Im at the store (no, not another whiny retail complaint post) and a customer comes in and purchases something. The store has a vast database of repeat clients (Mac users, go figure) and I ask if we already have his information in our computer. He gives me his name (Id say it here but apparently we as a species are not allowed to repeat personal information ever again according to a new law that came into effect Jan 01) and I cant find it. So I ask if its under a business name and he says “Oh right. Try Spearchucker Music“.

Yeah you guessed it. He was Black. Or African Canadian, depending on your level of PCness.

And my face started to dance. Really. Eyebrows knitted and unknitted, corners of my mouth went up then down and up again, squinty eyes, no squinty eyes… Was I to acknowledge the name? Was I to comment? Was I just suppose to feel guilty for the years of oppression? Was I to laugh with him/at him/for him?

It makes me wonder about re-appropriating words, like when homosexuals demystified (or re-mystified) “queer” back during the early start of AIDS. I had a friend who tried to use the word “cunt” as much as possible because he thought “fuck” had become watery and we needed a new hard swear word. Personally I would like to reclaim “jigaboo”. Hate me for saying that but its really a funny word. Strip it of its racist meaning and it stands before you like a elf doing a dance. Like “hobgoblin” or “wumpus”. I dont mean to offend but sometimes words just make me laugh.