Tuesday 27 November 2007

What's the good word

Its been awhile since I put my fingers to good use and renew my acquaintance with this blog of mine.
I am not editing or going back on what I type in this post. I am going at it like one of those men who are caught unawares and somehow get stuck in a position where they ahve to make up an adlib speech on some great topic which will be of greater importance after his death. Wow this post is crap so far.
Cutting short the crap and going straight to what I wanted this post to be about in the first place.
Recently watched this movie called Lenny. It starred one of my favourite actors - Dustin Hoffman. It was an ok movie, for which Dusty got an Oscar nomination. Its a biopic of a stand up comedian called Lenny Bruce who is non-conformist and his acts always tend to be anti-establishment. This post is not about the movie or the actor. Its about this one dialogue in the movie.
Where Lenny Bruce talks to his audience and uses all kinds of words that are considered in different times of the day to be racist, bigotry, blasphemy etc. etc. Words like nigger, negro, yellow skin, muslim, communist etc. etc. His logic being that if the word were used more often then people wont take so much offence to them.
I will never understand what the word negro or nigger means to african americans. But I like the logic. Giving it a more Indian perspective. Giving words like Madrasi, Mallu, Mullah, Gujju, Pandi, Iyer, Sard, Bihari etc. etc. more airwave frequency should only result in its effect getting number. The hue and cry made over movie names like Sandhiyar etc. should not be happening. So you see a Pakistani crossing the road and you greet him - Hey Paki, good morning. And he responds, Morning to you too, Hindu. And you just walk on to your respective locations.
Keep using the word and its effect gets numb. Paki Paki paki paki paki paki paki paki. Mallu mallu mallu mallu mallu mallu mallu mallu mallu. Gujju Gujju gujju etc. etc. I am already tired of those 3 words.
So get every word into the mainstream. Get every word out there.

2 comments:

Arun said...

hmmm.. well said mallu boy :P

fiddlesticks said...

jamais vu :)