Here we go, another N-Word debut... ****** debut?... N***** debut?... It's a word issue people!!

[Parasondox]

From the highs of the blazing sun to the depths of the ocean to you Escapist, (that was f***ing random)

Oh the N-Word, for those who don't know it's ****** or Nigga, how this debut has been going on for waaaaaaaay over a while. I'm not talking about the origins of the word or how it was used to insult an entire race in the past century or beyond that, but... well I'm black and I will say this.

*clears throat*

My fellow black people, I know several of you have called me a disagree to our race just because I didn't wear jeans around my knees (that's a prison reference by the way for those who don't know, mostly about being ones ***** in a lonely place), I don't speak as if I am angry at a guy looking at me who type as if I forgot what vowels were. And yes even called a disgraced because I didn't do "hood things" like sell drugs, calling the police fucking dickheads and pricks but yet get off the bus once you see them get on or call the very same ones when something happen to you for help. You know I'm really not they stereotypical black guy but I don't care cause I am who I am. Also don't say I've never been through the struggle either. I've been stopped by police cause they thought I could be carrying a knife, I've been racially abused many times, I've had people I like saying "I like you and all and think you are great but I don't date black guys" line before. I just don't let the world bring me down and act like the victim all the time.

Okay that was a personal rant too far but really the "N-word", I get it, it's the cool thing to say when we are with people who are the same race as us but really why and I mean WHY do a certain number of you get outraged when someone who is a different race, says the word when they are singing or rapping a song that clearly states it but you yourself say as an everyday word? Don't give me that "It's our word" bullshit and "Only we can say it" crap. Let's cut that hypocritical nonsense now and let's talk about this as adults. The word can be used to verbally abuse people and that's wrong. No one should use anything to abuse anyone with. I am mainly talking about just saying "******" when in context of a song or a piece of written text. If you don't want others using it then don't say it. Like if you don't want your child swearing but you swear in front of them all the time, then I think you have lost that battle already.

I believe we can still have peace in this world without the differences of race, sexuality, religion and lifestyle being such an issue that divides us. (I know I sound crazy right?) One step at a time.

OT: For those who I have offended for using "black" a lot instead of "African-American" or "Afro-Caribbean", I'm sorr... wait I'm not sorry cause we are black and that's who we are. Don't ashamed of that.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Don't give me that "It's our word" bullshit and "Only we can say it" crap.

Er...why is that wrong? A lot of groups, generally marginalised to some degree, use language amongst themselves that they'd be offended if outsiders used. Especially when it's a word used by outsiders to denigrate them. For example:

(I know I sound crazy right?)

Using the word "crazy" comes off very differently depending on the mental health of the speaker.

 

[Parasondox]

Don't give me that "It's our word" bullshit and "Only we can say it" crap.

Er...why is that wrong? A lot of groups, generally marginalised to some degree, use language amongst themselves that they'd be offended if outsiders used. Especially when it's a word used by outsiders to denigrate them. For example:

(I know I sound crazy right?)

Using the word "crazy" comes off very differently depending on the mental health of the speaker.

I'm not actually crazy I was just making a point about how hard it is... Do i really have to explain, don't tell me I offended those with mental health issues when i clearly didn't mean too?

And I did say not the term being used as an abusive tool but just used when singing or rapping a song by Kanye West, Jay-Z or whoever or reading a scripted text.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'm not actually crazy I was just making a point about how hard it is... Do i really have to explain, don't tell me I offended those with mental health issues when i clearly didn't mean too?

I daresay if you said that to everyone with mental health issues, some would be offended (or at least concerned with being further demonised), some would not, regardless of your intent. Same as if you stepped on all their toes, some people will hurt more than others, whether you meant it or not won't matter.

And I did say not the term being used as an abusive tool but just used when singing or rapping a song by Kanye West, Jay-Z or whoever or reading a scripted text.

Even so, the word is commonly used as an abusive tool, not easy to separate it from that meaning.

Now, I'm not saying that you personally should find it offensive, just that the people who do appear to have good reasons for doing so.

 

[Parasondox]

I'm not actually crazy I was just making a point about how hard it is... Do i really have to explain, don't tell me I offended those with mental health issues when i clearly didn't mean too?

I daresay if you said that to everyone with mental health issues, some would be offended (or at least concerned with being further demonised), some would not, regardless of your intent. Same as if you stepped on all their toes, some people will hurt more than others, whether you meant it or not won't matter.

And I did say not the term being used as an abusive tool but just used when singing or rapping a song by Kanye West, Jay-Z or whoever or reading a scripted text.

Even so, the word is commonly used as an abusive tool, not easy to separate it from that meaning.

Now, I'm not saying that you personally should find it offensive, just that the people who do appear to have good reasons for doing so.

I suffer from several mental health issues but I made it clear that I said "crazy" in a different light. Seriously are we debuting the use of the word crazy? Sorry if i offended people but really?

Yes I know it's commonly used as that but I am saying if you don't like it being used then don't say it out loud or a mainstream track that millions will listen too thinking it's an okay thing to say.

 

[rig0r_m0rtis]

Your point is that "If anyone else says it and it is still offensive, then why say it yourself to be used as an acceptable term." Though you feel that it shouldn't be given any power as offensive or derogatory. Am I accurate?

 

[Thaluikhain]

I suffer from several mental health issues but I made it clear that I said "crazy" in a different light. Seriously are we debuting the use of the word crazy? Sorry if i offended people but really?

Well, I was trying to use that as an example, but it looks like we've wandered into that a bit, yeah.

Yes I know it's commonly used as that but I am saying if you don't like it being used then don't say it out loud or a mainstream track that millions will listen too thinking it's an okay thing to say.

Ah, in that, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. OTOH, I could understand people saying that people should understand the context in which they are using that word, even though they know many people won't.

 

[Parasondox]

Your point is that "If anyone else says it and it is still offensive, then why say it yourself to be used as an acceptable term." Though you feel that it shouldn't be given any power as offensive or derogatory. Am I accurate?

Yes. Cause if you give more power and attention to something you are offended by, someone out there will just continue to add fuel to the fire. Some black... sorry Afro-Caribbean, don't like the word so they don't say it. My father is nearly 70 and he has had so much abuse in the past from that word and chooses not to say it because it has a dark past linked to it. He dislikes fellow Afro-Caribbean using that word too cause they are normalizing it. Those normalizing it get offended by those using it so really that's what I mean't. Some out there say it but don't mind if others say it too cause it's either between friends of different races and grew up together or the word doesn't offend them.

 

[Parasondox]

I suffer from several mental health issues but I made it clear that I said "crazy" in a different light. Seriously are we debuting the use of the word crazy? Sorry if i offended people but really?

Well, I was trying to use that as an example, but it looks like we've wandered into that a bit, yeah.

Yes I know it's commonly used as that but I am saying if you don't like it being used then don't say it out loud or a mainstream track that millions will listen too thinking it's an okay thing to say.

Ah, in that, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. OTOH, I could understand people saying that people should understand the context in which they are using that word, even though they know many people won't.

Nah it's cool just me having a looooong week and it's only Tuesday. I do appreciate and respect the points you bring up cause the only way we progress through life is by having debates and learning new things that expands the mind and personal thoughts.

 

[rig0r_m0rtis]

I think the idea of "owning" the terms have kind of been turned on it's ear (See Clerks 2). I don't think there is an easy debate or solution for words. Many times has the argument been visited regarding the difference between "acceptable use" and hate speech when the 1st Amendment is involved. It's become commonplace (as you pointed out) in many cultures, while others have tried to bury it all together without much success. I think it's even more difficult for those that are on the outside looking in when they're trying to be compassionate towards their fellow human being, which sometimes breeds an associative hypersensitivity.

It's true, the listener gives words power, not the speaker. But you can't ask people to change how they feel about them because of the history behind those words, which are usually root in a deep dark place and the reaction is usually a subconscious reaction. I've had my own dealings with hateful words, and unfortunately I reacted forcefully (no fisticuffs). While it did illicit the desired result, it isn't always the answer, but I knew who I was dealing with at the time.

And as with anything on the internet, it's never what you mean to say, but how your audience interprets what you say.

 

[Shadowstar38]

I agree. Niggas need to just stay cool and roll with it. Nothing to get offended by.

 

[krazykidd]

I think .. Actually You know what, i don't even want to get into this . But i will say one thing, i do believe everyone should stop using that word . I had a mixed ( half white half black) female friend , that jokingly called me a ****** , and continued after i told her not to call me that again , stating that she can say it because her dad was black. I never spoke to her again .

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Well, this will give me an excuse to post this:


The reactions of Chris and Tom are amazing. That wouldn't have happened in American TV.

I've never gotten the whole point of the sheer level of stigma myself; the absolute abhorrence that is reserved for the very word, it's like the Harry Potter 'Voldermort' thing: Silly and over-reactive to someone looking at the issue from a far off. But then again I didn't witness the racist attitudes black Americans felt in living memory, and I'm sure I don't know the half of the horrors they were subjected to.

 

[rig0r_m0rtis]

If it was someone other than Chris Rock, I'm sure the exchange would have been a lot different. The default is to err on the side of caution.

 

[Miss G.]

OT: For those who I have offended for using "black" a lot instead of "African-American" or "Afro-Caribbean", I'm sorr... wait I'm not sorry cause we are black and that's who we are. Don't ashamed of that.

I actually had to look up Afro-Caribbean as I've never heard that label before and saw my own ethnicity of Afro-Bahamian as one of the major subsets of it. I find that strange because we just call ourselves Bahamian, why is an Afro prefix added/needed?

OT: I don't like the word black when I'm in America because it means (other non-Caribbean ethnicities of) people think I'm African-American when I am not. I don't mind it as an ethnicity option on foreign applications or the like, though, because its doubtful they'll have my specific one. "Black" is not used much in the same way at home simply because we're the majority and therefore the norm, though we have different words for skin tones amongst ourselves like blick/dark, red, and mango/light-skin.

 

[Parasondox]

OT: For those who I have offended for using "black" a lot instead of "African-American" or "Afro-Caribbean", I'm sorr... wait I'm not sorry cause we are black and that's who we are. Don't ashamed of that.

I actually had to look up Afro-Caribbean as I've never heard that label before and saw my own ethnicity of Afro-Bahamian as one of the major subsets of it. I find that strange because we just call ourselves Bahamian, why is an Afro prefix added/needed?

OT: I don't like the word black when I'm in America because it means (other non-Caribbean ethnicities of) people think I'm African-American when I am not. I don't mind it as an ethnicity option on foreign applications or the like, though, because its doubtful they'll have my specific one. "Black" is not used much in the same way at home simply because we're the majority and therefore the norm, though we have different words for skin tones amongst ourselves like blick/dark, red or mango/light-skin.

Yeah Afro-Caribbean is used to described a black person in the UK so the US version of African American. And Asian here are those from Indian, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and US version of calling someone who is Asian is mostly those from Philippines, China, Korea, Thailand, Japan etc. They are are from Asia but just US and UK has different meanings behind it.

 

[shogunblade]

I go back and forth on the word '******', in that I don't use it as a racial slur, but only when I'm quoting something. The Boondocks is a show I enjoy very much, and in some cases, when I am quoting something to somebody, it loses a lot of its humor to dub in 'N Word' into the conversation to make it make sense.

However, If I met somebody who was Black (African American or any other), I wouldn't say it except in contexts where I knew the person and it was okay, but I imagine for somebody who could be confused for Casper the Friendly Ghost on the scale of how white I am, I don't think I would be allowed to say it at all.

I'll use this explanation as honestly as I can. My father is an older gentlemen, and he has (still calls himself) 'A ******' in an offensive and derogatory manner towards himself. I find it offensive because it really doesn't reflect who he is, he treats all of his chores as some sort of slave role, when he is my father, and a lot of what he is doing is just typical household chores.

I find that is a case that unless you are trying to explain something to somebody, I would hope people wouldn't use it to be offensive, but in most cases, people use it to be offensive, and that is why it bothers me.

I think to hold some words protected allows bigots and racists to have more power then they should have, but I don't think it should be a word that people should say over and over. Much like saying 'Fuck' or swearing some words repetitiously (not over and over, but when it seems to be the only word they know), there is no sense in it.

 

[Wraith]

I'll try and get through this, point by point.

My fellow black people, I know several of you have called me a disagree to our race just because I didn't wear jeans around my knees...

Then those people are hypocritical fools who believe negative stereotypes are the basis of being a black person.

...(that's a prison reference by the way for those who don't know, mostly about being ones ***** in a lonely place)..

That is actually false.
http://www.snopes.com/risque/homosex/sagging.asp

You know I'm really not they stereotypical black guy but I don't care cause I am who I am. Also don't say I've never been through the struggle either.

This is why stereotypes are bullshit.

I've been stopped by police cause they thought I could be carrying a knife, I've been racially abused many times, I've had people I like saying "I like you and all and think you are great but I don't date black guys" line before. I just don't let the world bring me down and act like the victim all the time.

Sadly, it comes with the skin color. Due to stereotypes and prejudices many POC still go through this, which is fucked up. Best thing to do is stay strong and try to educate.

Okay that was a personal rant too far but really the "N-word", I get it, it's the cool thing to say when we are with people who are the same race as us but really why and I mean WHY do a certain number of you get outraged when someone who is a different race, says the word when they are singing or rapping a song that clearly states it but you yourself say as an everyday word?

Simple answer: They are racist hypocrites.

Long answer: People like that can hold a prejudice that keeps them from trusting white people when using that word. Because if a white person said it, he MUST be racist context be damned!

I believe we can still have peace in this world without the differences of race, sexuality, religion and lifestyle being such an issue that divides us. (I know I sound crazy right?) One step at a time.

Agreed, but it will be a while before then and the battle has just recently become leveled on the field.

OT: For those who I have offended for using "black" a lot instead of "African-American" or "Afro-Caribbean", I'm sorr... wait I'm not sorry cause we are black and that's who we are. Don't ashamed of that.

I'm 50/50 on this. Yes, if you come from certain areas your skin is dark, but that doesn't mean the person sees themselves as "black". That is usually a western term, whereas in areas where whites and blacks tend to coexist those descriptive terms aren't mentioned. (Had a boss who lived in South Africa who stated when you talked about a Caucasian person you would just mention their shirt color, or describe their hair or use their name. No one was defined by their lighter or darker pigment and it confused her when she moved to the US that her Caucasian friends had to announce that she was that "black girl" when talking about her.)

So yes, it can be offensive, but then again anything can be offensive to anyone.