Can We Just Use the N...... Word ?

Historically, there are words that one simply should not use for various reasons—most of them quite reasonable. But recently, certain words have been rhetorically banned from modern narratives, not because they’re offensive, but because they’re deemed far too panicky.

So, while we’re busy treading carefully around language landmines, let’s talk about a few other words making headlines this week.

The R Word—Recession

Ah, yes. The R word. You know, the one mainstream media refuses to utter without first issuing a dramatic pause and a deep, ominous sigh. Recession. Headlines scream about the “R word,” all while subtly hinting that the sky is falling.

Here’s the thing: President Trump’s cowboy approach to tariffs is indeed making markets jittery. One moment, tariffs are slapped on with the enthusiasm of a kid throwing spaghetti at the wall; the next moment, they’re yanked off like a bad wig. Global markets are having a panic attack.

It’s not exactly reassuring that economic forecasts are looking like the weather report—cloudy with a chance of recession. S&P projects that GDP growth will drop from 2.8% this year to a rather uninspiring 1.9% next year. Goldman Sachs is even more pessimistic at 1.7%, and Morgan Stanley is practically packing up and heading for the hills at 1.5%. All this while former PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian is raising his odds of a recession from 10% to 30%. Sounds like an economic game of Russian roulette , right?

Another R Word—Retard

Speaking of questionable word choices, Elon Musk, everyone's favorite technoking, has been flinging around the other R word like it’s a quirky new meme. You know, the one that, despite being outdated, has become the linguistic weapon of choice for the edgiest corners of the internet.

But then, this is the internet, where freedom of speech often means freedom to be inflammatory. Right-leaning personalities are enjoying the shock factor, insisting that the ability to say offensive things without consequence is the ultimate victory over the "woke mob." Or, maybe we’re just being too sensitive. Or maybe, just maybe, respect and decency shouldn’t be the collateral damage in the war on political correctness.

 The T Word—Tariffs

Moving on, the next buzzword—tariffs. Trump’s love affair with tariffs is the stuff of legend. He slapped a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, threatening to up it to 50% for Canada before deciding to dial it back like a parent changing their mind about grounding.

The European Union, being the patient neighbor who’s had enough of the noise next door, responded with counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods. Canada and Mexico also didn’t just sit there twiddling their thumbs. The whole situation has become a transatlantic game of - who will blink first.

China, of course, was never going to take this lying down. They countered with tariffs of their own, focusing on U.S. farm goods like chicken and pork, which sounds less like a trade dispute and more like a really disappointing barbecue.

The N word

No, no, not what you think. I am not talking about that racial word that represents a certain race, which can be used within their community. Actually, I think in that context we should have something like N……+, just like LGBTQ+—where all of us (brown, light brown, dark brown or whatever colour scheme they’ve classified us into) are part of one big, chaotic, colourful group. A non-binary alliance, where they unite into one binary as 1s or 0s against... I don’t know... the colourless? I still don’t get why we’re called “people of color”. Jokes apart. This isn’t about that N …word.

This N word is about negotiations—yes, the ancient art of politely shouting at each other while pretending to be diplomatic. You know, the kind of thing where two countries, after months of giving each other the stink eye, finally sit down and passive-aggressively suggest that maybe someone should just blink first. Spoiler alert: nobody ever blinks.

Negotiations are basically an endless game of verbal chess, but instead of pawns, you’re moving around tariffs, sanctions, and a few carefully phrased threats about future trade partnerships. It’s less about solving problems and more about seeing who can say “we are open to discussions” in the most condescending way possible. The media loves to make it look like Armageddon is just one failed handshake away when in reality, it's just a bunch of people in expensive suits arguing about percentages while the world collectively wonders why they don’t just get on with it already.

And then there’s the classic Trump twist—the guy’s negotiation style is like poker played by someone who swears every hand is a royal flush. Start with massive threats, follow up with grandiose promises, and then ultimately settle for a deal that’s probably different to the original pitch—but hey, declare it the best deal ever made. Genius or madness? Probably a bit of both.

Of course, it’s not just about power plays and pressure tactics. The real game is managing public perception. You want to make sure that when you eventually cave just a little bit, it looks like you’ve sacrificed a unicorn to save the planet. On the other hand, your opponents are busy spinning their version of events, where they outsmarted your sacrifice by secretly being wizards all along. In the end, it’s all about controlling the narrative while looking vaguely heroic—preferably without setting off a global recession in the process.

So, the next time the media pulls out the R word, T word and starts speculating about the impending doom of global finance, just remember: it’s not a disaster, it’s just a complicated group project where nobody’s on the same page. They’re not at war—they’re just really bad at playing nice- and that’s another N word—Nice :)