NationStates Jolt Archive

I found this statement in a thread that has since been closed:

"I can only hope one thing, son, and that's that you're black. If you're white and used that word, then I hope someone rapes you with a chainsaw."

The word to which this gentleman is referring is the 'N' word. Now please, don't get mad at me for bringing this up! I'm not a racist and I'm not trying to start trouble! I'm just curious as to why it's OK for anyone, regardless of ethnicity, to use that word!
In my personal opinion, it should either be accepted by everyone as just another word, thus enabling it to be used by anyone without causing harm to or offending anyone or, it should be stricken from the english language permanently! What are you're thoughts and/or opinions on this matter?

Yes, there is a racial double standard when it comes to using the word: for whites it demeans blacks but for blacks it signifies brotherhood. Though if you ask me it's a self-demeaning word, so either nobody should use it or its use should be not be restricted to one group.

Yes, there is a racial double standard when it comes to using the word: for whites it demeans blacks but for blacks it signifies brotherhood. Though if you ask me it's a self-demeaning word, so either nobody should use it or its use should be not be restricted to one group.

Word.

When was ****** ever in the english language?

Oh, and trying to get rid of any word will only make it more popular, eg kids swearing. The only thing to do is let it die out. Which could take a while considering rappers never shut up about 'their niggaz'. Damned rappers.

Word.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y239/NuGo1988/word.jpg

****** isn't a bad word in and of itself. People make it bad, other than that it's empty.

I dont know why, but I feel Nigga isnt bad, but that other one is just... burst into flames worthy.

I dont know, this isnt my place to say what should be done with the word..

Personally, I'm of the mind that we should err on the side of over-inclusiveness of words. And I hate political correctness, trying to find a word that is ultimately inoffensive to everyone.
If people get offended by something as simple as words, they have bigger problems than the words being used, which aren't going to be fixed by sugar-coating everything.

When was ****** ever in the english language?

Oh, and trying to get rid of any word will only make it more popular, eg kids swearing. The only thing to do is let it die out. Which could take a while considering rappers never shut up about 'their niggaz'. Damned rappers.

A word that is USED by English speakers becomes part of the language... even if it is slang. English is a living language, which means it does evolve and grow. Some dictionaries even list "ain't".

I think education is the key. Some words we do not use because they are offensive. We are not going to be able to stamp them out, but we continue to explain to kids why the words (and more importantly the concepts behind them) are offensive to help the kids understand why it is so. If we do it well, the kids will not feel the need to use this offensive language.

A word that is USED by English speakers becomes part of the language... even if it is slang. English is a living language, which means it does evolve and grow. Some dictionaries even list "ain't".

I think education is the key. Some words we do not use because they are offensive. We are not going to be able to stamp them out, but we continue to explain to kids why the words (and more importantly the concepts behind them) are offensive to help the kids understand why it is so. If we do it well, the kids will not feel the need to use this offensive language.

Why shouldn't dictionaries list ain't? It's a helluva lot older word than some of the slang in dictionaries nowadays! Yeesh.

But honestly, I think it's stupid to find a word offensive when said by one person but not another. Either the word offends you or it doesn't, make up your mind. Unless of course, the reason you find it offensive is because the person is butchering the pronunciation or something, but that's a different matter entirely.

Why shouldn't dictionaries list ain't? It's a helluva lot older word than some of the slang in dictionaries nowadays! Yeesh.

But honestly, I think it's stupid to find a word offensive when said by one person but not another. Either the word offends you or it doesn't, make up your mind. Unless of course, the reason you find it offensive is because the person is butchering the pronunciation or something, but that's a different matter entirely.
Well, it's more a matter of context when an acquaintence says it, y'know? If some random kid called me a Mick, or my boyfriend a Spic (he's half-Cuban), we'd probably be pissed.....but when we call each other that, or when I call my best friend a Wop, it's more of a term of teasing endearment.

However, in the case of "******".....as it's a word I don't ever really come across in everyday speech, either from myself or anybody around me, I don't have much of an opinion on it. I guess it's in the same sort of circumstance as those I listed.

"I can only hope one thing, son, and that's that you're black. If you're white and used that word, then I hope someone rapes you with a chainsaw."


That's a quote from me and I stand by it.

White people cannot use that word because they abused the privilege.

****** isn't a bad word in and of itself. People make it bad, other than that it's empty.

No words are bad "in and of" themselves. No words are anything "in and of" themselves; their meanings are added by humans. Otherwise they are just sounds.

Check this (http://www.whas11.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=49293&catId=49) out. Can ya lend a nigga a pencil?

There's your double standard rearing its ugly head.

****** isn't a bad word in and of itself. People make it bad, other than that it's empty.
In and of itself, a word is what happens when your vocal cords and mouth form in a certain way while you exhale. Alternately, it is the product of some squiggly lines getting slammed against each other by drunken and sexually-frustrated men abusing their typewriters. (I suppose I might be projecting a bit there, based on my extended weekend, but I will deny any evidence that I might be wrong).

More on topic, no one has the right to not be offended, so people should use whatever word fits the situation and is most likely to be understood ("Fuck", for instance, seems to be a nearly universally enjoyed word).

That's a quote from me and I stand by it.
White people cannot use that word because they abused the privilege.
OK, this brings me to my first point! I don't see where the use of any one word, regardless of the race, gender, etc... of the person using it is a privilege! The fact that I have the ability to communicate and am not a mute; that's a privilege!
Secondly, if it is a privilege that caucasians abuse and that's why black people find it offensive, shouldn't white people raise hell when the word "cracker" is used by a black person? Shouldn't females want "bitch" and "ho" removed from the english language? Hip-hop artists & gangsta rappers use that terminology constantly, which, according to my understanding of the statement quoted, is abusing the privilege!

Here is an interesting quote I saw just today - it's from a black man talking about the duality of the word, and why blacks feel it is okay to use it with each other, but not for whites to use it.

"****** used to be a fairly regular part of my vocabulary but now I hardly ever say it because you never know who around you is really really offended by it. but I don't think white people that would laugh at such a thing have much reason to considering they (racist white people) put this word upon our ancestors to hurt us and demean us as a people and we gave it a completely different meaning. our people simply took their big bad word as they took away OUR native language and culture and turned it into something else to suit our purposes. it IS, to a LOT of black folk, a term of endearment. "

this quote gave me some clarification and answered the question, for me, of " Why can black people say it to each other, but they get offended if anyone else uses the term ? "

and for the record, I fnd the word offensive in any context.