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 Post subject: Who, if any1, should be allowed to say the "N" wor
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:30 am 
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I was thinking Who do you think, if anyone, should be allowed to say the "N"Word?
I started thinking about this when i saw a documentary about racism.
I hear black people say it, is that ok?

Your thoughts?


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:40 am 
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It doesn't sound right for black people to call each other a name that white people used as a form of contempt. You don't see white people calling one another "Cracka" all the time, so why can blacks call one another the n-word?

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 Post subject: Re: Who, if any1, should be allowed to say the "N"
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:40 am 
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Karmaism wrote:
I was thinking Who do you think, if anyone, should be allowed to say the "N"Word?
I started thinking about this when i saw a documentary about racism.
I hear black people say it, is that ok?

Your thoughts?

Truthfully, I find that word disgusting.
I really don't think people should use that word (although using it does take away the power of it). There are some who suggest that it's ok for blacks but not ok for whites. That seems kinda racist to me.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:41 am 
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Wow...extremely sensitive topic...

I'll say this much--I'm White, and I never use the word in any context. I've heard of African Americans mobilizing to abolish the use of the word--both with the "-er" and "-a" suffixes. They stand firm that it's nothing more than a racial slur--not a term of endearment--and one spokeslady said something along the lines of, "There has never before been a time in history when a group of people had to be educated to not use the very slurs against them in their own vernacular." I think she made a good point there.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:45 am 
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anyone can say anything. the word doesn't matter, it's all about context.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:54 am 
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"Anyone can say anything" seems to contradict your statement about context, Cobalt. It seems that, in the first sentence, I can go to any black neighborhood & say the n-word, yet according to the next sentence I suddenly can't.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:58 am 
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what i mean by "anyone can say anything" is that it's not the word itself that's offensive, it's the context of the word. if you're using it as a hateful slur against a black person, that's certainly unacceptable. but if you're using it, say, quoting a Chris Rock comedy bit, i don't see what's offensive about it.

pretty much any word can be offensive if you say it in a certain tone. it's not the word itself that's offensive; it's what you mean by it.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:54 pm 
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Cobalt wrote:
what i mean by "anyone can say anything" is that it's not the word itself that's offensive, it's the context of the word. if you're using it as a hateful slur against a black person, that's certainly unacceptable. but if you're using it, say, quoting a Chris Rock comedy bit, i don't see what's offensive about it.
What is the context then? If it's funny, it can't be insulting...? grrrr why does there always have to be a context. People should just say what they actually mean.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:04 pm 
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Cobalt pretty much hit the nail on the head.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:49 pm 
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Black people = very yes.

White people = very no.

Others = maybe.


And as StrongRad said, it's racist to allow it for one race and disallow it for another.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:49 pm 
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I think African Americans calling each other the N word is one of the biggest ironies in history.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:59 pm 
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sb_enail.com wrote:
I think African Americans calling each other the N word is one of the biggest ironies in history.
All the N word is, is the slang form of Negro.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:56 pm 
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Should you be allowed to swear and use the N word on TV or Radio?


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:26 am 
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From what I've read, seen, and from black people I've spoken to, it's really about taking the sting out of the word. If black people call each other "the N word," it's meaning becomes dulled within the community. It becomes a term of endearment. So if you're a black kid, and some racist comes around and starts calling you that, it just doesn't hurt as much as it otherwise would.

Black people have essentially taken this stance with the word: We've taken the word away from you racist white people, for ourselves, so you can't use it to hurt us anymore.

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Not all black people have this opinion though. My girlfriend is black, and would NEVER use the word in any context unless she's telling a story of something that happened and it's part of the story. Her ex, a black guy, uses the word a LOT, and she said it would get annoying, but she did understand the reasons he uses it.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:37 am 
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Amorican wrote:
From what I've read, seen, and from black people I've spoken to, it's really about taking the sting out of the word. If black people call each other "the N word," it's meaning becomes dulled within the community. It becomes a term of endearment. So if you're a black kid, and some racist comes around and starts calling you that, it just doesn't hurt as much as it otherwise would.

Black people have essentially taken this stance with the word: We've taken the word away from you racist white people, for ourselves, so you can't use it to hurt us anymore.

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Not all black people have this opinion though. My girlfriend is black, and would NEVER use the word in any context unless she's telling a story of something that happened and it's part of the story. Her ex, a black guy, uses the word a LOT, and she said it would get annoying, but she did understand the reasons he uses it.


The N word has Changed from being a slave term into being a word of resistance. I think it isn't offensive anymore. I am half-African and Arabic but not Dark in skin colour.I don't understand Why it is bad.I think The meaning has changed.
In 1802,it meant horrible, not human black person or a slave(As it was used by racist slave owners)
In 2006, it means black buddy or pal its slang for black man.

I know it offends people so watch it.But the slang is ok:
"Nigga"-Ok
Nigger-Not


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 6:07 am 
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Whenever I hear a comic like Chris Rock, or a rapper, or the average African-American out in public use the word, my reaction is "seriously? That's the word you want to use for yourselves?" But thinking more about it, maybe it's a way of turning the worst of all negatives into an odd positive.
The word "brother" is used as a very positive form of endearment in some black communities. I hear it stems from the emotional connection between one slave and another. Going through the toils and trials of slavery would leave anyone searching for something to keep the hope alive. So why look farther than your own brother?
After years of having the whites refer to them as "niggers" as a very negative term, maybe using the word now is akin to the usage of "brother" or "sister." It's a way of keeping pride as a group. If whites were going to lump them in a group and use them for hard, unrewarding labor, then maybe the best way to rise from the depths is to remain a group, under any name.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:12 am 
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In my town, if a white person said the N word, they'd get beat up for sure. I really don't care for the word, so I don't think the world would benefit from the ability to say it. Personally, I think we'd be better off if the word had never been invented and no one knew about it.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:21 pm 
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Artvandelay wrote:
Whenever I hear a comic like Chris Rock, or a rapper, or the average African-American out in public use the word, my reaction is "seriously? That's the word you want to use for yourselves?" But thinking more about it, maybe it's a way of turning the worst of all negatives into an odd positive.
The word "brother" is used as a very positive form of endearment in some black communities. I hear it stems from the emotional connection between one slave and another. Going through the toils and trials of slavery would leave anyone searching for something to keep the hope alive. So why look farther than your own brother?
After years of having the whites refer to them as "niggers" as a very negative term, maybe using the word now is akin to the usage of "brother" or "sister." It's a way of keeping pride as a group. If whites were going to lump them in a group and use them for hard, unrewarding labor, then maybe the best way to rise from the depths is to remain a group, under any name.

I agree.To many youth it is a symbol of resistance.
But i think if u use it you shouldn't get hurt by it.If u use "Nigga" then white people using it shouldn't bother you.If it is a symbol of black brotherhood we shouldn't car when white people use it cuz it can't ahrm you.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:14 am 
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Karmaism wrote:
I agree.To many youth it is a symbol of resistance.
But i think if u use it you shouldn't get hurt by it.If u use "Nigga" then white people using it shouldn't bother you.If it is a symbol of black brotherhood we shouldn't car when white people use it cuz it can't ahrm you.


Yes, it SHOULD bother you if a white person uses it, but I guess that is based on the context. A white person brought up in a black neighborhood who just speaks like all the kids on his block is one thing. But in most circumstances, it should be a warning sign of danger. When my girlfriend was in high school, she was jogging down the street and a group of white kids pulled up next to her in their car. They started shouting "run, nigger, run" and stuff like that. It scared the crap out of her. If it had been just a bunch of kids shouting at the dorky girl running down the street, that would have been one thing. But by using that word, they made the situation much much scarier for her. She didn't know if they were gonna beat her and kill her for being black. The word still hurts. Even if black people use it amongst themselves for empowerment purposes, if you see a white person shouting that word, you get the heck outta there.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:27 am 
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IantheGecko wrote:
It doesn't sound right for black people to call each other a name that white people used as a form of contempt. You don't see white people calling one another "Cracka" all the time, so why can blacks call one another the n-word?


Achem.. not all of the time.. but i do recall you calling me cracka once in the Image thread. :mrgreen:

Toastpaint..

But you're right.. They call us cracka all of the time and say the n word..

But when we call them or say the n word it's called racism..

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:27 pm 
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IantheGecko wrote:
You don't see white people calling one another "Cracka" all the time, so why can blacks call one another the n-word?


Wow. You must live under a rock. Generally, those white rapping kids call each other crackas all the time. It's for the same reason. To switch it from bad to good.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:58 pm 
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Well, I hardly know any white rapping kids, so I wouldn't know. ;)

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:24 am 
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Snailmail wrote:
Wow. You must live under a rock. Generally, those white rapping kids call each other crackas all the time.


Yes... white rapping kids. As opposed to just white people.

On a completely different note, I've talked about this in an unrelated thread, but I want to bring up the use/mention distinction. There's a difference between saying the N-word and actually using it. Saying it would be, for example, quoting somebody, or talking about the word itself. Using it would be actually calling somebody that. I think anybody should be able to say it, and nobody should use it.

- Kef


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:09 pm 
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Hm. I don't really have an opinion on this subject, however I do have a big pet peeve about this. In our language arts (English) class, we study black history and we read a few books like Roll Of Thunder, Hear Me Cry. So if my teacher talks about one of the people being called "Nigger," she has to censor it. I know this may have to be done because of offensive issues, but she's afraid of the word. Even while discussing the book! Now remember, this is a private school. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that people shouldn't fear the word.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:47 am 
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That reminds me of an incident in the 6th grade... we had a book that involved a sort of time-travel element (more of in a paranormal/fantasy context than a sci-fi), and it involved going back into racist times, so, naturally, the book used the N-word. We had an audiotape reading the book to us. Well, one time our (white) teacher wasn't there, and there was a black substitute teacher, and... well... after that day, we never continued reading the book.

It's a shame, since I found the book interesting, but I can't remember the title or the author.

- Kef


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:09 pm 
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Kef - you made an excellent point bringing up the difference between saying a word and using a word, and you are completely right. Everybody's made interesting points, but I'd like to throw out something for you all to think about. If one black person to another can use the n-word as a term of endearment of brotherhood, why can't a white person call his/her black friend by the same word? If he/she is meaning it in an endearing/brotherly way? (FYI - I've never called any of my black friends by that word.) In my personal opinion, I don't think anyone of any race should use any offensive racist terms. This thread reminds me just how improper and offensive words like that are.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:49 am 
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Some people think it's OK for African Americans to use the word, but I don't think anyone should really. Sure, Tupac Shakur tried to change its meaning to "black man who wears silver chain upon neck" or something like that, but no matter what you do the N-word just sucks and it shouldn't be said.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:06 pm 
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Another point that I find interesting: A lot of people where I've lived and gone to college consider "nigga" (as opposed to "nigger") to refer to someone who lacks any sort of class or dignity, regardless of their skin color. I've heard friends of mine (both Black and White) saying that "there's a big difference between being Black and being a Nigga." The Boondocks put it a bit more comically, though.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:18 pm 
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I never bought the idea that it becomes a completely different word when said with an "a" sound (which is simply saying it with an accent). It sounds to me the same sort of backpedaling as when you overhear somebody say it, you look at them, and they said "I said negro!" (an excuse that even a (black) teacher at my high school used once).

- Kef


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:48 pm 
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furrykef wrote:
I never bought the idea that it becomes a completely different word when said with an "a" sound (which is simply saying it with an accent). It sounds to me the same sort of backpedaling as when you overhear somebody say it, you look at them, and they said "I said negro!" (an excuse that even a (black) teacher at my high school used once).

- Kef

I never bought into that, either. then again, I'm white, so I'm not allowed to have an opinion regarding that word, or so it would seem.

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