I'm not one for enforcing taboos about language--I always figure it's better to give this stuff a good airing--but I truly do not see the point in this so-called haiku.

I'm sure that TA Barnhart is also of the view that taboos about language are not a good idea, either. But please, folks: Unless one is blind, it is impossible NOT to notice the nastiness that some people feel obliged to post on political websites. I've pretty much given up reading The Left Coaster, for example, because their avidly pro-Clinton commentary is rife with descriptions of her as a "bitch" or worse. I realize that the folks there must be doing this in an ironic fashion, but frankly, it's pretty damn unattractive and does nothing to bolster their candidate. In the actual, as opposed to virtual, world that I inhabit, I know plenty of people who are not fans of Hillary Clinton, but none of them calls her a "bitch". And none of the folks I know who don't like Obama call him a "nigger".

We all have legitimate reasons for supporting or opposing one candidate or another. Let's try to acknowledge that, and further acknowledge that folks who think differently than us are very, very probably not ignorant bigots.

Another choice post from T.A.

I'm in favor of using civil language. That said, George Wallace was a master at using racially encoded language to spread his division and poison. The Clintons are doing likewise. The line that Obama is an "elitist" is laughable from a logical standpoint. But it's really about identity. The subtext is this: "He's not one of us." They get to call him black without using the "n" word. So it's a great reminder, especially to the people of Appalachia that this mixed race man has more melanin in his skin, and that makes him a threat. Especially when he has that connection to that angry black preacher. While winning votes among some people, it's essentially make Clinton unelectable among the most loyal of the Dem. electorate. No Dem. president has ever won the presidency without winning a huge majority of the AA voter.

Here's Obama's retort to the "elitist" attack:

"It's hard for me to figure that out, given that I was raised with far fewer advantages than any of my two remaining opponents. That my work started off on the streets of Chicago as a community organizer, that my wife, Michelle, grew up in that same neighborhood whose parents never went to college... that we financed all our education on student loans, that I was raised in a setting with my grandparents who grew up in small-town Kansas where, you know, the dinner table would have been familiar to anyone here in Indiana. A lot of pot roasts and potatoes and jello molds... People know me. People who've worked with me know that the reason I'm in this race is that my life history and my professional history working as a community organizer, as a civil rights lawyer, as a legislator, is to fight so people can take those same ladders of opportunity that I was able to take as a kid, and right now, this country is not providing those same ladders. That's why I'm in this race."

The poem sucks. You should be able to convey your point without stooping to this level.

The thoughts this was supposed to provoke have been bouncing around out there for a while. I just didn't appreciate the language. You can say it's okay if there wasn't hurtful intent, but Imus wasn't trying to hurt anybody either - he was just trying to be funny. I think if you read this poem at a high school assembly, for example...you'd be hurting some people, and there's no need to take that route.

 I also object to one line for a different reason: "Truth is just something to sell"? I wish they were selling the truth. I think that's a dumb line. I think the poet here should have looked at his watch, noted that it was 4 a.m., and gone back to sleep.

Okay, here's my haiku:

Head exploding? No. You sound like drama major. Why use the N word?

There is something to be said for taking the power out of words. The more we dance around language, the more we let it become a huge issue, the more it controls us.

Lenny Bruce made the same point, but some words are still poison. It's not just race - I'd feel the same way if T.A. called Hillary by the C word. Why be like that? Maybe if we take care of the reasons the words hurt, they'll stop hurting. But using them before that day is a mistake. It's not wise, and I don't care how brilliant and original you think your point is. It's just not helpful. The poem sucked.

Coded words. I get it. Compassionate conservatism was a coded phrase sent out to the base. It means being compassionate by not helping people in need because that's for the overall good of society. I understand the concept of coded phrases. I've been cringing every time Bill Clinton subtly introduces race with Obama. Incidentally, your tactic of saying my head was exploding, is exactly what the GOP does when someone criticizes Bush: "You're just so blinded by your hatred, you can't see how great Bush is." Instead of addressing my criticism, you talk about how dramatic and emotional I am to object. That is textbook GOP. My head isn't exploding. I don't need Kari to answer any questions about this. You might think the impact of your poem is limited to your point - I'm just saying it isn't. I think your poem is a mistake. We're in the national spotlight now. We're not trying to get David Duke elected - let's drop the N word.

Mr. Barnhart deserves credit for having the courage to challenge us with taboo words which were bound to illicit a knee-jerk response from reactionaries among the BO crowd.

It is a personal choice to empower a word with the ability to offend and hurt. Maybe rap and hip-hop artists are correct in taking “nigger” back by using it in their work, thus assigning it a new value.

Now if we can just do that with “old coot”...

T. A. spouts hate speech. Kari blames the vast right-wing. Bill calls them both out!

I don't object to the use of particular words so much as the fact that this is terrible poetry. Even if you consider poetry an inherently subjective medium, this is as close as it gets to being objectively bad.

The haiku is a powerful form when done well, but it is also the frequent refuge of mediocre poets. This cycle does not even rise to that level.

Perhaps T.A. will be so kind as to provide us with equally witless sonnets, just for good measure?

If anyone knows what it's like to be oppressed and black and has the instant permission to use the "n-word," whenever he wants, it's a middle-aged, middle-class, well educated white guy from Corvallis, Oregon.

TA clearly came "from the streets" and overcame horrific discrimination and predjudice by the system to get where he is today. If anyone is allowed to use such a word, it is he.

Keep up the good fight, TA...

Language is ever evolving. Words do not have to be forced on us until their power to hurt has been worn down. There are other ways language changes. Time for another haiku:

Have you read Chaucer? Words sometimes just go away. The N word should go.