# Another N word thread.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [January 11, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941 "2003-01-11T10:57:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sinful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinful)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/1 "2003-01-11T10:57:25Z")
Why is it socialy acceptable for a black person to use a derogatory slur(nigga) to his fellow men. but a white person cannot use the same term with the same deffenition without it seeming bad?
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/2 "2003-01-11T11:01:50Z")
Because it is. Yes, there is a bit of hypocracy there, but it’s not a card for a non-US African American to play.
I use “gweiloh” aka Cantonese for “foreign devil” amongst friends and people that know exactly what I’m talking about. It pisses me off to hear a Hong Kongese use the term.
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/3 "2003-01-11T11:15:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Sinful \*
> \*\*Why is it socialy acceptable for a black person to use a derogatory slur(nigga) to his fellow men. but a white person cannot use the same term with the same deffenition without it seeming bad? \*\*
I’ll go you one better
Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro Collage fund or a Miss Black teen America?
I am not racist, but what if I wanted to start a United White Collage fund, I think I might be shot.
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/4 "2003-01-11T11:25:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by iwire \*
> \*\*I’ll go you one better
>
> Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro Collage fund or a Miss Black teen America?
>
> I am not racist, but what if I wanted to start a United White Collage fund, I think I might be shot. \*\*
Looks like I should go to college to learn how to spell.:smack:
[https://www.unitednegrocollegefund.com/](https://www.unitednegrocollegefund.com/)
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/5 "2003-01-11T12:08:39Z")
Yes, another N word thread by **Sinful**.
[“Tyranny of the Minority”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152269)
> [@](#):
>
> BET, yet no WET. Black History Month, but no White History Month. Puerto Rican Day parade, but no White Day Parade.
>
> Trust me I dont hate these people. I just dont know why I’m considered racist for being proud of my Irish, white descent and they’re not for being proud of their African, black descent or Hispanic, dark-skinned descent.
>
> Can anyone give me an answer?
[“Tyranny of the Minority” II](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152320)
> [@](#):
>
> How about this? How come Chris Rock continuesly says “Cracker” as a dispragging comment for a white person, but God forbid Jerry Seinfeld (or any white comedian) from dropping the N-bomb (even I’m reluctant to say it as fear from backlash)?
[Affirmitive Action…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152876)
> [@](#):
>
> is so dumb. I mean you’re defeating the purpose for which you installed the system by awarding people jobs baced on race and not on merit.
>
> Bah, I’m getting more conservative everyday.
[Sinful, Shut the F\*\*\* Up.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153971)
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### Author:  [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/6 "2003-01-11T13:30:08Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by iwire \*
> \*\*Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro Collage fund or a Miss Black teen America?
>
> I am not racist, but what if I wanted to start a United White Collage fund, I think I might be shot. \*\*
You know, there are scholarships available for people of Danish or Irish or any number of other specific descent, or for people with such and such surname. Would you like to abolish those?
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/7 "2003-01-11T13:55:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by sugaree \*
> \*\*You know, there are scholarships available for people of Danish or Irish or any number of other specific descent, or for people with such and such surname. Would you like to abolish those? \*\*
No, I never said I would like to do anything, I asked a question.
The question was "Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro College fund or a Miss Black teen America?
I should have put it this way.
Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro College fund or a Miss Black teen America, when it would not be socially acceptable to have a United Caucasian College fund or a Miss White teen America?
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### Author:  [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/8 "2003-01-11T14:51:08Z")
It is socially acceptable- look at these [lists](http://www.srsi.net/patriots/newpage21.htm) of [available](http://law.slu.edu/financial_assistance/FA/ethnic.html)[scholarships](http://www.college-financial-aid.com/scholarships/ethnic.htm).
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### Author:  [@BURNER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BURNER)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/9 "2003-01-11T15:29:06Z")
I call it like I see it. The word “nigger” has its uses when descrieing people. It doesnt make you a racist because you use it. Its just a friggin word for christ sake!! I will give you and example: If I am talking about Martin Luther King,Al Sharpton,Clarence Thomas,Johhny Cochran or Opra I say "African american or black person. If I am talking about Sherry Murphy , the black woman who starver the 3 little boys in New Jersy, or people like this --\> [http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news0701200301.htm](http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news0701200301.htm) who go on killing rampages l tend to use the word nigger. It is just a descriptive term.
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/10 "2003-01-11T15:37:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by sugaree \*
> \*\*It is socially acceptable- look at these [lists](http://www.srsi.net/patriots/newpage21.htm) of [available](http://law.slu.edu/financial_assistance/FA/ethnic.html)[scholarships](http://www.college-financial-aid.com/scholarships/ethnic.htm). \*\*
sugaree, READ the question, it was and remains WHY, not if.
But thanks for bring up more examples.😛
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/11 "2003-01-11T15:53:48Z")
This topic has been hashed out MILLIONS of times on this board. Perhaps you’ll get your questions answered by doing a search through the archive.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/12 "2003-01-11T15:57:53Z")
> [@](#):
>
> If I am talking about Sherry Murphy , the black woman who starver the 3 little boys in New Jersy, or people like this --\> [http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news0701200301.htm](http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news0701200301.htm) who go on killing rampages l tend to use the word nigger.
So do you call white child abusers and snipers “nigger” too?
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/13 "2003-01-11T16:16:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by monstro \*
> \*\*This topic has been hashed out MILLIONS of times on this board. Perhaps you’ll get your questions answered by doing a search through the archive. \*\*
I do not agree that just because it been hashed out before, it’s precluded from being hashed out again.
If you do not want to be involved with it, there is a simple solution.
That said, it is a question that will not really be answered so I going to bail.:o
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/14 "2003-01-11T16:21:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by iwire \*
> \*\*sugaree, READ the question, it was and remains WHY, not if.
>
> But thanks for bring up more examples.😛 \*\*
Here’s you question, so maybe we all can read it again (including re-reading it yourself)
> [@](#):
>
> Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro College fund or a Miss Black teen America, when it would not be socially acceptable to have a United Caucasian College fund or a Miss White teen America?
**sugaree** showed you that it is very socially acceptable to have Caucasian Scholarships. And, if you actually knew what it was you were speaking about instead of leaping to conclusions, you would know [that UNCF gives scholarships to people of all races, not only blacks.](http://www.uncf.org/LibertyScholar/index.asp)
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/15 "2003-01-11T16:34:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Biggirl \*
> \*\*Here’s you question, so maybe we all can read it again (including re-reading it yourself)
> **sugaree** showed you that it is very socially acceptable to have Caucasian Scholarships. And, if you actually knew what it was you were speaking about instead of leaping to conclusions, you would know [that UNCF gives scholarships to people of all races, not only blacks.](http://www.uncf.org/LibertyScholar/index.asp) \*\*
Biggirl, you jumped to conclusions, I never said they discriminated; fact is I did not know one way or the other, and did not pretend to, that was not the question.
And all that sugaree showed us is it is acceptable, which if you read my question you could see that’s what I am saying.
sugaree again answered the “If” question not the “Why”.
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### Author:  [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/16 "2003-01-11T16:45:30Z")
Stop spouting nonsense, **iwire**. There is no “why” question. You made no other statement than black people are allowed to have their own scholarships and organizations but white people are not. When you had the facts that tore your little delusion to shreds, you then start on this “if” not “why” crap.
There is no why. The entire basis for your statement has been shown to be utterly false. Either make a new statement or shut it.
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/17 "2003-01-11T16:58:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Neurotik \*
> \*\*Stop spouting nonsense, **iwire**. There is no “why” question. You made no other statement than black people are allowed to have their own scholarships and organizations but white people are not. When you had the facts that tore your little delusion to shreds, you then start on this “if” not “why” crap.
> There is no why. The entire basis for your statement has been shown to be utterly false. Either make a new statement or shut it. \*\*
Look at my OP I never changed my position, it was always why,
Why and If are very different questions and the scope of my post was narrow and defined.
However if you continue to look at the posts I went on to say:
“That said, it is a question that will not really be answered so I going to bail.”
So it looks like we agree on that.
So I will bail on further posts on the OP, but if someone calls me out I will respond as I do not want to be accused of a “Drive By”
Smile, Lighten up, this is supposed to be fun is it not?
🙂
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/18 "2003-01-11T16:58:12Z")
I have found that when numerous people “misread” someone’s question, the fault usually lies with the person asking the question.
Since you’re too lazy to do a search for past discussions, I’ve done it for you so that you can shut up (at least for a few minutes):
[can a group of white people get together without being labelled racist?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=142854&highlight=black+beauty+pageants)
[Would a TV channel called “White Entertainment Television” be offensive?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=107255&highlight=black+beauty+pageants)
[Miss Jewish America](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108186&highlight=black+beauty+pageants)
[racism and reverse-racism (long)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130797&highlight=UNCF+scholarships)
[Does using the word ‘nigger’ automatically make me racist?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=125284&highlight=nigga)
[Wigger?! WTF!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114609&highlight=nigga)
[Use of the n-word? other slurs?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121702&highlight=nigga)
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/19 "2003-01-11T17:15:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Why is it socialy acceptable for a black person to use a derogatory slur(nigga) to his fellow men. but a white person cannot use the same term with the same deffenition without it seeming bad?
For the same reason that, when I was in high school, the guys whose names ended -sky and -cki were allowed to use _Polack_ while the rest of us (with Irish, German, French, or English names) were liable to get slammed into a locker or flipped over a desk for the same usage. A couple of generations earlier, the same would have been true about calling my uncle a _Mick_. (And for the same reason that lots of folks in the U.S.–particularly in the Northeast–refer to themselves as Yankee with no feeling of shame, despite the fact that it was invented as a dismissive epithet.)
Hurtful names and words are often taken by the those at whom they are aimed and used familiarly _within the group_ as a means of drawing the poison out of them. And, as my examples show, there may come a point when sufficient time has elapsed that the original insult is meaningless–a point that has certainly not occurred regarding the word nigger _in the U.S._ (Outside the U.S., where the word developed in different ways in different societies, it does not always carry the same sting that it does, here.)
In addition, there are a lot of black people who hold that the use of nigger or nigga among black youth is a fairly stupid thng to do, but I will let that group work out their own rules without trying to dictate what is “proper” to them.
> [@](#):
>
> Why is it socially acceptable to have a United Negro Collage fund or a Miss Black teen America?
>
> I am not racist, but what if I wanted to start a United White Collage fund, I think I might be shot.
I doubt that you would be shot. However, your motives would certainly be suspect for any number of reasons and you would probably find it difficult to obtain funding.
Regarding your first question: Both of those groups are designed to fund scholarships for people who are less likely to be able to find money for education. Many ethnic groups have similar associations. (In fact, whites often point to the efforts of those ethnic support groups, that allowed the other groups to escape the original ethnic ghettoes, as examples of what blacks should be doing–and now we are going to criticize blacks for doing that? OK)
Beyond that, the beauty pageants were founded at a time when blacks were not allowed to compete. Once blacks were admitted to the larger “American” contests, the organizers and sponsors saw no reason to put themselves out of jobs by disbanding–particularly when they were providing a valuable service by channeling funds to kids for scholarships. The same impetus has given rise to a number of Hispanic and Asian beauty contests. There used to be more Irish and Polish and Hungarian beauty contests, but they tended to break up as their core constituency dispersed throughout the general population.
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### Author:  [@iwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwire)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-n-word-thread/147941/20 "2003-01-11T17:20:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by monstro \*
> \*\*I have found that when numerous people “misread” someone’s question, the fault usually lies with the person asking the question. \*\*
Well I admit I am not a great writer, but what amazes
me, is how many people read things into what I say that I did not write or think, you or biggirl have no idea what is in my head, and you certainly do not know what kind of person I am.
🙂
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