so, honestly when i see someone freak out over the usage of the term nigga with an ending of “a” keep in mind, not “er” i inwardly roll my eyes. i understand the offensiveness the term nigger was once used, but i also understand that we have been equal since 1964. that means that for 52 years we have been legally equal. im not talking about the whole social debate of “is racism still prevalent today and are we treated unequal”, im talking about from a legal point of view. i think the term nigga has pretty much become inescapable. its in an extreme percentage of rap songs and honestly what are we going to do? most rap songs i assume have the term in it and its unrealistic to try to avoid the rap genre eventually we or our friends or even our children are going to listen to rap. so the people who get offended today HAVE NOT BEEN SLAVES OR UNEQUAL LEGALLY EVER. its not them its their ancestors. no im not talking about anyone over 50 but i am saying that eventually we have to just let it go. if you were not born before 1964 then you are choosing to become offended by that word. it has no bearing on you personally because youve beenequal all your life. keep in mind this is not a discussion as to whether we experience stereotype and life experiences differ. we are discussing is it racist to kinda feel like people who didnt personally experience slavery and segregation need to calm down and get over it slightly?
Why do you care? Do you want to use the word? You have that right. And others have the right to tell you how they feel if they don’t like it. I choose not to use it because I see no reason to. I am no less free for having made that choice.
As to racism in general, it still exists. We can argue about how significant it still is – I still think, all things being equal, it’s generally harder to succeed if one is black. Things have improved, but things are far from perfect.
I wonder if blacks really are all that offended by it or it’s mostly non-black SJWs that are offended.
i just googled sjw meaning and i am now enlightened. i literally think that is where all my anger is towards and its those people and it has nothing to do with race at all. omg im not racist i dont treat anyone differently because of color or race i treat people differently depending on whether or not they are an asshole. i only get so frustrated when i feel like people are choosing to feel offended to whine about something. thank you for showing where my injust feelings should be directed.
You funny.
I was born in 1977, right when hip hop came into being. Though I’m not its biggest fan, hip hop music was an integral part of my childhood/adolescence. Hip hop will always have a special place in my heart just because of that.
Yet somehow, I have managed go almost 40 years never using the word “nigga” outside of conversations like this one.
The word is 100% escapable as long as you have a vocabulary above a 2nd grade reading level.
Perhaps when the word “nigger” falls out of usage and my people are no longer at the socioeconomic totem pole bottom, that’s when “nigga” will stop grating my nerves. You don’t get to tell me what shouldn’t offend me. I will stand up for your right to say “nigga”, but you cannot force me to respect you for it.
My dad’s people say “nigga” all the time. They live in small town Indiana. For them, “nigga” is akin to the British “bloke”. So it’s harmless, and we–my immediate family–recognize this when we are around them.
The problem is that it is so engrained in their speech that they don’t always code-switch. You can get away with dropping “nigga” in every sentence in a small provincial town where all the black folks are kin to you. But saying “nigga” around a bunch of buppies in D.C or Atlanta will earn you some severe looks. Everyone I know who is about something? You will rarely hear them say “nigga” outside of singing along with a rap song.
I’m sure a psychologist would have a field day speculating as to way this may be.
So why again do you care about this word? Do you want to use it, and if so, why and how do you intend to use it?
When I played pick up games of basketball and football every fifth word was either of those words. That’s why I don’t find it particularly offensive or outrageous. I’ve had it used my way in a friendly manner. Much of the music and comedies I listened to in the late 80s early 90s used the term. So I don’t it find intrinsically bad or racist. It’s just so familiar to be akin to “dude” or something.
That said, I personally don’t really use racial slurs myself.
Ah yes. The legal view is all that matters, isn’t it. So why are you whining about the social consequences of using words?
You can’t have your cake and eat it too, dude.
Extraordinary it is over the years to see the repeated obsession of the white americans, often newly joined the board, who are so troubled by their suffering from social disadvantage in not being able to use freely the very racially charged langauge, but of course they are entirely sans prejudices…
extraordinary the attraction of these words to them.
I think it’s worth noting, I don’t have to be black to be legitimately offended by racist words. Even if some random black guy says “It’s cool. You can use that word.” That doesn’t mean I should just suck it up and not be offended by it.
It’s a nominatively free country, still, you can offended by whatever you wish.
Nigga please.
I think it’s two of the three available options.
How does the OP feel about words like faggot, dyke, gook, raghead, polack, jap, jewboy and the like. After all, it’s not illegal to be any of those things, and all of those words were around a long time before “nigga” came into use, so they should be even more acceptable in regular society, right?
Americans’ fascination with freedom of thought and speech continually perplexes you. Maybe you should take a field trip.
People take words too seriously if they feel the need to respond violently to a word. I’ve been called many things but I just laugh because I don’t care what they think. I’m just another mofo sucking in air and taking up space.
The problem is that under less than ideal listening conditions it’s really easy to mistake that “a” ending for an “er” ending. This can lead to some unpleasantness, which I personally prefer to avoid.
I won’t answer for the OP but I’ll answer for me.
I never hear the words gook, raghead, or jewboy used in a friendly or neutral manner.
Faggot sometimes I see used in a friendly manner, dyke not so commonly.
Jap? As a WWII buff when I’m in a WWII frame of mind the word is in my mind a lot. I can see how it’s currently offensive.
Polack? I hear that word only from Polish folks but I do think Polack jokes have fallen out of favor.
A few others.
Cunt? Not so friendly in America. I hear it’s different in Australia.
Bitch? That seemed to be an ugly word for quite a while but seems to be repurposed by women to some degree.
The difference really is the frequency of nigga/er (and I don’t really distinguish between the two) in popular culture such as music, comedies, and sports. In some environments it might be every 30th word. At that point it seems language has drifted somewhat. It’s still racially charged of course but I think taking offense at it just to take offense without considering context is intellectually dishonest. Language evolves. I don’t see the big deal.
That is very odd, again there is this confusion about the subject of the government censorship and banning…
Since there is no legal censorship in question at all, how do these things arise in your mind as subjects here?
If you think that government censorship is the only way speech and thought can become forbidden, I’m not sure it’s worth it to explain the rest.