Banning the "N" words and Auntie's Christmas present

There is a small point I want to raise coming out the recent BBC Question Time. About half way through Sayeed Warsi said, to audience cheering,

"Most moslems think that Abu Hamzi is some kind of nutter from the East End"

Using the word "Nutter" has the same connotations for people with mental health problems as the other N word has for coloured people. Yet it slipped out of her mouth with the elegance of a rattle snake.

Perhaps I am being oversensitive, but without a period of "over sensitivity" we are not going to change attitudes. I for one, will not give up my seat at the back of the bus, nor my place in the NHS queue to someone with "better mental health".

Attitudes lie within the language, and language shapes the way we see the world. By using language differently we see the world differently. It is a writer's the ability to use language creatively to convey new and different meanings that makes him or her great. There was nothing great about Sayeed Warsi when she said,

"Most moslems think that Abu Hamzi is some kind of Nutter from the East End"

For the record.

1 - Like all politicians Nick Griffin is a dishonest Numpty, but he alone on that panel knows that about himself. The rest consider themselves as part of the "Political Elite". Nick Griffin's power comes in part from this self knowledge and because he is part not the "Political Elite"

2 - There is nothing wrong with the East End, but it is better able to defend itself than most people with problematic mental health.

3 - I have complained to the BBC about Sayeed Warsi's use of language. Click here to do the same