If nothing else, the firestorm surrounding Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team has served to remind us of the power that words possess.
Words have the power to exhort, to encourage and to help heal. But just as quickly, they can be used to dismiss, demean and disparage.
The veteran broadcaster's racial- and gender-bashing comments have already cost him his MSNBC simulcast. His gig on CBS Radio could be in jeopardy as well.
The exact phrase Imus used – it's been repeated so often that I don't need to use it again here – is really nothing new. Comments like those have been used to demean African-American women for decades. The phrase "nappy-headed" even appears in the hit song by Stevie Wonder.
And therein lies the rub: Imus, who is white, did not have the license to use that phrase that African-American performers do. African-Americans who do use such language argue that their use of such phrases (including the N-word) somehow steals the power from them.
But if history is written by the winners, the same can also be said for dictionaries. If a word that remains in everyday use is used one way by the majority of the population and another way by a minority group, then the word retains its power to hurt despite the minority "ownership" of that word. Words used pejoratively to describe racial or ethnic groups, sexual orientations or gender remain alive and ready to infect the popular culture.
The argument is further complicated by an apparent bias against those who hold any liberal leanings. It's true that right-wing talking heads such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Michael Savage all have gotten into their share of hot water over comments they have made. Yet there seems to be a never-ending supply of apologist willing to rush to the aid of any conservative who speaks imprudently.
The same cannot be said for those on the left. Those figures in the political world who can barely be labeled as liberal will find far fewer people rushing to their defense. Past cases like Howard Cosell and Jimmy the Greek come to mind. Meanwhile, despite brushes with the law over prescription drugs and coinages such as "femanazi" and "halfrican American" Rush Limbaugh continues to spew forth his peculiar blend of disparaging comments masquerading as humor.
Maybe the left is less tolerant of these sorts of slip ups than the right. But if liberals really believe what they say about all men and women deserving dignity that how it should be. That's why it saddens me when I hear of progressive bloggers resorting to ad hominem attacks against those on the right. Conservatives ideology is so flawed that it scarcely needs opponents to use the unimaginative tactic of making sport of their adversaries' physical appearance.
The lefts vigilance in regard to human dignity has cost it the powerful voice with the departure of Don Imus from MSNBC. While it is true that the mercurial and curmudgeonly Imus sometimes spoke warmly of conservatives he also frequently backed liberal figures. The veteran broadcaster promoted John Kerry's race in 2004, even while he was describing Vice-President Dick Cheney as a war criminal.
Words do have power. Let's see if those of us on the left can use them effectively without sounding like bullies in a schoolyard.