Ex-university chairman: Slur 'slipped out'
He acknowledges using N-word, but says he resigned for other reasons
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:31 p.m. ET July 16, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The longtime chairman of the Roger Williams University board admitted Monday that he had used the N-word during a board meeting, saying it “kind of slipped out.”

“I apologized for that,” Ralph Papitto said in an interview on WPRO-AM. “What else can I do? Kill myself?”

Papitto, 80, who stepped down this month after nearly 40 years on the board, admitted he used the racial slur at a May meeting of the school’s board of trustees. He had been discussing the difficulty of finding blacks and other minority members to serve on the 16-member board, which at the time included 14 white men and two women.

Barbara Roberts, then a board member, said Papitto became irate when he discussed pressures to make the board more diverse, at one point using the slur to refer to black candidates.

She said he then told the board he knew he couldn’t say that because of Don Imus, the radio host who was fired after referring to Rutgers University women’s basketball team members as “nappy-headed hos.”

“There was, like, this complete and utter silence, and I was shocked beyond belief and very angry,” Roberts said.


Papitto has given the school at least $7 million, and his name is on the law school, the only one in Rhode Island.

He said he had never used the term before. “The first time I heard it was on television and then rap music or something,” Papitto told WPRO.

'No place'
The school’s president, Roy Nirschel, and the law school dean, David Logan, denounced Papitto’s remarks in separate statements Monday.

“Such behavior has no place in the Roger Williams educational community,” Logan said.

Nirschel echoed the sentiment, condemning Papitto for “using inappropriate language or derogatory language toward any individual or group.”

Leaders of three student groups at the law school said they want Papitto’s name removed from the Ralph R. Papitto School of Law.

“Several people e-mailed me that it will be a disgrace to have the Papitto name on their resumes and their diplomas,” said student leader Matt Jerzyk in an e-mailed statement.

Roberts also has called for Papitto’s name to be removed from the law school.

Logan plans to present the board with a petition from law students demanding that the school’s name be changed, said university spokeswoman Judi Johnson.

Other considerations
Papitto said his decision to step down from the board was based on his age and his desire to spend more time with his family. He denied a newspaper report that he was forced out over the racial epithet.

Three board members, including Roberts, said they were ousted after calling for Papitto’s resignation after the incident.

A man who answered the phone at a home listing for Papitto hung up on an Associated Press reporter Monday morning.

Roger Williams University, in Bristol, has nearly 4,000 undergraduate students. The law school was founded in 1993 and named in 1996 for Papitto, the founder of the Fortune 500 company Nortek Inc.


So my question is this - do you think you can go your entire life without ever using a word such as this and then just have it "slip out" one day in a discussion????

But black people call each other niggers :shrug I don't see the big deal...

Nope. I think he probably used it in private and then it slipped out.

But black people call each other niggers :shrug I don't see the big deal...

Its only a big deal when a person thats not black uses it.

I do think that it is possible if you get fired up enough.

Its only a big deal when a person thats not black uses it.

Do you have to be black or can any minority say it?

Do you have to be black or can any minority say it?

I think you have to be black to get away with it. But I am not sure. Thats just what I have seen.

Okay, in my opinion, I do not know the man, but he is EIGHTY years old. It is quite possible that the word just slipped out, and he didn't intentionally mean it to harm anyone. Now, do I believe that he's never used the word in his life? No.

As to them taking his name off the law school, I think that's ridiculous. He invests SEVEN MILLION dollars into a school, is working on a committee for this university at the age of EIGHTY, and a racial slur slips out, as horrible as that may be, and they want to take away everything he's worked for for this University? I think that may be a little bit over kill.

:)

But black people call each other niggers :shrug I don't see the big deal...

Personally...being a "black person" I think it was rather rude for you to type out the word. So what if you think every black person says it.

Yea I say it and I do it in the privacy of my home and I'm pretty sure alot of "white people" say it in there homes as well.

Personally...being a "black person" I think it was rather rude for you to type out the word. So what if you think every black person says it.

Yea I say it and I do it in the privacy of my home and I'm pretty sure alot of "white people" say it in there homes as well.


Ahh... But I'm NOT white.... Does that make it okay?

Ahh... But I'm NOT white.... Does that make it okay?

I don't care if you were PURPLE!

I don't care if you were PURPLE!

Can I ask a perfectly innocent question???

Why is it ok for black people to say it about other black people but its not ok for white people or other colors to say it?

I am honestly curious about this.

I don't care if you were PURPLE!

But you just admitted that you use the same word.... :puzz

But you just admitted that you use the same word.... :puzz


But she didnt "type" it out. :dunno Maybe typing is more offensive than saying it

Can I ask a perfectly innocent question???

Why is it ok for black people to say it about other black people but its not ok for white people or other colors to say it?

I am honestly curious about this.

personally.....AND I MEAN PERSONALLY

I can give a rat ass if you say it or not as long as you don't f up and say it around somebody like Al Sharpton...

I have AFRICAN AMERICAN friends who don't say it and they don't like the word so I don't say it around them...when people ask this question it amuses me becuause they will ask why they can't say it but will never go up to a black person and say whats up n****. You know its wrong...and I'm not about to speak for the whole race.

I said it was rude for her to spell it out.....

personally.....AND I MEAN PERSONALLY

I can give a rat ass if you say it or not as long as you don't f up and say it around somebody like Al Sharpton...

I have AFRICAN AMERICAN friends who don't say it and they don't like the word so I don't say it around them...when people ask this question it amuses me becuause they will ask why they can't say it but will never go up to a black person and say whats up n****. You know its wrong...and I'm not about to speak for the whole race.

I said it was rude for her to spell it out.....

I would never go up to a person of color and use the n word. one reason is because of all the uproar it causes and another is cause I would get my skinny white ass beat up probably. I just dont see why its wrong for us to use it when its used all the time by black people.

But you just admitted that you use the same word.... :puzz

I know...

But she didnt "type" it out. :dunno Maybe typing is more offensive than saying it

NOOOOOOOOOO....the whole article said the N word she typed out and said....."black people call each other niggers"....

I said it was rude to just put the word out there........

I know...



NOOOOOOOOOO....the whole article said the N word she typed out and said....."black people call each other niggers"....

I said it was rude to just put the word out there........


Why was it rude if its a word thats used? If you use it at home why is it rude to have the word put out there?

If you (general you) put honkey or cracker out there it aint gonna bother me a bit.

I would never go up to a person of color and use the n word. one reason is because of all the uproar it causes and another is cause I would get my skinny white ass beat up probably. I just dont see why its wrong for us to use it when its used all the time by black people.

...........OF COLOR??

i'm going to get off this thread...TOODLES:)

personally.....AND I MEAN PERSONALLY

I can give a rat ass if you say it or not as long as you don't f up and say it around somebody like Al Sharpton...

I have AFRICAN AMERICAN friends who don't say it and they don't like the word so I don't say it around them...when people ask this question it amuses me becuause they will ask why they can't say it but will never go up to a black person and say whats up n****. You know its wrong...and I'm not about to speak for the whole race.

I said it was rude for her to spell it out.....

Just like Lisa, I'm utterly confused... :sigh

Sorry you thought it was rude.. :shrug Didn't mean to offend.

All of my "African American" friends are white. They're actually FROM AFRICA. Everyone else, I classify as American, including myself. I guess I don't see race as a color.

Okay I was just totally shocked reading through the posts and actually seeing the word!

Was of color wrong??? Well excuse me. I could have said black people but that probably would have offended also. This is a topic white folks have no business discussing I guess.

Personally I think it's a vile word and shouldn't be used by ANYONE. No I doubt that was the first time he'd used that word, things like that don't just slip out if you've never thought or said it.

But I do think that for one slip up like that to have his name taken off the school is pretty ridiculous. One mistake washes away everything good he's done?

It's a word, and that's all. There's no mystical power to it. It doesn't make the speaker more powerful while making the recipient weaker. It spawns from a latin word that means "black", but was later bastardized to a derogatory nickname. In essence, it's still just a word that holds power over people who LET IT HOLD POWER OVER THEM.

I've been called a lot of names in my life. Does being called a bitch actually make me a female dog? Does being called a jackass actually make me a donkey? Those words were also derived throughout history to mean something, but were later bastardized to become derogatory.

This word will persist in our language as a derogatory term as long as people let it hold power over them. It was a term that meant, to most assertions, a dirty or unreliable slave. Slavery is abolished, meaning no one of ANY color in this country is a slave, thus breaking the derogatory meaning.

Words can encourage one to unprecedented greatness or instill insurmountable rage. Often, the difference isn't the word, but the listener.

Well, if heterosexuals can claim the word "marriage", why can't black people claim the N word?

I think that word is offensive as well. :shrug I am not black and though I have lots of black friends you had better believe I would NEVER use that word, ever. :no In fact, I don't remember ever saying it.

As Hatetank said, yes it is just a word however racism is and has always been a huge thing in this country. People, both black and white, still hold a lot of hatred of the years of slavery and I am sure most, if not all, black people don't want any person of any other color standing there calling them a derogative name that their ancestors were called by their oppressors. Not to mention, if you read enough, black people even during the slave times would call each other the n word and it was purely acceptable but it takes on a whole new meaning when a white (or any other colored) person calls them that.

The same applies to all races though. However, we don't hear about that as much because the other races were not oppressed as much as the African American culture. It a huge part of our history, important enough to divide our nation so obviously people got and still do get a bit heated over this topic. It is a derogative term, plain and simple, why use it?

I think it also has a lot to do with the tone people use. In my experience a white person saying the "n" word it is always meant in a derogative way or in a "holier than thou" type way. From my personal experience, when my friends call each other that it is never in a bad way.

Anyways, back to the original question. No, I do not think that somebody who has never used that word woud let it slip. However, as somebody pointed out, he is 80 years old, and he grew up in a time where whites and blacks fought like crazy and he probably grew up saying, got a leadership role, stopped saying it in public but kept saying it in the private of his own home and so forth and then got heated enough that he said it without thinking. Does that make it okay, in my eyes NO. Do I think that his name should be taken out of stuff, maybe so, but thankfully for me, that is not my decision. :D

As Hatetank said, yes it is just a word however racism is and has always been a huge thing in this country. People, both black and white, still hold a lot of hatred of the years of slavery and I am sure most, if not all, black people don't want any person of any other color standing there calling them a derogative name that their ancestors were called by their oppressors. Not to mention, if you read enough, black people even during the slave times would call each other the n word and it was purely acceptable but it takes on a whole new meaning when a white (or any other colored) person calls them that.

The same applies to all races though. However, we don't hear about that as much because the other races were not oppressed as much as the African American culture. It a huge part of our history, important enough to divide our nation so obviously people got and still do get a bit heated over this topic. It is a derogative term, plain and simple, why use it?

I think it also has a lot to do with the tone people use. In my experience a white person saying the "n" word it is always meant in a derogative way or in a "holier than thou" type way. From my personal experience, when my friends call each other that it is never in a bad way.


:tu

I think that word is offensive as well. :shrug I am not black and though I have lots of black friends you had better believe I would NEVER use that word, ever. :no In fact, I don't remember ever saying it.

As Hatetank said, yes it is just a word however racism is and has always been a huge thing in this country. People, both black and white, still hold a lot of hatred of the years of slavery and I am sure most, if not all, black people don't want any person of any other color standing there calling them a derogative name that their ancestors were called by their oppressors. Not to mention, if you read enough, black people even during the slave times would call each other the n word and it was purely acceptable but it takes on a whole new meaning when a white (or any other colored) person calls them that.

The same applies to all races though. However, we don't hear about that as much because the other races were not oppressed as much as the African American culture. It a huge part of our history, important enough to divide our nation so obviously people got and still do get a bit heated over this topic. It is a derogative term, plain and simple, why use it?

I think it also has a lot to do with the tone people use. In my experience a white person saying the "n" word it is always meant in a derogative way or in a "holier than thou" type way. From my personal experience, when my friends call each other that it is never in a bad way.

Anyways, back to the original question. No, I do not think that somebody who has never used that word woud let it slip. However, as somebody pointed out, he is 80 years old, and he grew up in a time where whites and blacks fought like crazy and he probably grew up saying, got a leadership role, stopped saying it in public but kept saying it in the private of his own home and so forth and then got heated enough that he said it without thinking. Does that make it okay, in my eyes NO. Do I think that his name should be taken out of stuff, maybe so, but thankfully for me, that is not my decision. :D

I agree with everything you said!

I am black and never have said it and dont like when anyone says it no matter who they are or what they look like.I just cant believe that man tried to say he never said it before..he is freaking 80 years old! It is derogitory and always will be.

Okay, in my opinion, I do not know the man, but he is EIGHTY years old. It is quite possible that the word just slipped out, and he didn't intentionally mean it to harm anyone. Now, do I believe that he's never used the word in his life? No.

As to them taking his name off the law school, I think that's ridiculous. He invests SEVEN MILLION dollars into a school, is working on a committee for this university at the age of EIGHTY, and a racial slur slips out, as horrible as that may be, and they want to take away everything he's worked for for this University? I think that may be a little bit over kill.

:)

I completely agree.

Personally...being a "black person" I think it was rather rude for you to type out the word. So what if you think every black person says it.

Yea I say it and I do it in the privacy of my home and I'm pretty sure alot of "white people" say it in there homes as well.

She wasn't calling anybody that. In the context she used it, it was just referencing a word, a word that was being discussed.

Like fuck. Or shit. damn. cunt. bitch. slut. cracker.

I hate that when debating or discussing a word, and not using it to hurt someone, but only talking ABOUT it, we have to tiptoe around. Unless she said "Hey what do the ******* of the board think?!" I don't understand why everyone's feathers got ruffled that she "typed it out".

OMG I SAID CRACKER

Oh, I forgot to give my opinion on the original question.

No, I do not think that if you never ever use a word, that it will just "slip out" when angry.

Anger brings out the hate you hide in your heart.

Not once, ever not ever in my entire life, angry or not, have I used a racial slur aimed at someone. I can say that with the God's honest truth. Why? Because I don't have that kind of anger buried deep down somewhere. And anyone who "slips" and says "Omg I'm so sorry, I was just angry!" is lying not only to everyone else, but more importantly, to themselves.

Wait... It censored cracker?

LOL nevermind, this is why I shouldn't post when I'm half asleep already.

Wait... It censored cracker?

Go to bed, girl! You're tired! :giggle

I swear I have read that word typed out before when we were debating racial slurs???


I don't think a racial word can just slip out unless you use that word in other circumstances. He is 80 people of his generation were sometimes raised that such words were OK to use.(not condoning the use I despise racial slurs) No doubt he knows better now. I find when you resort to name calling of any sort you have let your anger get the best of you.

I don't think it makes everything good he has done in the past obsolete I think they are over reacting. Which is typical of how overly apologetic for everything our society has gotten.

She wasn't calling anybody that. In the context she used it, it was just referencing a word, a word that was being discussed.

I hate that when debating or discussing a word, and not using it to hurt someone, but only talking ABOUT it, we have to tiptoe around. Unless she said "Hey what do the ******* of the board think?!" I don't understand why everyone's feathers got ruffled that she "typed it out".

I agree!!!!!!

Reminds me of an old saying: A man builds 1,000 bridges in his lifetime but has sex with another man one time - and he's no longer known as a bridge builder.

This man did great things apparently, all the while presumably hiding his "racist" tendencies. So while he was accomplishing these feats, he was a closet racist. Doesn't that technically mean that everything he did, he did as a racist, regardless of their benefit to people?

Or does it tell us that great things can be accomplished by people who are narrowminded?

Or worse yet, does it tell us that the only time a man who's done such amazing things for his community can get media coverage is to use a word that doesn't have a meaning anymore?

Reminds me of an old saying: A man builds 1,000 bridges in his lifetime but has sex with another man one time - and he's no longer known as a bridge builder.

This man did great things apparently, all the while presumably hiding his "racist" tendencies. So while he was accomplishing these feats, he was a closet racist. Doesn't that technically mean that everything he did, he did as a racist, regardless of their benefit to people?

Or does it tell us that great things can be accomplished by people who are narrowminded?

Or worse yet, does it tell us that the only time a man who's done such amazing things for his community can get media coverage is to use a word that doesn't have a meaning anymore?

And there you have it.

And there you have it.

Either way, I don't think the guy was lashing out at the black community. He was more than likely upset with change and couldn't get the rest of the board members to see his point: He had done all of these things without a "diverse" board, so why would he need one now? Sometimes, people get set in their ways and it's impossible to jump the rut.

Okay, in my opinion, I do not know the man, but he is EIGHTY years old. It is quite possible that the word just slipped out, and he didn't intentionally mean it to harm anyone. Now, do I believe that he's never used the word in his life? No.

As to them taking his name off the law school, I think that's ridiculous. He invests SEVEN MILLION dollars into a school, is working on a committee for this university at the age of EIGHTY, and a racial slur slips out, as horrible as that may be, and they want to take away everything he's worked for for this University? I think that may be a little bit over kill.

:)

I agree.

To answer the original question .. no.

My husband is african american and that word isnt even said in our house.

just like we dont sit around using any slurs for any race.

It's offensive to some and not to others. It's all about personal preference. Some women will call each other cunt in jest while others may get VERY offended by the word.... I think it's kinda played out personally but hey, that's my PERSONAL opinion. If it was so offensive to the entire African American community then NO ONE would use it... including those in that community. I say, if it is that much of a taboo then ban it all together from EVERYONE. (I really don't see how you could but hey, since we are telling each other which word we can and cannot speak around who and where... I'll follow that lead and go with an unobtainable goal.)

I think it's no different than other racial slurs. I don't think it's any worse than cr***er or f** but it has been sensationalized over the years to the point of ridiculousness.

And what is wrong with saying "colored people" that's what the NAACP stands for right??