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Double standards do not promote inclusion or equality. I don't care whether you spell it with '-er' or '-a'.
I find that these cultural minutia, like the use of a certain word are far more destructive to race relations than the other things debated ad nauseum like how integrated a city is or how a city that is 95% white must be racist somehow.
When non-Black people get the point that ALL (and not even most) Black people do not use the N-word maybe then the myth surrounding the slur will die.
Maybe when non-Black people actually stop using hip-hop icons as their examples to represent an entire diverse culture they will gain a better (and more well-rounded) understanding of Black Americans.
Why does this same thread topic pop up nearly every month with a White (or other non-Black) person lamenting the fact that they can not openly and unabashedly say the N-word?
What is this deep, longing and urge to say the N-word?
Are all of you people seriously itching to have a "n-----, n-----, n-----" fit like Dr. Laura?
For some reason we still tend to think of black folks in terms of "they", meaning that they have little distinctions between them like most whites assume is the norm for whites. I can't for the life of me picture two distinguished black university professors jivin and throwin signs while calling each other Ni**er, just can't see it. TV helps white folks to reinforce this age old notion of the entire black populace. Of course, black folks also get a lot of their social skills honed by that same TV caricature of old stereotypes. The worst of racial polarity between black and whites happens at the bottom classes of both, the white upper crust has long ago negotiated it's future with upscale blacks, I suspect it's a truce of sorts, but social behavior is still fairly predictable by class levels. Racism will remain a constant at those lower rungs and the terms used by both black and white at that level won't be all that civil.
Not that long ago, the "n-word" was used as a racial slur towards black people. Today however, African Americans often refer to themselves using the "n-word." Is this appropriate? Is this perpetuating racism? Has the meaning of the word really changed? If so, then why is it unacceptable for a Caucasian to even utter the word?
If my black coworkers would call each other N.....r , that does not mean I should do it. Why would I want to use it anyways? It is a loaded word and quit frankly, unless you are black yourself, for your own good, do not try to prove a point by using it! I do not walk around and call my white coworkers -crackers-! And my black coworkers do not call me crackers either.
Maybe this all comes down to how you were raised.
If people want to be ignorant and call each other derogatory words, let them.I can not comprehend why anybody would call themselves or their friends the N-word. Talk about stabbing yourself in the back.
As language develops, word meanings change over time.
N-Word (a) is a term of endearment, not a racial slur. It is an Alternate Diminutive Version of the N-Word (er), so it serves to be less offensive than its counterpart.
When African Americans were migrating out of the south to northern cities at the turn of the centry northern African Americans were a little upset at how southerners threw this word around. So it is not just today African Americans use this word as a term of enderment.
Even the early folk and Blues singers used this word along with, coon, Yellow gal and High brown ,all were just as embarrasing to educated African American northerners.
"Bile Dem Cabbage Down" is a song many Bluesgrass musicians play but they never use the words that the African American originators of this song use sang.
White folk go to the meeting house, you barely hear a sound. N- go to the meeting house, you can hear shouting for miles around.
Before hip hop used this word it was present in the south in traditional and composed African American music probally as far back as 1830
For some reason we still tend to think of black folks in terms of "they", meaning that they have little distinctions between them like most whites assume is the norm for whites. I can't for the life of me picture two distinguished black university professors jivin and throwin signs while calling each other Ni**er, just can't see it. TV helps white folks to reinforce this age old notion of the entire black populace. Of course, black folks also get a lot of their social skills honed by that same TV caricature of old stereotypes. The worst of racial polarity between black and whites happens at the bottom classes of both, the white upper crust has long ago negotiated it's future with upscale blacks, I suspect it's a truce of sorts, but social behavior is still fairly predictable by class levels. Racism will remain a constant at those lower rungs and the terms used by both black and white at that level won't be all that civil.
I agree that we need to stop seeing each other in terms of "us" and "them". We are all people. Science has proven that racism is nothing but a social construct and has no foundations whatsoever in biology.
I also agree that individual racism is more frequently found on "those lower rungs" of the social ladder. It is however important to realize that institutional racism does occur. This form of racism affects even university professors. A big difference between these two types is that individual racism is much more outspoken than it's institutional counterpart.
I would argue that neither is worse than the other. No matter what form it comes in, racism is simply... wrong. You say that "racism will remain a constant at those lower rungs" but I truly believe we should strive to change that. It has taken so much for our society to get to the point it is at and although racism may never truly be eradicated, we must always fight for that goal.
However, like anything else, we must take it a step at a time. And maybe, a first step could be understanding that the use of the n-word, whether it be with an "a" or an "er", perpetuates racism, and therefore break the cycle of socialization that leads us to believe it doesn't. The same cycle of socialization that allows an African American woman to constantly doubt her ability to achieve academic success. The same cycle of socialization that leads young African Americans to see crime as the only escape from an impoverished life.
The only constant in this world is change. If we have the power to steer this change toward the greater good, why not use it?
I find the word to be ugly but appropriate for some people and I would go as far as to say there are what I'd refer to as "white trash" people which to me if there were a similar name to the "n" word for white people, some would be / could be tagged with it.
I personally find the "n" word very offensive though and a general term to describe someone.
I would say yes and no. It does in the sense that every person who thinks anyone using the N word is racist will overhear them and their thoughts about those black people being racist will be perpetuated. It doesn't in the sense that movements have reclaimed insults as a sense of personal power, and I think many black people use the N word in this way. But because each person uses and hears the same word differently, the usage of a word can often cause more than one reaction at the same time, and cause different shifts in thinking among different people.
Another thing to consider is that people who use the N word to establish solidarity (where it could be exchanged with "brother" or "sister") both help and hurt the movement towards eliminating racism. Establishing solidarity among black people can empower the black people who have internalized racism, but creating solidarity within a race can cause distance between that race and other races.
When non-Black people get the point that ALL (and not even most) Black people do not use the N-word maybe then the myth surrounding the slur will die.
Maybe when non-Black people actually stop using hip-hop icons as their examples to represent an entire diverse culture they will gain a better (and more well-rounded) understanding of Black Americans.
Why does this same thread topic pop up nearly every month with a White (or other non-Black) person lamenting the fact that they can not openly and unabashedly say the N-word?
What is this deep, longing and urge to say the N-word?
Are all of you people seriously itching to have a "n-----, n-----, n-----" fit like Dr. Laura?
Well said, but this post will be skipped by almost every non-white who posts on this thread. You are asking for personal responsibility that most people lack. Sorry I could not rep you.
Because I am black according to these people - and yes it is racist - I must say to my grandmother, "Yo granny, pass the salt, my *****." Because a bunch of out of touch rappers use it in some dopey music I don't even like.
Of course, none would associate any other attributes of rappers... say like income and business acumen among the more successful ones. Why? Because racists cling at the negatives and ignore the positives.
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