I end up having an if-by-whiskey argument with myself about this, especially regarding the "n-word."
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean removing the hatred and power behind a word which has divided our people for centuries by giving it a new and friendly connotation, then of course I am for it.
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean flippantly dismissing decades of institutionalized enslavement and murder, and a constant reminder that for all our progress we are still very much two nations, then I despise it.
Its clear to me though that the n-word still causes a great deal of pain to many of my brothers and sisters, and I want no part of that. So even though I hope that someday the n-word will lose this meaning, you're not going to hear it coming out of my mouth.
I try not to use the word but it slips occasionally. And to be honest, the word in itself does not offend me, only how it is used. Now for the big but...about ten years ago I was at the mall. I saw a white kid and black kid hanging out together. They were going back and forth, saying nigga as if they were in a hip hop video.I wouldn't prefer it but still was not bothered enough to says something about it.
Now, this older lady walks past and she is at least in her 70's. She hears this white kid yelling nigga in the middle of the mall, laughing about it. I see her eyes and its not anger but hurt and fear. Those words meant something powerful and deep to her because she lived during that time when if you heard the word, there was a good chance you wouldn't make it home that night. After that, I as a black person feel guilt every time I say it. It still slips out every now and then but I try my best.
Words themselves do not matter, it's after all just a sound we make. The important thing is the emotion behind the utterance, the context and also the interpretation of the meaning of the word.
Like what you said, the n-word means different things to the old lady and the kids. The kids are at ease using the word while the lady is not. Words which are very acceptable nowadays may turn out to be taboo in the future.
I didn't say he was being funny. I said he was trying to be funny. The crucial point is that white people very rarely succeed in being funny when they say "nigger".
I'm not at all convinced he was trying to be funny, which is the crucial difference for me. If he had been really trying to amuse his audience, no matter how cringe-worthy, I think they would have (and should have) let him off the hook. But he was really angry at the hecklers and it definitely didn't seem to me like he was using the word to make them or anyone else laugh.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with saying 'n-word' instead of 'nigger'. You can call it anything you feel comfortable with. If you take offense to others saying 'nigger' then I apologize, that was not the intent. Do you also get offended when you hear some rapper saying 'nigger' in a song or interview?
Well knowing that it does affect people, why would you use it at all? It kills me when people try to justify their nonsense.
Think of it this way. Membership in an oppressed group has its obvious detriments but it also has a few benefits...if you want to see it as a benefit. The benefit is that members can use the word but no one else can.
Gays can use the f word - noone else can
Blacks can use the n word - noone else can
women can use the b word - no one else can.
The real question is why are you fighting to be able to say it?
It's actually quite hard to work out what words you're talking about :/ Why not just write them.
>> "The real question is why are you fighting to be able to say it?"
Because I don't think it's healthy to attach such horror and outrage at simple words. It's like in Harry Potter where they dare not mention the V word, they just refer to him as 'he who should not be named'.
This one's actually news to me. I'm glad I never bothered keeping up with trends in political correctness, it seems to be a battle fought over shifting sands that cannot be won.
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean removing the hatred and power behind a word which has divided our people for centuries by giving it a new and friendly connotation, then of course I am for it.
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean flippantly dismissing decades of institutionalized enslavement and murder, and a constant reminder that for all our progress we are still very much two nations, then I despise it.
Its clear to me though that the n-word still causes a great deal of pain to many of my brothers and sisters, and I want no part of that. So even though I hope that someday the n-word will lose this meaning, you're not going to hear it coming out of my mouth.