# President Obama uses the N word.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 22, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143 "2015-06-22T12:21:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143/61 "2015-06-23T18:36:12Z")

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> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> I’m not sure if this is clear, unless you know of such an example (of a “mention” rather than a “use”). Did Bill Clinton have to apologize after talking about that “hateful word, nigger”?

Pre-internet. But more importantly: Pre-facebook. Pre-twitter.

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**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143/62 "2015-06-23T18:49:39Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Pre-internet. But more importantly: Pre-facebook. Pre-twitter.

Can you find any record of any politician–white or black–who has mentioned “nigger” and been forced to apologize for it? Post-internet, of course.

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143/63 "2015-06-23T19:04:19Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Pre-internet. But more importantly: Pre-facebook. Pre-twitter.

So can you find an example?

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143/64 "2015-06-23T22:18:14Z")

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I actually know one guy who I respect who, while he didn’t say “N-word,” refused to actually say the word: SF Debris. He argued that, while he knows about the use-mention distinction, he knows that stuff he says is constantly misquoted out of context and used against him. So he chose not to say the word–though he did leave in the clip where Avery Brooks says it in the DS9 episode he was [reviewing](http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/d543.php). (He then defuses it with humorous clips.)

He even mentioned the Louis CK quote, “awarding” anyone who brought that up in the comments with the Annoying Character of the week label.

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-uses-the-n-word/723143/65 "2015-06-23T23:59:03Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Why do all the news outlets call it “the N word” instead of quoting it directly?

WSJ quoted the entire sentence.  
[http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-mentions-racial-slur-in-describing-fight-against-racism-1435016996](http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-mentions-racial-slur-in-describing-fight-against-racism-1435016996)

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