Wicked Words: Poisoned Minds—Racism in the Dictionary
Words are vehicles for our thoughts. Try as you may, you cannot think without words, no matter what language you speak. When we think out loud, for example, we use words. What if our thoughts were being shaped without consciously being aware of it? This happened in the 1920s with what was called “subliminal advertising.” Today, it is connected to anti-Black racism and words found in the dictionary.
Did you know, for instance, that according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, the word “gorilla” is derived from “an alleged African tribe of hairy women”? And although the word “niggardly” is supposedly a harmless word that means “stingy,” it is actually derived from the word “nigger”? What other racist words are waiting to explode in our faces? Even seemingly innocent fairy tales are stained with the stench of anti-Black racism. For example, instead of the popular Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, have you ever heard of Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs? If you haven’t, you’re probably in for the shock of your life. Read about these and other popular subliminally anti-Black racist fairy tales.
Make no mistake about it. Words are being used to manipulate our thinking. This damages our collective psyche and is devastating to Blacks, Whites, and others. Within the pages of this book, the very root of racism is explored, and its solution defined. Happily, the antidote for the poison of anti-Black racism is clearly presented in a practical and realistic way. Education might be expensive for some, but ignorance costs even more. You cannot afford not to buy this book! Its revised and updated form exposes and classifies anti-Black racist words found among the more than 160,000 entries (over one million total words) in Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Other versions of Merriam-Websters dictionaries (as well as other prominent English dictionaries) are also examined and critiqued. This comprehensive work results from a 25-year study by Dr. Firpo Carr but has been skillfully reduced to a relatively few pages. Though detailed, it is written in easy-to-understand English with the offending words alphabetized and categorized. Ancient words of wisdom grace the beginning of each chapter. (With 57 ratings, it has received 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com!)