# Usage of "nigger" among afroamericans **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494 "2015-12-15T03:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/21 "2015-12-15T14:54:31Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > But in an increasingly mixed-ethnicity population, who gets to be “they?” > > Will Human Resources have a brown paper bag handy, and anyone lighter who says it gets written up? > > Will Black people\* eventually stop using it? Because a lot of us can’t help thinking their need to “reclaim it” is a milder form of a mental disorder [ham-fistedly dramatized in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpuJaTA7Txk). An understandable reaction to centuries of trauma, but a neurotic and ultimately self-defeating one nonetheless. > > \*most of the Black people I know never use it, and are strongly against using it except in “nuclear option” situations. And for that most of the white people I know _aren’t_ going “aw, no fair! I wanna use it too!” So if I choose to say nigga, I now have a mental disorder? And who is that “us” you’re referring to? Non-black people? Because I truly do not give a fuck if they think black people saying nigga are crazy, and I don’t even say the word. If we’re crazy for “reclaiming” the word, I wonder what that makes all the little white (or Latin@, or Asian, etc.) chilluns who use it more than I ever have. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/22 "2015-12-15T15:21:53Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Look, it’s pretty common for ethnic groups to jokingly call themselves by an offensive name. I’ve heard people of Polish descent calling each other “polacks” and people of Italian descent calling each other “dago.” If anyone _outside_ of the group uses it, then there’s trouble. This is no different. IMO, if you use a term yourself you can’t expect others to refrain from using it. Or rather, if you’re in a place where you’re supposed to keep from using offensive language, such as at school or at a business, you don’t get to use such terms even if you’re part of the group. Also, how much heritage would be required before you get to use the word as a member of the group? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/23 "2015-12-15T15:23:28Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > … they pronouce “Mary”, “marry”, and “merry” all the same! Those _are_ all pronounced the same. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/24 "2015-12-15T15:37:14Z")
> [@piepiepie](#): > > So if I choose to say nigga, I now have a mental disorder? And who is that “us” you’re referring to? Non-black people? Because I truly do not give a fuck if they think black people saying nigga are crazy, and I don’t even say the word. If we’re crazy for “reclaiming” the word, I wonder what that makes all the little white (or Latin@, or Asian, etc.) chilluns who use it more than I ever have. NM ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/25 "2015-12-15T15:41:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Those _are_ all pronounced the same. I bet you also think “pen” and “pin” are pronounced the same. LAZY! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/26 "2015-12-15T15:43:22Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I bet you also think “pen” and “pin” are pronounced the same. No, that would be silly. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/27 "2015-12-15T15:44:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Those _are_ all pronounced the same. No they aren’t. I don’t even really get this argument. So black people can say nigger/nigga and white people can’t. So what? Why do you _want_ to? Unless you are using it in a quote (from a book/play/song, etc) or in some sense where you are talking about the word _itself_, which case obviously that is not a problem, why would you even have a reason or a desire to use it? ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/28 "2015-12-15T15:55:51Z")
Right, so the color of your skin determines which words you get or don’t get to use. I thought we all wanted a society where a person’s skin color (or ethnicity or whatever other thing they’re born with) doesn’t determine what they get and don’t get to do. Obviously the word itself isn’t important, but the principle is. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/29 "2015-12-15T15:57:26Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > No they aren’t. They are, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/30 "2015-12-15T16:05:23Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > Right, so the color of your skin determines which words you get or don’t get to use. I thought we all wanted a society where a person’s skin color (or ethnicity or whatever other thing they’re born with) doesn’t determine what they get and don’t get to do. Yes, that would be great. And if we ever get halfway close to having a society where being black or hispanic or [insert ethnicity here] isn’t in reality a significant disadvantage, in many ways, over being white, THEN might be a good time to argue about who can say what. In the meantime, it’s a pretty pathetic “right” to assert. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/31 "2015-12-15T16:20:09Z")
> [@piepiepie](#): > > So if I choose to say nigga, I now have a mental disorder? And who is that “us” you’re referring to? Non-black people? Because I truly do not give a fuck if they think black people saying nigga are crazy, and I don’t even say the word. If we’re crazy for “reclaiming” the word, I wonder what that makes all the little white (or Latin@, or Asian, etc.) chilluns who use it more than I ever have. (sorry: trying this again). Don’t dumb-down a post so you can exult on how you “don’t give a fuck.” I didn’t say “crazy.” I did say it is a mechanism in response to cultural trauma. It is a way of saying “this most hurtful thing cannot hurt me,” a verbal form of pointing proudly to a scar. Upon reflection, the term “reclaiming” is wrong: only the originator an reclaim something, and white people originated that word. The correct term is “usurp.” I do believe, admittedly with no concrete proof, that the Black people I know who do not use that word refrain from doing so, in the presence of white people they like and respect, because its use in that context implies “I am using this word to rub your nose in what a racist you are.” The Black people I know do not believe all white people are racist, although they believe that white people are susceptible to racist temptation, as is everyone. Racism is a moral failing, and all human are tempted in their weakness. Of that I do have concert proof because we talk about that kind of stuff. I don’t believe that Black people use it out of “ha-ha, we can use it, and you can’t.” The kinship the Irish, Italians, Jews and Poles feel for the people of their own particular ethnicity has only peripherally to do with the people who traditionally gave them shit, and part of that kinship is based on how tough they were, not how smart. However, this is not a case of “why are we even having this argument?, why would a white person want to use it?” The vast majority of white people \*don’t \*want to use it. Proof: What would happen if you used it among an entirely white group. Would you soon wear them down and have them using it too, or would they ostracize you? And finally, I believe that when “us” white people have fully earned the confidence of Black people that no, we don’t want to use it, they will eventually drop it as not worth usurping. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/32 "2015-12-15T16:23:01Z")
The pathetic “right” assertion would be the “right” to call your buddies “nigger” but be offended when someone else then also does it. Of course if people do this to exclude non group members: congratulations, job well done. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/33 "2015-12-15T16:25:26Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The Black people I know do not believe all white people are racist Why are some colors worthy of a capital but others aren’t? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/34 "2015-12-15T16:26:35Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > Why are some colors worthy of a capital but others aren’t? Black caps matter. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/35 "2015-12-15T16:27:32Z")
??? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/36 "2015-12-15T16:46:39Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > Why are some colors worthy of a capital but others aren’t? > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Black caps matter. > [@iljitsch](#): > > ??? It’s a play on words, referencing something that’s been often mentioned in the news for the last couple years – [Black Lives Matter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter) – with “caps” meaning capital letters. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/37 "2015-12-15T16:57:36Z")
Among my friends, I have never heard the word nigga come out of the ones with a higher education. I have one friend who grew up inner city poor, he uses nigga all the time. He has even called me, middle aged white woman, a nigga. Then got mad at me for not realizing he was talking to me. (He is also the friend who will go off on white people once in a while, how we are all white devils and hold the black man down, and on and on until he realizes who he is talking to and we both laugh and change the subject - because I know for all his ranting he really doesn’t hate white people, he just needs to bitch). The friends in the middle of those two ends, they use it depending on who they are talking to. They would never use it in front of their aunts or in any kind of setting where you watch your language. I’m not comfortable saying it, so I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/38 "2015-12-15T17:00:39Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > Why are some colors worthy of a capital but others aren’t? No it has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement The **New York Times Manual of Style and Usage** matters, because I had to adhere to it back in military journalism school where failure meant four years of serving as a deck hand. So along with the n-word, I also don’t use the brand name “Styrofoam” for polystyrene. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/39 "2015-12-15T17:27:03Z")
First of all, I have no interesting in calling anyone “nigger” or “nigga” or any variation of those words. Having said that… If some sub-group wants to claim a word that they, and only they, can use, then let them make sure they use in only when no one who isn’t part of that sub-group is around. Otherwise, it’s a real nice way of making sure the non-sub-group folks are marginalized out of the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494/40 "2015-12-15T17:40:49Z")
John Mace, I think you are taking this ‘slight’ much to seriously (or perhaps not seriously enough). IMHO, when Black Americans use it among each other, the word can assume a variety of definitions, depending on tone, inflection, and the surrounding words. When a White American uses it, it is typically to a Black person, and unless said person is a close and dear friend, it usually has just one meaning for both speaker and listener. So who speaks the words and how they are used in the conversation matter. From an old white guy who has never (in his adult life) used the “n-word”. IMHO as always. YMMV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usage-of-nigger-among-afroamericans/740494.md?page=3)