In Defense of a Loaded Word In Defense of a Loaded Word explains a phenomenon that that still exists today. It describes how a word is a word unless used in a certain context or directly towards someone pejoratively, in this case the word is “nigger”. In Coates essay, he uses ethos, pathos and logos to help persuade his point of view on the relationship of language. In the essay Coates uses his ethics and the ethics of the word “nigger” to help the audience to better understand the meaning. Coates moral understanding is a word is a word depending on context. “Whether the N-word does violence depends on the context and the race of the person using it” (Headnotes 101). “Coates refers to black “nationhood and community”” (Headnotes
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Coates uses logos when he is explaining the NFL. “Incognito addressed his teammate as a “half-nigger””, “Barnes tweeted that he was “done standing for these niggas”” and “Cooper called a black security guard a “nigger”” (Coates 101). There are certain ways you speak to someone depending on the relationship status you are to them. “Right names depend on right relationships” (Coates 101). “Gay men often refer to themselves as “faggots””. “My wife and her friends sometimes refer to one another as “Bitch””. “My friend invited me to what he called his “White-trash cabin”” (Coates 103). A word that would have a similar effect as “nigger” would be the exact opposite, the word “cracker”. The word itself most people would think about as the snack you would have with cheese, but this is to describe “poor rural whites in the south”. Sometimes whites will jokingly call each other “crackers”. For hobo day in high school one girl made a sign that jokingly read “Spread some cheese on this broke cracker”. The word “cracker” isn’t heard as often but still lingers. “Nigger” was coined in the early 1800’s and is still used today, whether it’s joking or not. The strong history behind the word makes it a very touchy subject to talk about today without offending anyone or being an assumed racist and is best left
Coates uses logos when he is explaining the NFL. “Incognito addressed his teammate as a “half-nigger””, “Barnes tweeted that he was “done standing for these niggas”” and “Cooper called a black security guard a “nigger”” (Coates 101). There are certain ways you speak to someone depending on the relationship status you are to them. “Right names depend on right relationships” (Coates 101). “Gay men often refer to themselves as “faggots””. “My wife and her friends sometimes refer to one another as “Bitch””. “My friend invited me to what he called his “White-trash cabin”” (Coates 103). A word that would have a similar effect as “nigger” would be the exact opposite, the word “cracker”. The word itself most people would think about as the snack you would have with cheese, but this is to describe “poor rural whites in the south”. Sometimes whites will jokingly call each other “crackers”. For hobo day in high school one girl made a sign that jokingly read “Spread some cheese on this broke cracker”. The word “cracker” isn’t heard as often but still lingers. “Nigger” was coined in the early 1800’s and is still used today, whether it’s joking or not. The strong history behind the word makes it a very touchy subject to talk about today without offending anyone or being an assumed racist and is best left