I actually think it’s sad when people defame other people in their “group” simply out of the fear of being associated with them. “I’m not one of those bad niggers! Me calling them nigger is proof that I’m not like them, see?”
It’s dishonorable and cowardly and self-hating. Think about it.
I don’t get it… is it self-hating because they really are niggers?
Why would a black person derogatively call another black person nigger if they didn’t feel a certain unease with their race? Would someone who is comfortabIe with who they are and prides themselves on being able to judge people on their own merits (as they expect others to do) choose to call someone else a name like that?
“I’m not one of those bad niggers! Me calling them nigger is proof that I’m not like them, see?”
I’m black and when other black people act stupid and criminal, I don’t call them niggers. I call them criminal idiots. Calling them niggers brings color into it needlessly; it implies that being black has something to do with them being stupid and criminal. Which is a racist idea. Unless “nigger” is used as equal opportunity slur, then why use it only for bad black guys? It just doesn’t seem like a very enlightened thing to do.
I don’t know. Maybe they are both comfortable with their race and comfortable with the extremely negative connotation of the word. I am highly skeptical of the notion that Chris Rock (with his infamous comedy routine) is somehow ashamed of being black.
I’m not black, so you can see why I might not understand all the nuances of the word. There is unfortunately no counterpart for whites which would allow me to relate. The actual use of the word by people yields conflicting conclusions for me when I try to understand it. Among others, several question which seemingly cannot be answered conclusively are: is the word always offensive? Can the word be used by anyone anyway? I am reminded of a similar discussion about “gay” in the sense of “stupid” or “lame”. Most people I have ever known have honestly not considered it an equivocation against homosexuality, but of course that doesn’t mean it won’t be perceived this way; I have taken a course of action to remove it from my speech for this reason.
It is the company we keep that tells us what to say.
As a white person, I would translate it instead as, “That person is more or less worthless,” unless for some reason I felt the black person was trying to appeal to my whiteness (though since that’s never happened I am not sure I would even recognize it if it did—nor would I understand why they would for that matter). But in the circles I have been known to hang with, “nigger” has left racial boundries and become an equal-opportunity insult. :shrug: If I avoid using it in mixed company is not because of some hidden guilt I have, but the knowledge that others might not see the issue as I do.
by erislover
I’m familiar with the Rock routine and the reason why it is so funny to a lot of black people is because we can relate to the idea of one fool making the rest of us look bad. That’s why he gets laughs when he says there are two types of black people: the good black folks and the niggers. Now I’m not trying diagnose the man as self-hating, but anyone who takes this idea seriously and really does see black people split into two camps (good ones and the niggers) do have deeper issues, especially if they are always concerned about distinguishing themselves from the nigger camp.
“Nigger” is as evil as a word can get because it was effectively used to dehumanize (black folks were enslaved because they were just niggers, not people; it was okay to lynch blacks because they were niggers, not people, etc.). The logic espoused by Virgowitch and her friends, however, would have you believe that the real crime was that “nigger” was wrongly applied to good people instead of only to the bad ones. As if some people really do need to be categorized as niggers. Maybe not Colin Powell. But perhaps OJ Simpson. Maybe not Condeleeza. But perhaps David from the Real World Los Angeles.
Right.
{QUOTE]I’m not black, so you can see why I might not understand all the nuances of the word. There is unfortunately no counterpart for whites which would allow me to relate.
[/QUOTE]
I understand. “Honkey” and “cracker” really don’t carry the same amount of baggage as “nigger”.
No, it is not always offensive. Although “my nigga” causes me to wince, it is not exactly a crime against humanity to use it in that way. But if I was watching the six o’clock news with Virgowitch, for example, and she/he said “Look at that nigger on TV,” I’d be lying if I said everything would be peachy. Offensiveness depends on context as well as familiarity with the person who is using it. That’s why I don’t think black folks as a whole take well to non-blacks using that word because they are not 100% sure that the person who is using it is doing so in good faith.
I get the worthless part. I just don’t get why describing them as niggers would be justifiable or non-racially motivated if it is only used to describe black folks who are “worthless”. Are the white boys who (allegedly) raped that girl niggers? If so, okay. If not, why the hell not?
That’s not been my experience at all. It always has been a strictly black thing.
It’s true that their is no insulting word for whites that carries quite the same impact. I sometimes refer to “trailer trash,” or in the case of Eminem, “whiggers.” Eminem is another perfect example of the “vulgar caricature.” These two epithets seem to be used across all racial lines, even by those being described, about themselves. I’ve heard people say that they are “proud to be rednecks.” When questioned as to what aspect of being a redneck specifically made them proud of it, I got answers like patriotism, dignity, heritage, things anyone can claim. I’d really like to hear one quality, specific to rednecks, that they are proud of.