routine? By the KKK? Has it ever been used towards African-Americans in such a way as to develop a negative connotation?

Language does change, but as far as I can tell, 'niggardly' has not. It means today exactly what it did centuries ago, and has never been associated with negroid persons, features, stereotypes, etc. at any time of which I know. This is simply a case of someone wanting dearly to be insulted so she can show righteous, proud indignation and jumping at the first opportunity, no matter how illiterate it makes her look.

[CubicleGuy]

And, whatever you do, let's not hear any talk of the necessity of "plucking the chicken" before you cook it.

[Illbay]

Akwana Walker said it was inappropriate to use it because it sounds similar to a racial slur.

Uh-huh. A "slur" by which every low-class person of color refers to every other person of color on a daily--if not hourly--basis. Watch any film by Spike Lee if you doubt me.

[goldstategop]

Watch Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and observe how many times the black gunrunner thug says "nigger" around his white pal and to the black junkie he sprung from jail. I definitely agree that no decent person should use such a racist word but let's point out that if we're to all stop using it, let's make it consistent, please. No special exemptions for black people and I'm sure Ms. Walker would heartily concur.

[thegreatbeast]

Exactly. It is a wonderful word that fourth graders should be learning so that they might more fully describe the world around them.
Years ago, a finance guy in the city administration of DC (methinks) used the word in a presentation. One of the attending ignoramuses took offense and the finance guy was asked to resign. He did. The mayor made some cowardly statement about insensitivity yada yada yada.
Fear of embarassment wouldn't allow me to complain about someone's language usage until I was sure that I knew all the meanings of a particular word. It used to be that being ignorant and overly sensitive was something you fought against. Oh well....

[Kevin Curry]

She said she doesn't think fourth-graders can distinguish between the two words.

Hence, the teacher's good sense in teaching the children what the word "niggardly" actually means.

[nravoter]

Who cares what someone named Akwana has to say?

Oh, come on now--the Akwanas do a lot of good in the community, just like the Lions and the Rotary Club.

[Randjuke]

and then there's MSNBC....
link

They wouldn't do this to a Democrat!

[The Person]

Actually the guy in Washington who used the word was pressured out of his job and then immediately rehired when the Washington Post and NY Times criticized his "firing" as idiotic.

[Paul Atreides]

Are you sure that Arkwana didn't work for Jabba The Hutt?

[missycocopuffs]

Maedhros said: "IIRC there was a radio personality in DC who was fired for using "niggardly" on air a few years ago."

You recall correctly; I remember the incident. (Was the personality ever brought back? I don't recall the fallout.)

IMHO, this teacher should be praised for trying to teach public school 4th graders fairly sophisticated (for 4th grade) words. I remember trying the same thing on college-bound 11th and 12th graders when I taught high school years ago; the kids asked me what I was smoking.

[strela]

Oh, come on now--the Akwanas do a lot of good in the community, just like the Lions and the Rotary Club.

Didn't Akwana once appear in a Cheech and Chong skit? Yes, now I remember. It was "Basketball Jones":

Jo-Jo Bubba Junior, otherwise known as ... Akwana Kikbootie!

[nravoter]

Jo-Jo Bubba Junior, otherwise known as ... Akwana Kikbootie!

Hmmm, very versatile--can be used as a female or male name.

[The Person]

My sister knew a kid who was named after the beautiful "french" words on the box her mother saw in the hospital.

The kid's name was "Porcelain Latrine."

[nravoter]

Are you sure that Arkwana didn't work for Jabba The Hutt?

I believe the actor that played that part was from Akwansas.

[The Person]

Yes, the Washington budget director was rehired within days of his firing when the Washington Post and NY Times criticized his "firing" as idiotic.