Wishful Thinking

According to the Washington Post, the NAACP 'buried' the N-word today. With a funeral and a coffin and everything.

From the story:

"Today we're not just burying the N-word, we're taking it out of our spirit," said Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "We gather burying all the things that go with the N-word. We have to bury the 'pimps' and the 'hos' that go with it."

He continued: "Die N-word, and we don't want to see you 'round here no more."

I just think this is a bit premature, and wishful thinking to boot. There's a lot more work to do before that word stops being used in its current fashion - hell, there's a debate over whether or not its current usage is a good or bad thing.

At least someone realizes this is the beginning and not the end of what is probably going to be a very long and heated debate:

"We're not thugs. We're not gangstas," Anthony told the crowd. "All of us has been guilty of this word. It's upon all of us to now kill this word."

...

"This is a great start," the 30-year-old Detroit resident said. "We need to continue to change the mentality of our people. It may take a generation, but it's definitely the movement we have to take."

Not to keep harping on the same thing over and over, but I think the use of the N-word isn't the underlying issue here.

Can you tell I'm a big fan of going right to the source?