The "N word"? (abuse, slavery, document, women)

[Chieftreeburn]

Im with CAP1717 the country we live in is built on racism, sterotypes, injustices and wrong doings etc etc. The word will remain in culture until there is a higher level of thinking among the masses.

[Dbledeez]

Chris Rock on the subject....
from Kill the Messenger:

"The only time a white person can say ni**a is if it's Christmas Eve between 4:30 and 4:49 am, and you're on your way to get your kid the last Transformer doll & right before you walk in, some black person pushes you, smacks you in the head, Riverdances on your head, takes your money, pisses on you, and runs away; if you're white you can say, 'somebody STOP that ni**a!!' "

[MrsMtnsOnTheMind]

Originally Posted by Dbledeez

Chris Rock on the subject....
from Kill the Messenger:

"The only time a white person can say ni**a is if it's Christmas Eve between 4:30 and 4:49 am, and you're on your way to get your kid the last Transformer doll & right before you walk in, some black person pushes you, smacks you in the head, Riverdances on your head, takes your money, pisses on you, and runs away; if you're white you can say, 'somebody STOP that ni**a!!' "

That's just rude. I kinda think you would enjoy being called that.

[Happy Cells]

People who get easily offended at racial epithets (no matter how accurate or inaccurate) are WAY too sensitive.....

[Reads2MUCH]

As I said in my previous post, that word only has as much power as you give it. For most young people, it no longer exists as a word meant to hurt. Only those who hold onto old ideas are offended by this word. The young black community took that word and made it into an endearing term, used when speaking of a friend or brother. Embrace that mind set, and let the old world fade away.

[tkdmom]

Originally Posted by FunkyMonk

I want to talk about a word. A word that lots of us hear every day. A word that, if spoken by many of us, would be a one way ticket to a beating and hospitalization.

I'm talking about the dreaded word......... "*****".

I am a white guy. I used to have a typical view of the word. I saw it as offensive and ignorant. But I figured it was OK for a black person to use it because of it's history. And that's just how society sees it too.

Lately though, i'm seeing it differently. I think it is a stupid word for anyone to say. I think that if black people are going to say it, then why can't a White, Latino, Asian, or anyone else say it?

When I think about it, I don't think there are any other words like that out there, that some people say all the time, and others should not say. White people don't call each other "cracker". Latinos don't call each other "beaner", Asians don't call each other "chopstick", etc.

So why this???

In my neighborhood I hear people saying it ALL the time. I hear the word a hundred times a day. The world is permanently embedded into my brain. Yet if I say it, that makes me a racist? Am I the only person who finds the whole thing silly, hypocritical, illogical?

When you really take a few steps back and look at it, isn't it pretty stupid?

So I say, we should ALL say the word, or, we should ALL let this word dissapear into the history books. Yeah, it's idealistic, but that's how I see it.

You know as well as I do, it's a very poor choice word to use, it is racist and perpetuates a certain arrogant vibe towards black people, when used by whitey.

[Dbledeez]

Originally Posted by MrsMtnsOnTheMind

That's just rude. I kinda think you would enjoy being called that.

What, rude? Sorry, I forget. You've called me so many things.

[Dbledeez]

Originally Posted by Happy Cells

People who get easily offended at racial epithets (no matter how accurate or inaccurate) are WAY too sensitive.....

Maybe......people who get easily offended in general are way too sensitive....

[moonshadow]

Originally Posted by Reads2MUCH

Well, maybe I will get jumped on for this but I use the "N" word all the time when talking to my white and black friends and no one cares. Want to know why? Well, first of all, it's not used in the old school way. As earlier posts have already made known, there is an "a" on the end now and is pronounced as such.

Second, the younger generation which I am proudly a part of no longer sees black and white. Atleast for the most part. So that word is commonly used amongst friends as an endearing term or even part of a greeting. I grew up using that word with absolutely no derogatory meanings implied. Have you ever heard the phrase "It's not what you said but how you say it." Well that is completely true when you are talking about the use of this word.

Now, if I was talking to a member of the black community whom I did not know I would not use this word. Why, because it can to easily be twisted into a racist comment and I can not blame them for that. After years and years of that word being used against them I can understand a person not understanding the meaning behind my usage of the word. The older generation of black Americans have especially had to endure far to much harrassment and the use of that word when speaking to them would not be acceptable.

But for the most part, that word has lost it's sting. Young Americans use it like they would any other slang, and have effectively nearly removed the stigma surrounding it. These are of course just my thoughts on this subject, and I am sure many would disagree with me. But on my end I say that word only has as much power as you allow it to have. And the younger people have taken it and made it into something else entirely.

A similar situation exists here with the term wog.

The word has had several meanings, most notably, as a racial slur, but it is also used when someone has come down with the flu or a stomach virus and there are a couple of other meanings of it that are less used in the vernacular.
As the next generation of southern and eastern european decent Australians have grown they have shone a light on the use of this term and embraced it with affection and with excellent results, I think.
It has become more of a term of affection and pride now due to plays, television shows and movies like Wogs Out of Work, Kingswood Country (to a lesser degree) Acropolis Now and The Wog Boy and is commonly used amongst myself and many of my friends without any offense being taken.
Used in a derogatory sense, I'm sure it still holds a sting for a lot of older generation Australians but more and more I see the younger generation letting it slide off and even embraced as it has become very much a term of endearment and affection and is accepted with pride.

Wog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rightly, I believe the word has been elevated to an acceptable term when used in an appropriate context.

I find it interesting also that Americans very naturally use the word coon in their language when referring to a racoon, it is the name of a breed of cat and is also the name of a prominent brand of cheese here, there are people for whom it is their surname and yet for Aboriginal Australians is considered a racial slur. There has been calls recently for the cheese to be rebranded in order not to offend but as the brand name is derived from the cheesemaker's surname originally I can't see that being a reasonable option unless we also ban their surname.

Perhaps the easier solution is again to start examining the word and helping people to understand all its derivatives and to use it only within context.

Other words that I note are also used as racial slurs are Paddy and Mick, for Irish people and their decendants, and depending on who uses it or how, it can be incredibly offensive but then I also have friends that embrace the word now as their nickname with pride and affection.

So I can relate very much to what you're saying reads2much but then I also understand why for older generations these things are difficult to accept. It's worth bearing in mind that things change and words and attitudes do also, but it's important we don't negate the feelings and experiences of those who have come before us.

I very much agree that there is no meaning other than that which you place upon it which is just another way of saying what you said that a word only has as much power as you give it.

One would hope that we will see in the future people considering what they say and how they say "the N word" (and many other words) and to whom and hopefully when it appears in a conversation or in print or in the media people will be able to rightly identify the context and intent with which the word was used and embrace or reject based on the intention of the user and not dismiss them as ignorant or uniformed or racist simply for using it. I find that to be an oversimplification and not particularly broad minded or accepting either.

[calipoppy]

Asking a Black person if it is ok to say the "N" word is just as stupid as asking a random White woman if it is ok to call her the "C" word. When would this ever be ok?