I myself haven’t used the word since gradeschool, when my classmates and I discovered Niger on a globe. We thought it was a huge joke…but our teacher made it extremely clear that certain words were just not appropriate. That was all it took for me.
I’m offended by the word, no matter who says it–be they a celebrity or some gangstas talking way too loudly on public transpotation.
If you were a professor, I bet you wouldn’t think the word “tenure” is malleable. You write for a living, so I bet any contracts you might sign, hopefully aren’t very malleable when it comes to how many “dollars” you get paid.
Well, among my LBG (I don’t know any T folks) peeps I hear “fag” and “dyke” used this way. “Homo” as well.
Just looking at the ads at the bottom… what the hell is a “Prejudice Ringtone?”
[Jessica Simpson] I totally don’t know what that is, but I want it. [/Jessica Simpson]
Why don’t you try that out, in an appropriate neighborhood, and get back to us, (in the interest of fighting ignorance, of course) Be sure to explain, while you are getting your head bashed in, that you are using the word in the “modern usage”, and that no offense is intended nor implied.
:rolleyes: I don’t know why you’re insisting on this false dichotomy when the basic truth is obvious. “Nigger” is a perfect example of how words can mean different things from different people. From some, it’s a horrible insult, from others it’s a term of camaraderie, if not endearment.
Well, I’m white myself (although you seem to be assuming that, how would you know?), but I just meant that I admire the current usage from an onlooker’s point-of-view.
Incorrect. I’m not insisting on a false dichotomy, but pointing out that in any rational world, words have meaning, or, and this is the salient point - you can’t legitimately re-define or un-define words to suit your own definition.
You’re arguing that context is everything with regard to this. Jackson disagrees, apparently. Do you think he’s wrong?
Sure you can. An indivdual probably can’t, but a group of people can. Words only mean what we agree that they mean.
Example - In the United States, a “fag” is generally a slur used to describe a homosexual. In England, it’s a cigarette.
I’m not changing any definitions to suit myself, I’m stating the obvious. Nigger (sometimes “nigga” for clarity) has been used the way we’re discussing for decades. This isn’t exactly coming out of the blue. And yes, the meanings of words do change over time. Again, that’s undeniable. Language evolves. I could dig up examples if you want, but I don’t think this is even an arguable point.
The way I see it, Jackson is arguing is that even when the term is used in a manner that is not intended to insult, it’s still degradging to black people. I don’t have an opinion on that; I think it’s outside of my experience.
Perfect example. And before “faggot” meant homosexual, it meant a bundle of twigs. The meaning of the word has changed.
I don’t use it. I wouldn’t use it if the president started using it. I wish other people wouldn’t use it. Yes, the meanings of words change, but to choose a word that is so negatively charged when other, less hurtful, words are at your disposal just mystifies me.
The idea may have been to “take it back” or take the sting out of it, but it didn’t work out that way. It hurts my ears, and as **Monstro ** (?) said in another thread, the term is by no means accepted by all blacks, even when used strictly among blacks.
“Dude”, “Buddy”, “Man”, “Friend”, “Brother”… they all mean “person on equal footing with me.” For me, “Niggah” will always mean something less.
That isn’t a very common trait, you understand. Anyway, I think Jackson understands that certain words are intrinsically offensive, particularly in this case and is likely to remain so, regardless of context. In that sense, the use perpetuates a stereotype, even.
I don’t think it should be banned, but if society curtails it’s use, I think it is to society’s bennifit.
My problem is, and always has been, this:
If I write “I was talking to my nigger…” on-line, or in-print, for that matter, and it angers you if I’m white but it’s cool if I’m black, how are you going to read it without knowing which I am? Are you going to get half-irate and half-amused until I clear that up for you?
Are there black people who are simply too white and privileged (Nicole Richie?) to be using it, ever? If Ms. Richie has a kid with a member of the Bush family, may that kid use it, or he get a bitch-slap from the black community? At what point does it go from being ok to being a gross offense? Do you want to be seeing people’s racial pedigrees to make this call?
John Ridley addressed this issue last week in a column in Time magazine. The word simply doesn’t exist for me because it’s an ugly, mean, nasty word. I hate that black entertainers use it in any context; I hate that black teen-agers use it because they hear entertainers use it. And I disagree with John Ridley – I’m not good with the “N” word, and I don’t think he should be, either.
I don’t believe that blacks can de-mystify the word or diminish its racism, hatred and humiliation by using it on each other. I think that when people become “good” with the word, they do what Michael Richards did, and that drives yet another wedge between people of different colors. The Chevy Chase-Richard Pryor sketch on Saturday Night Live (which Ridley references in his column) was good for its time, and there may be occasions when the word can be used in fuction (movies, books, TV, etc.) as illustrative of the destructive force some words have.
Finally, for those who say, “Well, it’s just a word,” I answer that I was a journalist for 20 years and I’m earning my master’s degree in English so I can teach college students. It has been my life’s work to give words force and power. Words can hurt; words can denigrate; words are the outward expression of the inner mind. Words can be used to express a mind that is creative and progressive and able to make all of our lives better; they also can be used to oppress, to elide, and to make lives miserable. A free society ought to never ban any word, because we never know when even hateful, ugly words can be used for good; but our society should bever be “good with the ‘N’ word.”
:smack: Dang it! That’s supposed to be “fiction”, not “fuction”! Where’s a good city editor when you need one!?
Can a moderator please fix this for me?
Like any word, there is no “black community” consensus on the word.
I seem to be waging a one-person campaign on this board to make folks understand that just because a person is Black, it does not mean that he or she will be free from criticism from other Black people if he or she uses the word “nigger.” I have friends who aren’t bothered in the least if anyone uses it, those who think it should be only among other Black people, and those who think it should never be uttered.
I say if you want to say it, it’s your responsibility to figure out how it will go over with whomever you’re communicating with. If you don’t have a problem with people fixating on the word and not the message, that’s your choice. Unless, of course, your message is the word, and nothing more.
Are some of these friends black?
I’m old enough to have been at Berkeley for the free speech movement.
I don’t like the concept of “bad words”. From that you get blasphemy laws and other forms of censorship.
George Carlin got it right.
Recall “The Seven Dirty Words”?
Yep. I should have made this clearer: I’m Black, and the friends I’m referring to in this instance are Black.
For some reason this topic doesn’t come up among my White friends. 
Even though I don’t have the experience necessary to weigh in on the precise meaning of this particular word, or to agree or disagree with its banishment from our (collective) vocabulary, there are a couple of points I’d like to make:
It is certainly not uncommon for a derogatory word to be co-opted as a label of pride by the group it is intended to offend. See: Hippy, Punk, Redneck, etc…
Could we stop blaming the celebrities? Kids learn their vocabulary from their older, cooler peers. Celebrities use that same “street” vocabulary because the best entertainment is supposed to resonate within your audience, not alienate them with a foreign-sounding vocabulary. It may be a vicious cycle, yes; but the rappers and celebrities saying such words aren’t the cause, they’re an effect.