There Oughta Be A Law . . . Or At Least A Resolution Calling For A Symbolic Moratorium

When you get 51 people together, more than a few dumb ideas will slip through:

Democrat Leroy Comrie is so disgusted by the rampant use of the racial epithet that he has submitted a resolution to the Council calling for the “symbolic moratorium on the use of the N-word in New York City.”

“Stop using the N-word,” Comrie (D-Jamaica) demanded yesterday. “It’s racist, it’s negative, it’s demeaning. It boils my blood, the usage, even in a personal tone between people.”

Comrie said the resolution will be formally introduced to the Council Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month.

“The timing is right,” he said. “Monday is Martin Luther King’s birthday. February is Black History Month.”

The widespread use of the N-word gained considerable attention last year during the hate-crime trial of Nicholas (Fat Nick) Minucci.

Minucci claimed he used the slur as a friendly greeting before beating a black man with a baseball bat in Howard Beach in 2005. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Beyond the issues of the scrupulously precise wording (if this were an actual law, wouldn’t you have to write out what “N-word” you were talking about?) and the murkiness of what a “symbolic” moratorium means (not an actual moratorium?), I have to say that I had absolutely no idea people took offense to this word. Guess you learn something new every day.

Earlier: What Up, My N-Word?