on free spich
On the Subject of Reclaiming the Word 'Spic' I don't believe we can reclaim a word that was never ours. It is not a descriptive. It is not a definition with ancient Latin roots which refers to some categorical quality of our various races. It is an insult, a mockery. Looking up 'nigger' in the dictionary will yield a rich history of the word in various contexts. It's usage is what gave it its negative power. The intention and the attitude of the speaker had everything to do with its ability to either describe or degrade. The root 'necro' appears all over the English language. The word 'spic', however, was only ever engaged in one context, and with one intention. It holds within it a history of ridicule. It cannot be reclaimed, because it was never ours. The word exists to taunt. Reference to the dictionary, or popular sites like Wikipedia will support this assertion. To that point, the use of the word 'nigger', even colloquially, is risky at best. The history of the word's usage makes its employment an almost definite affront to older generations. This is very much the case with the use of the word 'spic'. It has never been a flag waved in the name of pride. I hold the poets involved with this series 'Spic Up, Speak Out' in high regard, for their character and their contribution to the poetic and Latino traditions. That said, I doubt anyone performing in it would identify themselves as a 'spic' when asked, or take it kindly if they were referred to as 'spic' by someone else –Hispanic, or otherwise. My poetic eye quickly poses the question: Would the reaction have been any different if the words Speak and Spic were switched? Regarding the quotes in the New York Times Article "For me, it's about empowerment," Mr. Xavier said. "Look at everything we have done and accomplished. And it is a play on the word. We are speaking out our truths and identities in very perfect English." The allusion to "perfect English" appears to be a subscription to the teleological belief that unaccented English is somehow necessary or superior or legitimizing. There are communities of poets (and people in general) who write and perform in English and Spanish, with varying degrees of accent and dialect. Poetry, language, activism are all human tools – human traits. So long as they are understood, they are perfect to their cause. "We never went through the atrocities of slavery," Mr. Xavier said. "We do not have the right to use that word ['nigger'] among ourselves. But spic is a word that we can re-appropriate, that was used to oppress us and box us in a negative way." This is inaccurate. The Taino and Mexican peoples, those not decimated, were enslaved and made to suffer all of the aggressions of slavery and colonialism. Are the mixed races resulting from this chapter of history somehow less Hispanic or Latino because the Spanish language was forced upon them by their master's hand? Columbus was removed as governor of Santo Domingo by the Spanish monarchy for atrocities committed against his subjects there. Latinos have certainly undergone the atrocities of slavery. Speaking for myself, I grew up Puerto Rican in South Carolina where I was called a 'nigger', a Mexican, or a 'dirty inguin' because people there had no classification for me. Despite any rights to those descriptors I might claim, I will not use them save in referential or historical context. I do not use them casually because I know what they mean, and more importantly, I know what they might mean to someone else hearing or reading them. And if we do not have the right to use the word 'nigger', do we believe that naming a poetry series 'Spic Up, Speak Out' at a renowned institution whose focus is Latino heritage is sending the same message to its patrons? There is the very dangerous potential for the anticipation of minstrel magic in that. Bamboozled much? To that effect, the white photographer and writer, Carl Van Vechten, a supporter of the Harlem Renaissance, provoked controversy in the Black community with the title of his novel Nigger Heaven (1926). The usage of the word increased sales. In response to the controversy, Langston Hughes wrote: "No book could possibly be as bad as Nigger Heaven has been painted. And no book has ever been better advertised by those who wished to damn it. Because it was declared obscene, everybody wanted to read it, and I'll venture to say that more Negroes bought it than ever purchased a book by a Negro author. Then, as now, the use of the word nigger by a white was a flashpoint for debates about the relationship between Black culture and its White patrons." Using the controversy of the word 'spic' to invite interest without regard to implication on its audience and its presenters is short-sighted. A tradition defined in opposition can never frame itself positively. To approach identity as a reaction to racism is to undercut the breadth and span of Latino culture and perspective. |
posted by raymond daniel @ 1:04 PM
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