The book we are reading currently, "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", contains a lot of language that is very controversial. Today in class we had a discussion about what circumstances it is appropriate to use that type of language. One man that has suffered from the ambiguity of this situation is Lincoln Brown. Brown, a fifth grade teacher, said the 'N-word' in front of his class of students when showing them when it was inappropriate to use the word. At that time, the principal walked past and heard, and fired Brown immediately. As a result, Brown is suing the board of education.
Click here to read more about the case.
It is tough to say whether Brown was in the right or wrong in this situation because there are no rules set up defining when certain words can be used. Personally, I believe it is fine to use the 'N-word' whenever quoting a book or any type of media. Other than that, there are very few other circumstances that seem to be appropriate to use the 'N-word'. In this case, since Brown was using the word for the purpose of education, and it wasn't used in a negative manner, I believe he should get his job back and win the case. What do you think? Does he deserve to win the case? Comment below.
Because of the 1st amendment with freedom of speech and expression, I think this should not be a court case because he has the rights to say whatever he wants to say. Even though some words are frowned upon to say, they still are perfectly legal and shouldn't end up in a court case.
ReplyDelete