http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_"niggardly"
"
Shortly after the Washington incident, another controversy erupted over the use of the word at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison. At a February 1999 meeting of the Faculty Senate, Amelia Rideau, a junior English major and vice chairwoman of the Black Student Union told the group how a professor teaching
Chaucer had used the word
niggardly. She later said she was unaware of the related Washington, D.C. controversy that came to light just the week before. She said the professor continued to use the word even after she told him that she was offended. "I was in tears, shaking," she told the faculty.
"It's not up to the rest of the class to decide whether my feelings are valid."[SUP]
[9]
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The student's plea, offered as evidence in support of the school's
speech code, instead struck an unintended chord helping to destroy it. "Many 'abolitionists', as they now were called, believe that [the student's] speech, widely reported, was the turning point," according to an article in
Reason magazine. An editorial in the
Wisconsin State Journal addressed the student who complained, saying: "Thank you [...] for clarifying precisely why the UW–Madison does not need an academic speech code. [...] Speech codes have a chilling effect on
academic freedom and they reinforce defensiveness among students who ought to be more open to learning."
That's it in a nutshell. If your "feelings" cause you pain somebody must pay the price for your feelings. PC speech codes are so unifying. Here is a suggestion for the semi literate: if you hear a word that hurts your feelings then pick up a dictionary and investigate to determine if your injury is really an injury. Bonus points... you learned a new word!
