In your opinion, you'd be wrong. To use the word, ***** is all in HOW you use it. Just like *****, if you say it incorrectly and/or to the wrong person ...then you'll be in trouble. If you use it correctly and among friends, it's fine. If you use the N-word, there is 'almost' NO circumstance where that is okay. Evidence of the fact that the N-word and ***** are two different words.
When is the steroetype that all white people are racist (if not overtly, then deep down) gonna disappear? Its no more valid than the morons that assume a black guy is gonna do something bad without even knowing anything about him.
let's not forget that there is a lot of racism/classism within minority ethnic groups. so just looking the same doesn't matter. i think the way people act matters a lot more than how they look today. i'm sure you will disagree but let's say you have a black girl who acts "white" then she will get hit on by a lot more white guys than a black girl who acts like a hood rat. i dunno that was the first example that came to my head, but hopefully you get my point. so what he is saying RR sounds cute but it might as well be bs. let's also not forget that america is one of the most heterogenous societies in the history of the world and is also very very stable. granted life isn't perfect, but we generally adjust quickly to other minority groups. by quickly i mean if you look at the past 60 years there has been massive changes in society and how we view minority groups. That's basically a couple generations. I dunno...I think it's pretty fast considering how slow society changes.
I agree with you that anyone who holds that stereotype should work towards erasing it, and that it is likewise based in ignorance. It also has the chain reaction of causing resentment from other whites who then complain about excuse making and constant complaints. While it isn't helpful, healthy or accurate, it is somewhat less damaging because of who holds the power in society. There is little damage of that stereotype being the exclusive media representation, or whites not being able to get a job or promotion because of it, but it is an ignorant position for someone to hold.
Quiet frankly, African Americans need to stop using that word. It shows lack of self-respect. Changing the structure of the word that has been used in a derogatory manner, and imply something else is not cute or cool.
i agree. I have never once heard a white person get away with calling a black guy a *****. If a white guy says that, black people always take it as if they said n*****
African Americans don't NEED to do anything. Its been explained previously in this thread why African Americans use the word. Again, as with all language, most of the meaning is in context.
No - a racist can be very educated and not ignorant. Ignorance can help foster racism - but the two are not the same. Again, racism is asserting that one race is morally or biologically superior then another. If a person uses a word and does not know that it is offensive or it's historical connotation - that doesn't make them a racist no matter what. Stereotypes are all over the place. But they are not necessarily racist. It is only those stereotypes that *reflect a belief that one race is superior to another* that can be labeled a racist stereotype. Let's not forget that many stereotypes are cultural, and not racially based and there is truth in them. At the end of the day, it's all about intent and context. I just was out side my building talking to these guys who were black, and asked them if a white guy came up to them and say, "hey, *****, can ya spare a smoke for me?" and they were kinda of ghetto dressed that they wouldn't be offended, but in any other case they might be. So really, it's about context and comfort...and not necessarily about the word....but clearly words carry a lot of meaning and are open to misunderstanding. So in the end....the words you use might not make you a racist, just a very insensitive and unaware person....
Quite frankly non african americans need to stop worrying about what african americans say to OTHER african americans. This is so r****ded.
Amen.. this thread is just absurd. You guys are actually arguing for the right to use racist language. How about this... Just dont use those terms. Save yourselves the trouble of experimenting and the risk of getting a face planting when you call someone by the n-word or walk up to someone and call them a chinaman. Or better yet, be like George Allen and go to Europe and call a brown person, a "macaca." I promise you that you'll get your ass kicked doing that. If African Americans, use that term among one another then that's their prerogative and is frankly something that has been done in plenty of social groups besides African Americans. As for NewYorker, I suppose intent is important but guess what, when you use the n-word towards someone without malicious intent, there is no way that they could actually judge your intent. Many times intent is ambiguous and hard to determine. There's always a risk of miscommunication and a failure to understand what you mean because those words are loaded with terrible connotations. That's why we say its "ignorant" to use those terms because it functionally ignores that historical basis for these terms. You are being ignorant for using them because well most people don't know your intent and may mistake you for being a racist jerk. Its your choice whether you want to use those terms, but if someone beats the crap out of you for using racist language, plenty of people can say "I told you so."
I can't believe that you just said that blacks are the only people who have ever been opressed in the US in the same post that you mention Native Americans (and by an offensive term no less)!!!
Firstly, you don't need to concern yourself with the lack of self-respect of African Americans. Secondly, if you don't buy into the concept that the word ***** derives from the original word ******, then we can continue to play that game. I'll point out that the word ****** is derived from the name of a country in Africa. So you could say that African Americans are recapturing a word that represents a country from the motherland. In that instance, the word ***** doesn't represent lack of self-respect. Anyway you slice it, white people don't need to concern themselves with how African Americans view themselves. You only need to concern yourself with not offending them yourself.
firstly, you shouldn't be so closed minded. Secondly, the "n" word is not derived from the name of a country in the motherland as you claim. It is derived from the Spanish word "negro" which is in turn derived from the Latin word "niger" which means black. I don't believe that Niger was even called niger until the late 1800's (and possibly early 1900's). The Niger river did have its name so possibly you could make a case for this being the origin of the word. Third, I hope you understand that the intention of this discussion isn't to offend or for non-African Americans to be offered the opportunity to use racial slang that is currently in common use in the African American community. but keep up the "shut up whitie" posts. I kinda' like 'em. Cheers, Brock
That part made me laugh. I will be honest. We have a white guy in our fraternity and he uses the word sometimes (very rare). When he does no one trips (again, intent). To the poster who said no black person is directly affected by slavery....please wake up. I agree that we should not use the past a s a crutch, but do regognize how it still afects some of the present. Gosh, the country was still legally seperate only 40 years ago. Maybe things will truly be different when all of the folks from that generation and a few more after that one die off.
I was going to pick at the first two or three examples, but I read through your whole post and probably agreed with your overall sentiment. Equally important as intent is the OUTCOME. You have to know your audience and setting - white or black, are these the type of people who would use the n-word, is this the type of place where it would be tolerated? Imagine the person you're talking had grown up hearing the n-word, or other racial terms, uttered to him/her repeatedly by whites. Does he/she seem like the kind of person who would have enjoyed/accepted it? Do you want to be responsible for dredging up those types of memories?
