Nobody’s ever going to call me the N-word and remain a friend or acquaintance.
While Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora offered an olive branch to New Black Panther Party leader Divine Allah, a city North Ward council candidate who once chided the mayor with a “little fa**ot” anti-gay slur, no such detente exists here.
Hateful words find origination from extremely deep dark wells of intolerance, bigotry and bias. Words and ideas expressed via ignorance arrive differently than words couched by hate.
Gusciora and Divine Allah shared a City Hall steps stage last week during a raising of the red, black and green Pan-African flag.
“There are benefits to coexistence and trying to understand each other,” Gusciora said. “We all say things that we regret. You have to find things that you have in common with each other. There’s a certain point where you want to make the person that has offended you understand that you’re just as human as they are. The alternative is to keep attacking each other.”
Or, cutting most ties. If Mayor Gusciora dropped the N-word his political life and world would break apart and sink like the Edmund Fitzgerald.
No expectations here for Jews to befriend Nazis, Blacks to embrace Klansmen or any member of the LGBTQ, etc. community to hold hands with gay rights opponents.
As long as Mayor Gusciora resists temptations to return insults, life registers as copacetic.
Just for the record, push back occurs here against White men who reference Black women as bitches; city council members who spew anti-Semitism and any mayor who deserts his esteemed position for a constant roll in muck.
Of course, forgiveness always produces peace and most people can find freedom in that wonderful human act. However, those who employ nasty words? Negro please.
Personal protestations exist for White people who use the N-word and Blacks indulged in the epithet use, even when deployment shows no malice.
Back in the day, a small group of friends followed a local high school basketball team. We drove to many games with several adults and some student athletes.
They frequently employed the N-word and were challenged about a disturbing comfort level with the racial epithet.
Most have come around, understanding that the word diminishes their persona.
Our nation’s consistent issues with Black people; a rise in hate toward Asians; and significant uptick in anti-Semitism points to an inability of individuals to challenge systems and hateful individuals.
Haters and horrible words must suffer consequence. Unfortunately, politics causes compromises that allow for unnecessary resolution.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com.
