Meaning of words may change with the times - but they can still hurt
Some protested that her use of the phrase “worked like blacks” was deeply offensive and ill-advised, while others claimed that objections to such phraseology were just another example of political correctness gone mad.
So, which was it?
The innocent use of a well-coined phrase that no one should find insulting, or a grossly inappropriate and offensive remark for which she should apologise?
There is a case to be made for the former. It is generally accepted she did not intend the phrase to be derogatory in any way to the black population of Ireland. She claims it was one she had heard and used frequently, and seems to have no understanding of why it might be construed as offensive.
In fact, speaking on Newstalk 106, Senator O’Rourke claimed that such a phrase should have been considered a compliment to black people as, according to her, people sometimes accuse the immigrant population, many of whom are black, of being lazy and the phrase clearly expresses a sentiment contrary to this view. She went on to highlight her own work with asylum seekers.
Just an innocent slip up, then? I imagine one would be hard pushed to find a person, even among those who have called for an apology, who would accuse the senator of being an out-and-out racist. Is it then fair to say that the controversy has been mainly generated by bored members of the media and a handful of PC fanatics? That this burning issue is in fact a non-issue? Just one big misunderstanding followed by an over-reaction?
Over years of usage many words and phrases have developed connotations considerably different from that of their literal meanings. There are the obvious ones such as ‘gay,’ originally meaning happy, then (in 19th century slang) meaning promiscuous and, in the early 20th century, homosexual
The word has since lost its meaning of promiscuous and is rarely, these days, used as alternative word for ‘happy,’ though it still technically carries this meaning.
There are also the, perhaps, lesser considered phrases such as ‘silly sod’. This might be used to refer to someone who is unintelligent and obnoxious. It is one considered relatively inoffensive in spite of the word ‘sod’ deriving directly from the word sodomite (a term used for one who engages in anal sex).
If one were to refer to a woman as ‘sluttish,’ one could presume this was a reference to her sexual behaviour, not her untidy appearance (‘slovenly’ being an alternative meaning for ‘slut’).
Then there are words such as ‘nigger,’ which is one of the few words left in the English language considered to be a genuine taboo. The word did not always have such negative connotations. It comes from the Latin meaning black and shares its root with negro.
In fact, a quote by Judge Samuel Sewall in 1700 uses the term in a denunciation of slavery. The phrase went out of use in polite conversation and eventually was considered highly offensive in the 20th century.
Words gain and lose meaning over generations implying more than they technically mean or less than they were originally intended to when they first came into usage. But we all have a cultural sense of what is and is not acceptable, even if it is difficult literally to pinpoint the origin of the ‘offensiveness’ within a word or phrase
With regard to the phrase Senator O’Rourke used, there is a general sense of uneasiness at assigning specific qualities, no matter how complimentary, to entire races.
But the offensiveness here goes deeper when we look to the not-so-distant history of white Europeans enslaving black Africans for the purpose of hard labour; it is this history from which the phrase most likely originates (in the US, the phrase is “I worked like a nigger”).
The point is that the meaning of words and phrases cannot be defined simply by their dictionary definitions; their impact cannot merely be measured by how they were intended but rather must be measured within the relevant context, be that social, political, historical - or all three.
Ms O’Rourke, a woman of the world and an experienced politician, should have known that such a turn of phrase would be controversial and have wider, more complex implications for certain groups in our society (many of whom already feel marginalised).
She should see that, even though there may be nothing ‘technically’ wrong with the phrase’s meaning, it has connotations of racism. She may not think it should, but it does.
Due to an influx of asylum seekers and immigrants, racial tension on this island runs higher than ever before.
If an Irish minister had made such a racial faux pas in the 1970s, there is a good chance the comment would have passed unnoticed.
But then again it could be argued that in the ‘70s being black was something of a celebrated exotic novelty (case in point, Phil Lynott) and mass immigration into Ireland certainly was not top of the public agenda.
Senator O’Rourke must accept she made a mistake. It is an unfortunate fact that we cannot always be judged by our motives but that we must also sometimes accept blame for the, albeit unintentional, offence caused by our words and actions.
The phrase “they worked like blacks’ is offensive, whether or not the senator believes it to be so, and refusal to apologise for it offensiveness only serves to show her to be arrogant and dismissive, two characteristics most unbecoming of a public representative.
Aoife Barror
32 Smithfield Village
Dublin 7
