Yes, folks,there’s a new ’N’ word in town, and I have to admit I love it. In fact, I love the new ’N’ word even more than I hate the old one.
The first word – the one that so demeans and degrades African-Americans – is, unfortunately, still used far too often today by those who are not African-American. But it seems to be used more, these days, by those it disparages in reference to each other. It makes me cringe to hear it escape the lips of any person for any reason, but I’ll file that particular rant for another day.
The new ’N’ word is Nazarene – or Nasara – and is symbolized by ISIS with the Arabic symbol for the letter ’N’ as shown here:
ISIS — being the murderous band of radicals that they are — uses that symbol to mark the homes of Christians in places like Mosul, as shown here:
Don’t be fooled into thinking that is a one-eyed smiley face. The Star of David marking the homes of Jews in Nazi Germany looked fairly innocuous as well, but the the hatred behind the marking of those homes is well-documented.
And so it begins in the Middle East with another group of fanatical murderers who suffer from an abundance of hatred and ignorance and a shortage of decency, tolerance, compassion, and human kindness.
Personally, I am grateful to be a Christian. I am thankful that I am ‘Nasara’, or ‘Nazarene’, or ’N’ and I am fortunate to have found the light within me that enables me to focus on the beauty of what God intended the world to be rather than the ugliness of what people try to make it.
So go ahead. Call yourself the ’N’ word. Call each other the ’N’ word. Call me the ‘N’ word.
Just make sure it’s the right one.
Originally published on “Medium”
