All sorts of relationships have in-words that outsiders can’t use without being offensive. If my boyfriend calls me “baby,” that’s not just okay, it’s nice. But if a strange man calls me baby? Unacceptable and offensive and creepy. I can call my brother a jerk, but not my boss or my doctor. Adults know these things. It’s just in the matter of race when it all become so wide-eyed and disingenuous.
Actually the outsiders are free to use the words. What so many whites want to do is to use the words without others having negative reactions to it. They are just out of luck. You can’t control someone else’s feelings that way. I won’t say that it’s always going to sound crude and racist outside of an academic discussion of the word itself (or literature), but it’s probably going to be a long, long time. I had rather that the word become archaic.
As long as there are racists around someone will find another word to use.
I don’t think there is any derogatory word that can be invented for black people in 2010 that can even compare. People keep wanting to liken it to other racial slurs or suggest it’s just going the way of the euphemism treadmill, but no way in hell. Not that word. That word is different.
It’s only different for people who have heard it used while segregation was still in effect. There will always be a strong reaction to the word on the news while that generation is alive - and the word will be slightly more powerful than other racial slurs because of it. But when that generation fades away I see the word losing most of its power, and at that point it could be replaced by another euphemism with equal force.
I was born after the Civil Rights Act, but it feels different to me.
I’m not saying I agree with him but I think his point is that the people who were alive during the civil rights movement and are still alive have created and are creating an atmosphere in which it’s considered especially heinous.
Well, if they did, it’s not going to disappear just because they’re gone. Culture changes, but culture also endures.
I understand the concept of “owning” the word but I remember a time when black men called each other brotha instead of nigga and perhaps I am viewing the past with rose colored glasses btu I think the trajectory of the black community during the days of brothahood was much steeper than these days of niggahood.
I blame rap.
it’s one thing to simply say the word nigger and then a totally different thing to call / refer to someone as a nigger. context is always key. whether one says ‘nigger’ or they say ‘the n word’, to me, is irrelevant because the words are interchangeable… they are literally just two different piles of syllables and noises that we interpret to mean, ~and which certainly DO mean~ exactly the same thing. when someone says ‘the n word’, everybody hearing it immediately thinks about the word ‘nigger’… e v e r y time. you’re saying it without saying it but actually everyone still heard 
and like every other word ever, the intention behind the use of the freaking thing is the only real important factor to consider. freedom of speech wasn’t declared a FIRST amendment right to protect favored/preferred or likeable/agreeable speech… everyone has the right to say whatever the hell they want just as everyone else has the right to feel and/or react to the speech in question however the hell they want. it’s up to each of us to think about the consequences of our words and actions… duh 
you know what I’m too high to tell if any of that even makes a lick of sense lol
short answer is just treat each other better, damn it
Wait, “the n-word” isn’t nabob? Am I allowed to say “nabob”?
Only if you don’t yell it in a crowded theatre.
Yes, you are allowed to say it, BUT you need to sandwich it between “nattering” and “negativism”. Otherwise, well, you know…
I’ve noticed that there is a certain type of white person who relishes discussions like these because it gives them the opportunity to say the word frequently, or in the case of this message board, type it.
You noticed that nearly eight years ago, too. Points for consistency! (And for what it’s worth, I agree with you.)
Yup. I think you’re right.
Yeah, it’s threads like these that have me scratching my head when people say how liberal this board is.
Oh? Seems like a pretty straightforward issue of freedom of expression to me. I don’t doubt some people are dicks about it, of course.
Anyway, relevant musical commentary.
Way back when, my professor got formally reprimanded and wore a black armband to school the next day, after she told a black student the ancient Egyptians weren’t black and the student took offence and reported her.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that professors say “n-word”. Can’t take chances on offending people these days or your career could be destroyed.
“Reported”? “Reprimanded”? Was your “professor” teaching at a military academy?
Are you under the impression that professors “these days” would want to use offensive racial epithets if fear of career destruction weren’t holding them back?