User Banned (Permanent): Racism, history of severe infractions
No but I think if black people stopped using it casually then the word would have more severe consequences and people would be smarter before throwing it out so casually
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Casual usage of the n-word by non black people
- Thread starter Good Kid mAAd Poster
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No but I think if black people stopped using it casually then the word would have more severe consequences and people would be smarter before throwing it out so casually
You aren't making racists uncomfortable, THEY ARE LAUGHING AT YOU because you fell so much in love with a slur that you own and encourage others to do so as well. You are NOT advancing the cause.
I honest don't know how to answer why not... maybe fear of backlash? But whose to say that they don't call each other the n-word off screen, it's something he'll have to answer himself.
A better question is why would Dre call Em the n-word when Em can't return the same favor? If I called you my brother, I expect you to be able to call me your brother too, out of respect and nothing more nothing less.
Lol this shit again
Just another way of saying this:
I'm sorry but how can anyone with at minimum a modicum of intelligence not easily differentiate between a black person saying it and a white person saying it
The word has severe consequences. It's still powerful and loaded, even when used as a term of camaraderie in the black community. A non-black person is still going to be met by pushback (at best) if they say it around certain people. This thread and the endless discussions like it are proof of that. The issue is that some people WANT to remove those kinds of consequences from it. They want to be able to say it with impunity. And that is never going to happen. Rappers not using it is not going to change the history of the word.
Because the word "brother" was not used white people to demonize and dehumanize black people for hundreds of years. You can't divorce the history from it. You can't apply regular word logic to it and expect to carry on. Not sure why that is so hard to understand. It's a loaded word. It's always going to be that. If you still want to say it, say it. But not everybody has to be okay with it, and may call you out on it.
I don't really know how to respond to this. They laugh all they want right now but the truth is white people will very soon no longer be the most popular race in the US, if anything recent times have shown us the fear they have in "losing" the country as they know it. Sure, they may laugh at us in their inner circles on Facebook, but the idea of intersectionality and people coming together to challenge their privilege does not sit well with them.
I've personally seen the faces of white men whenever a nearby conversation starts dropping the n-word and the look is PRICELESS
Im late to the conversation but I'm just throwing my two cents in from personal experience. It's very weird being Puerto Rican relative to the word. Educated (go to a good school etc.) white and black Puerto Ricans would never use the word and they know its wrong.
White and black puerto ricans that are raised in "caserios" (puertorican hoods) or have a poorer education use it for "fun" by trying to copy what they see on tv / rap / etc.
Then in NY for whatever reason when I go on vacation and by some chance I meet a Puerto Rican raised there / they are open to saying the word like its normal.
White and black puerto ricans that are raised in "caserios" (puertorican hoods) or have a poorer education use it for "fun" by trying to copy what they see on tv / rap / etc.
Then in NY for whatever reason when I go on vacation and by some chance I meet a Puerto Rican raised there / they are open to saying the word like its normal.
When I bought my car, the guy was showing me through all the features and getting me set up. When he was demoing the sound system, he switched to a rap station and said something along the lines of "I don't really like this nigger shit, but it's good for showing off the speakers." We are both very much white.
So you went to a different sales person to facilitate purchasing of the vehicle in order to not benefit some asshole, right?
But, you know, if black people just stop saying it, it would go away! Makes you think, who are the real racists?
My sister and brother use it all the time and its kind of weird (we're Mexican)
I do have a question though. Hip hop music is so prevalent in todays culture, and I don't think theres a song by a black artist that doesn't use the n word. If we want people to stop using it, why is it continuously being thrown around by music and media? Like I completely understand its not an excuse for a non black person to say it, but currently it just makes it more likely that they'll start saying it casually
I do have a question though. Hip hop music is so prevalent in todays culture, and I don't think theres a song by a black artist that doesn't use the n word. If we want people to stop using it, why is it continuously being thrown around by music and media? Like I completely understand its not an excuse for a non black person to say it, but currently it just makes it more likely that they'll start saying it casually
This nonsense. At no point will racists EVER look at that word and others like it as anything other than slurs.Its not some badge of honor or solidarity thats given to others that share your struggle. Only black people can even attempt to "take it back" and no, we as black people shouldn't go around saying chink, spic, kike or anything else either as that was never our struggle. Is your own history and culture so without value to you that you would give the sense of dignity about away just to make the people in your circle happy to be there?
Would you let these people call you that in front of Jesse Jackson, Obama or Rosa Parks? Your grandmother or even a Great Grandparent?
Wait wait wait wait wait......lol
So let me get his straight
In a society where racially charged hate crimes against black Americans have been treated with kid gloves or swept aside altogether..........it will be black people ceasing to use the n-word "so casually" that will lead to some supposed increase in consequence?
LMAO like seriously....THIS is the angle you're really going to try and argue?
Since when are people unable to control what they say (and exempt from being held accountable for what they say) based on media and music? If you went into a Starbucks and the cashier said "hello mother fucker what the fuck can I get for your bitch ass?" Would you give them a pass if they said they watched a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies? We censor ourselves and how we speak based on personal standards, appropriateness and societal expectations every day. Why is that not the case here?
These threads always make me laugh
You can see people give zero fucks about black people and are willing to ignore all history and context to continue doing so
You can see people give zero fucks about black people and are willing to ignore all history and context to continue doing so
Okay, well, that doesn't really pan out historically since the word existed as a slur (by white people) for hundreds of years, and only started getting used in its reclaimed form (by black people) in the 70's or 80's (and not really overtly normalized/in "public" until the late 80's-90's). Black people only STARTED using it "so casually" as you put it within the last 30 years. The other 90% of the history of that word, its usage as a slur still existed. So nope, pretty sure that usage wouldn't just wither on the vine without the newer usage. What you're saying isn't logical.
Same thing... hundreds of years of the oppressive version of the word existed first. The recent usage of the word can't be the cause of the oppressive usage (in fact, it's the opposite)! Why would getting rid of the recent usage make the traditional one go away?
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I had already gone through all the paperwork when that happened. I should have made a complaint, but at that point I just wanted to get out of there.
What I'm saying is that the word is becoming so ingrained in modern culture by the constant usage of it in popular songs and media that people feel like it's okay to use it casually (because they're tooootally not racist, they listen to black artists!!!)
No it's not the only angle but it is one, want to stop people from using a word that is harmful. How about not using it yourself. It won't stop it outright, but it will help in flushing the horrible word out eventually.
I am by no means giving any other race a get out of jail card on the usuage of this word, I'm just giving one tiny answer to a giant problem. It's not a cure all but it's a start.
They can feel comfortable, but they may run into someone who is not going to be so comfortable and is going to check them, in one way or another. They are never going to be free from that. So the decision is on them to decide if continuing to use the word is that important to them. If so, cool. Have at it. But I would never put the expectation on black people to be okay with that. As with any other word, even ones they are "normalized" by music and movies, everyone is responsible for what comes out of their own mouths.
Just wanna say I love that you're fighting the good fight here.
It's as simple a concept as 1+1=2, yet so so difficult for some to grasp.
And this is the problem right here. You say it was wrong but you didn't want to be inconvenienced so so you ignored your principles.
By using the word in rap or other media you are making it cool and stripping its original meaning. They have plenty of youths who have no idea its original impact and say it because they here people they look up to using it. Plenty of kids that say nigga are saying it as a term of endearment to their friends.
Oops meant to edit not quote
You say that like its not a bad thing. Last thing I want is for kids to run around calling themselves nigger because they think its cool yet that is exactly whats happening.
Then they can eventually be educated about its original impacts. It'd be nice if they took it upon themselves but if not they might have to learn the hard way. Ignorance is not an excuse. The impact of the word hasn't changed, and we can stop pretending that the word has lost its impact because of rap music or pop culture.
Your taking this shit to literally
Fact is they aren't calling each other nigger. To them it means brother to them and you ain't gonna change it. Until it stops being pushed in the communities, in the same way " brother " stopped being used by youths going into the 90's. It's a cycle.
You somehow sidestepped the point, so let me be more blatant:
As we sit today, right now, on September 25th, 2018, the victims of an improperly slain black son in Texas still HAD to battle the law's implicit negative bias of black individuals JUST to get an obviously incompetent cop fired for her misdeeds.
And you somehow think increased consequence for a racial epithet used to degrade those same black individuals is just around the corner if there's some hypothetical linguistic ceasefire?
Stop.
I've seen this kind of argument in the park the other day. There was a bunch of kids. Maybe 7 white kids and 3 black kids. All arguing whose allowed to say it. I just sat back and listened and thought of era. Lol. IMO the problem is that hip hop has become mainstream pop, And all these kids are growing up with that word in their vocabulary.
I'd laugh out loud at that shit, it would be so morbidly funny, if folks talked like that.
But I digress an amazing example none the less.
Wait, what? Reads OP. I've sidestepped? What are you trying to do or prove here with me?
We aren't interested in allowing discussions which attempt to police minorities on the reclamation of the N-word. As such, this thread has been closed to further replies.
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