The N word (yea i went there)

[tricky spinz]

ok, i'm just gonna throw this in here. but one time, when i was fuckin in like, 8th grade maybe, or maybe a little younger, i was walking through the gym at my school and there were these 3 black dudes, probably 17 years old, playin ball. i didn't know a single one of em. and one of em turns and says to me "what's up my nigga?" and i gotta say, i didn't quite know how to respond. and so i took a second to think, and then said "not much man." or something like that. and one of em said something along the lines of "yea, you best watch what you say." or something else. either way, what he meant was clear. had i said something back and been like "not much my nigga" i would have gotten a beat down. so i mean, i just don't get why a black dude will call a white dude a "nigga." i mean, how are we supposed to respond. especially since it is a term of endearment. i mean, does it mean that we in turn are allowed to use it to say "friend?" from what i've seen it doesn't work that way. so i just don't get why black people call white people nigga's, but then we can't return their greeting in the same fashion.

 

[classic]

ok, i'm just gonna throw this in here. but one time, when i was fuckin in like, 8th grade maybe, or maybe a little younger, i was walking through the gym at my school and there were these 3 black dudes, probably 17 years old, playin ball. i didn't know a single one of em. and one of em turns and says to me "what's up my nigga?" and i gotta say, i didn't quite know how to respond. and so i took a second to think, and then said "not much man." or something like that. and one of em said something along the lines of "yea, you best watch what you say." or something else. either way, what he meant was clear. had i said something back and been like "not much my nigga" i would have gotten a beat down. so i mean, i just don't get why a black dude will call a white dude a "nigga." i mean, how are we supposed to respond. especially since it is a term of endearment. i mean, does it mean that we in turn are allowed to use it to say "friend?" from what i've seen it doesn't work that way. so i just don't get why black people call white people nigga's, but then we can't return their greeting in the same fashion.

Well assholes come in every colour, they were obsiously immature and looking for a fight. I feel that if a black dude addresses a white dude with nigga, then its fair game. I mean i dont agree with it, but people can do whatever they want

Remember these are just my views im expession in this thread
another african american my have something totally differnt to say

class...

 

[The Bastard]

Well like i said , thats between you and that dude, if he feels confertable with that, and you feel confertable with that then fine, your both grown ass men....

BUt like i said eariler, all bullshit aside, would u use that word in a room full of black people u dident know

Be honest

class........

would i ? no, but theres a lot of things i wouldnt say in front of people i didnt know.

 

[Complexxx]

i haven't had time to read all of this. cuz it is LONG. but i'll put in my two cents.


ok. the word nigga has really become a term of endearment among the black community. you can argue otherwise, but i mean, in my opinion, it's just a replacement word for "dude" or "homie" or "dawg." i mean, that's really how it came into common usage as far as i know.


now obviously it has it's racist origins. but for whatever reason, blacks decided to look past that and bring it back into common usage. now, i don't use it in any serious context. i don't go up to my friends and say "whatup nigga!" or anything. but i mean, these days, you can't even sing a fuckin hip hop or rap song WITHOUT using it, yknow? so i mean, i think that the music industry has also helped A LOT to bring it into common usage.

but i mean, i have had black people talk to me, and be like "what's up nigga" and it's kind of weird having them say that, and knowing that WERE i to utter some response like, "nothin, wassup with you my nigga?" they would probably kick my ass.

yknow? so i mean, it's kinda weird. i mean, i guess that the white people's equivalent to "nigga" would be "dude." but i mean, that's not offensive to anyone. i use that all the time.

i guess, i am just really curious why the word was brought into common usage and turned into the term of endearment it is today. i mean, it has such horrible connotations, but that didn't stop it from coming back.

Look man, you are completely correct about the whole term of endearment concept dogg.
BUT........you still can't apply that same concept to to any other situation outside the black community. As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine (a white cat) let that shit slip out once before because he got to complacent. I busted him in the chest for that shit. We still good friends now, but now he know that shit ain't cool.
I've also witnessed black dudes who got good friends LET them say "what's up nigga" to them. Any black man who condones that needs an ass wuppin' too. And believe me, the dude who I saw allowed that shit, got his.
And another thing, shouldn't no black dude walk up to his white friends, and be like "what up nigga!" They deserve an ass wuppin' as well. When they do that, it's like giving them the go ahead to say it right back. FUCK THAT!

 

[lilhatedon]

lol well i don't see how a african american or any black person for that matter is gonna be cool with it if some one from there country says it but not cool with it if a black personfrom another country says it is but i guess its the ways of the world now isurpose we all deal with it different ways

 

[Equality 7-2521]

I wish it were that easy man. I really do. I mean your right, honestly i cant stand the word eitherway,when african americans use it, or when non-blacks use it. RIght now my argument focused on people outside african american communitiy becasue its just a case of "copying" what they see, bascially they are consicously doing it.

THe reason why african americans use the world amoung them selvles is a much more complex and serious issue(which entire books have been writtien on). It deals with oppression , self hate, and adaptation. WIth that being said, the word was forced upon black people in the states, its not like we watched it on TV and were like
"ohh thats sounds cool let me start saying it to my friends"

Sadly The word nigga is so ingrained in african american culture that its hard NOT to use it in our communitity.
My Aunts and uncles will lovinly say' NIgga get over here"
Grown ups will talk about a crazy person "that nigga is crazy"
WHen i was coming up i was that "lil nigga" always getting in trouble

I mean u cant avoid it, but there is a big differnce between me growing up hearing the word naturally and ususing it and some dude outside the communitity using the word becasue he or she thinks its cool.

I think both are wrong, but i hope you can see that they are two completely differnt issues.

Again people who use it outside the african american community are just imatining what they dont understand.

classs.......

ingrained, true. but it shouldnt be hard to not say nigga. surely, anyone who read these books you speak of or anyone who truly understood the meaning of the word, would not use it out of context. i note that you said it is wrong but hey, its your own conscious decision whether to include a word in your vocab.

on to what you mentioned your ogirinal topic was: over here, people dont really say nigga to each other cos its cool....at least not in my circle. but im aware of it happening. like for example when dj craze called dj plus one (white cunt) a nigger as part of his announcement that plus one had won the world dmc championships. craze isnt that black and plus one is white as i said. so yeah it goes around through copying. whether cool or not is another question.

what im trying to say is that both sides (niggers and non niggers) BOTH use the word out of context which seems to indicate that either the word is not understood or the words meaning is dead and therefor can be used out of context even if the the true meaning of it is understood. im sure its a bit of both depending on the situation.

but you cant call out someone for using the word nigga cos they are not niggas when you yourself use the word and admit it is wrong. its hypocrital. to me, a clear double standard. and saying that you cant help it cos you grew up with it is no excuse in my books.

what do ya reckon?

 

[tricky spinz]

equality, i think you got a lot of good points in that.

 

[classic]

ingrained, true. but it shouldnt be hard to not say nigga. surely, anyone who read these books you speak of or anyone who truly understood the meaning of the word, would not use it out of context. i note that you said it is wrong but hey, its your own conscious decision whether to include a word in your vocab.

U have some very good points and like I sated in an earlier post I hate the use of the word in any context

I just want you(and other people) to see that people using the nigga within the African American community and people using the nigga outside the African American communitity are 2 completely separate issues.

Again like I stated before, when people use the word nigga ouside the afro-American community are just copying popular culture and have no context of the use and have no reason to do so…

When the word nigga is used within the African American it is a much deeper and more serious issue. The use of the word nigga deals with oppression, adaptation and self love/hate as well as many other issues that my communitity is struggling with
U can read all the books in the world and have a million black friends, but unless you are a black American you will not truly understand what im talking about

A male doctor and study the women’s reproductive system inside and out and have a great technical understanding of it(more then most women). But despite all that knowledge that male docter will never know what its like to give birth. No matter how many babies he delivers ( I hope he wouldn’t want to know either lol)
(I feel this way about a lot of issues that go on in the hip hop world but that’s a separate topic)

That analogy kinda sucks ,but hopefully you see what im getting at, I hate the use of the word in any context. It sucks on both ends. But they are separate issues. that’s why I get VERY pissed when people outside the african american community(espically black people around the world) use the word nigga. They perpetuating the cycle of self hate that was pressed on us. That shit sucks and there is no reason for it.

And no ,the meaing of nigga is FAR from dead, the meaing of that word is alive and well.
Thats a crazy ass statement to say the meaing of that word is dead......Ask that question to ANY black person who lives here.
Of course the meaning is going to be dead to someone who uses it without any context or dosent know what they are saying.

For god sakes, feel free to use anything else from african american culture(which is raped by the world anyway) but not that………....

my 2 cents
Classs…..

 

[Rhythmikal]

i see what your sayin class, u must of researched this shit at some point so ill take your word man. i heard there was a guy from Harvard who wrote a whole book on the word (may have been michael eric dyson... not sure) which is pretty amazing.

just to fuel this debate a bit, what about when guys call each other 'my negro'? this obviously isnt as offensive, but whats up with that?

sAfE.

 

[Cold Truth]

ok, here goes a piece of Cold's take on this....and also play a little bit of devils advocate. yeah ima be graphic but bear with me.

there is a double standard from some blacks in regards to racism..if i hear one more time how "it is impossible for a black person to be racist".... but i beg to differ and see examples of it quite often. i live in a house with blacks that i have known for half my life... the woman of the house refers to my freind, an Indain (india) as "one of those habibs" and doesnt see why that would be offensive...however, i asked her how she would take it if i reffered to her as "aunt jemima"....and she tells me..."thats different"....ok, whatever. her teenage black nephews reffer to me as "juan" and "pablo" and have "jokingly" called me a wetback and told me to "cut the grass juan" in front of some of their black friends. i asked them how they would feel if i "jokingly" reffered to them as "my house niggers" and told them to "shine my shoes, kunta" in front of people... they didnt take it too well, lets just say that.

i recently introduced my white girlfriend to my black friend- like a brother to me-... and the black friend began telling her how he knew she had a nice car, (she does have a good, reliable car) that mommy and daddy paid for (couldnt be further from the truth- she works her ass off and has paid for every car-and insurance- she has had except her first beat up car given to her by her aunt), he assumed that she must make real good money (she makes BARELY more then myself, and i have a GED while she has $22,000 in student loans.) and great credit (she has excellent credit, because she pays her bills on time)....in his words she has all those things "cause i know how this shit works, white people have that advantage"..... he thinks his credit is bad because he is black... now to a lot of black folks i know, and i say this based on their relaxed reactions to similar issues in the past, but to a lot of folks, they see no problem with the things he said and agree.... oh yeah, this actually before they met face to face... this conversation was on the phone...

NOW.... had my WHITE, BLOND HAIR, BLUE EYED, MIDDLE CLASS girlfriend said "hey, i bet you drive a beat-up primer cadillac, have no job and 5 kids with 4 mothers out of wedlock... and hey i bet you got a 5 month malt liquor tab at the corner store...why? i know how this shit works, blacks are lazy" she would be looked upon- and rightfully so- as a racist, straight-up, no question. but the same things coming from a black man is looked at differently.

YES, i know the history. i know where the word came from. i know that, on a historical and emotional level, nothing else "quite" has the zing of the "n" word being used....

but SERIOUSLY.

i know these seem a little off the topic, but they are illistrations of the point. i do not see any of these people as "racists"- they simply see things from different perspectives and are ULTIMATLEY DESENSITIZED to racism. They honestly fail to see the racist nature of the things they say. people are racist and they dont know it. it is acceptable. watch any black comic... and chances are, their act includes making fun of asians, whites, or hispanics. and its ok. nobody complains about it. its acceptable. blacks hispanics asians whites WHOEVER, they ALL (all meaning the general groups, not all people within those groups) crack jokes.....

and to me, if SPIC is OK, if WOP is ok, if KYKE is ok, if WETBACK is ok, if CHINK GOOK and NIP are ok, if its cool to say to an asian kid "hey ching chang chong"- shaq did this to yao ming, actually, on tv- if its ok to call white people crackers, if these things are acceptable, then so be it, so is "nigga". if i crack a joke about rednecks, and a black dude laughs, that same black dude should be able to laugh the same way at a black joke. If , if i laugh at an asian joke, i should be able to laugh at somebody crackin on me being hispanic.

i know the histories are different and deeper, but by now that has really been lost within the general conciousness, as this particular word is EVIDENCED by the prominent use of the word by blacks. it is only taken serious by most blacks if a non black uses it. even blacks who take issue use it regularly.

im not saying non blacks should run around with the word in their vocabulary... or that blacks should or shouldnt... im saying... that for every race... before you take offense to what someone else says, joking or not, check yuorself first. BIGD made a great point about the tsunami incident- everybody makes "off color" remarks at dinner with the boys. i know a white dude and a black dude who crack on each other all day long at work... and niether takes offence. if anything, its "ouch... that wa a good one jerk!"

im saying, these things have been kinda swept under and downgraded in terms of its severity by both whites, who dont see the seriousness of the issues they never had to deal with, and by the blacks who continually propagate the use of the word amongst themselves and thus... everyone in between doesnt see the issue.

any of that make sense? i have been on the ugly sides of racism. my mom is darker then most blacks, and has the hair to boot, you dont think i had a lot of problems with kids calling her the word now? i have a deceased sister, who was half black. I live with blacks and seriously..... i have paid residual prices for those associations, in addition to dealing with racism on a another level being hispanic. i know this well. i have seen and witnessed all sides of this coin.... maybe not to the depths of others.... and maybe not as intense as many more... but seriously… I completely “get” the destructive power of this word and all…. And I know some of my ramblings were slightly off center to the topic… but I feel like the racial double standards are within the context of the bigger picture that needs to be looked at……

 

[MadScientist]

I'd have to agree with everything that cold said. Nice post!!!

 

[Complexxx]

ok, here goes a piece of Cold's take on this....and also play a little bit of devils advocate. yeah ima be graphic but bear with me.

there is a double standard from some blacks in regards to racism..if i hear one more time how "it is impossible for a black person to be racist".... but i beg to differ and see examples of it quite often. i live in a house with blacks that i have known for half my life... the woman of the house refers to my freind, an Indain (india) as "one of those habibs" and doesnt see why that would be offensive...however, i asked her how she would take it if i reffered to her as "aunt jemima"....and she tells me..."thats different"....ok, whatever. her teenage black nephews reffer to me as "juan" and "pablo" and have "jokingly" called me a wetback and told me to "cut the grass juan" in front of some of their black friends. i asked them how they would feel if i "jokingly" reffered to them as "my house niggers" and told them to "shine my shoes, kunta" in front of people... they didnt take it too well, lets just say that.

i recently introduced my white girlfriend to my black friend- like a brother to me-... and the black friend began telling her how he knew she had a nice car, (she does have a good, reliable car) that mommy and daddy paid for (couldnt be further from the truth- she works her ass off and has paid for every car-and insurance- she has had except her first beat up car given to her by her aunt), he assumed that she must make real good money (she makes BARELY more then myself, and i have a GED while she has $22,000 in student loans.) and great credit (she has excellent credit, because she pays her bills on time)....in his words she has all those things "cause i know how this shit works, white people have that advantage"..... he thinks his credit is bad because he is black... now to a lot of black folks i know, and i say this based on their relaxed reactions to similar issues in the past, but to a lot of folks, they see no problem with the things he said and agree.... oh yeah, this actually before they met face to face... this conversation was on the phone...

NOW.... had my WHITE, BLOND HAIR, BLUE EYED, MIDDLE CLASS girlfriend said "hey, i bet you drive a beat-up primer cadillac, have no job and 5 kids with 4 mothers out of wedlock... and hey i bet you got a 5 month malt liquor tab at the corner store...why? i know how this shit works, blacks are lazy" she would be looked upon- and rightfully so- as a racist, straight-up, no question. but the same things coming from a black man is looked at differently.

YES, i know the history. i know where the word came from. i know that, on a historical and emotional level, nothing else "quite" has the zing of the "n" word being used....

but SERIOUSLY.

i know these seem a little off the topic, but they are illistrations of the point. i do not see any of these people as "racists"- they simply see things from different perspectives and are ULTIMATLEY DESENSITIZED to racism. They honestly fail to see the racist nature of the things they say. people are racist and they dont know it. it is acceptable. watch any black comic... and chances are, their act includes making fun of asians, whites, or hispanics. and its ok. nobody complains about it. its acceptable. blacks hispanics asians whites WHOEVER, they ALL (all meaning the general groups, not all people within those groups) crack jokes.....

and to me, if SPIC is OK, if WOP is ok, if KYKE is ok, if WETBACK is ok, if CHINK GOOK and NIP are ok, if its cool to say to an asian kid "hey ching chang chong"- shaq did this to yao ming, actually, on tv- if its ok to call white people crackers, if these things are acceptable, then so be it, so is "nigga". if i crack a joke about rednecks, and a black dude laughs, that same black dude should be able to laugh the same way at a black joke. If , if i laugh at an asian joke, i should be able to laugh at somebody crackin on me being hispanic.

i know the histories are different and deeper, but by now that has really been lost within the general conciousness, as this particular word is EVIDENCED by the prominent use of the word by blacks. it is only taken serious by most blacks if a non black uses it. even blacks who take issue use it regularly.

im not saying non blacks should run around with the word in their vocabulary... or that blacks should or shouldnt... im saying... that for every race... before you take offense to what someone else says, joking or not, check yuorself first. BIGD made a great point about the tsunami incident- everybody makes "off color" remarks at dinner with the boys. i know a white dude and a black dude who crack on each other all day long at work... and niether takes offence. if anything, its "ouch... that wa a good one jerk!"

im saying, these things have been kinda swept under and downgraded in terms of its severity by both whites, who dont see the seriousness of the issues they never had to deal with, and by the blacks who continually propagate the use of the word amongst themselves and thus... everyone in between doesnt see the issue.

any of that make sense? i have been on the ugly sides of racism. my mom is darker then most blacks, and has the hair to boot, you dont think i had a lot of problems with kids calling her the word now? i have a deceased sister, who was half black. I live with blacks and seriously..... i have paid residual prices for those associations, in addition to dealing with racism on a another level being hispanic. i know this well. i have seen and witnessed all sides of this coin.... maybe not to the depths of others.... and maybe not as intense as many more... but seriously… I completely “get” the destructive power of this word and all…. And I know some of my ramblings were slightly off center to the topic… but I feel like the racial double standards are within the context of the bigger picture that needs to be looked at……

You right on target dogg. You're correct about everything you just sad.

 

[The Bastard]

What If A White Dood Goes To A Record Store And Asks For Nigga Please, Or Striklyformyniggaz Is That Wrong

 

[Equality 7-2521]

U have some very good points and like I sated in an earlier post I hate the use of the word in any context

I just want you(and other people) to see that people using the nigga within the African American community and people using the nigga outside the African American communitity are 2 completely separate issues.

Again like I stated before, when people use the word nigga ouside the afro-American community are just copying popular culture and have no context of the use and have no reason to do so…

When the word nigga is used within the African American it is a much deeper and more serious issue. The use of the word nigga deals with oppression, adaptation and self love/hate as well as many other issues that my communitity is struggling with
U can read all the books in the world and have a million black friends, but unless you are a black American you will not truly understand what im talking about

A male doctor and study the women’s reproductive system inside and out and have a great technical understanding of it(more then most women). But despite all that knowledge that male docter will never know what its like to give birth. No matter how many babies he delivers ( I hope he wouldn’t want to know either lol)
(I feel this way about a lot of issues that go on in the hip hop world but that’s a separate topic)

That analogy kinda sucks ,but hopefully you see what im getting at, I hate the use of the word in any context. It sucks on both ends. But they are separate issues. that’s why I get VERY pissed when people outside the african american community(espically black people around the world) use the word nigga. They perpetuating the cycle of self hate that was pressed on us. That shit sucks and there is no reason for it.

And no ,the meaing of nigga is FAR from dead, the meaing of that word is alive and well.
Thats a crazy ass statement to say the meaing of that word is dead......Ask that question to ANY black person who lives here.
Of course the meaning is going to be dead to someone who uses it without any context or dosent know what they are saying.

For god sakes, feel free to use anything else from african american culture(which is raped by the world anyway) but not that………....

my 2 cents
Classs…..

I DONT see how they are two seperate issues in your situation because:

1. people outside the african american community use the word nigga as a result of their surroundings. (ie hiphop culture or whatever it may be)

2. you say that you use the word because you were brought up with it. so you use it out of context also.

both parties use it out of context for ESSENTIALLY the same reason: they are surrounded by it. and that is not their or your fault....the reality is that people become a product of their environment. but again, id like to say that you have no right to call out someone who is using nigga out of context when you do the exact same thing. if however, you used the word in context (eg only when refering to a black slave) then you would have the right to question other peoples use of the word.

if your going to qustion someone else on this topic, question yourself also.

see what im saying?

 

[Equality 7-2521]

What If A White Dood Goes To A Record Store And Asks For Nigga Please, Or Striklyformyniggaz Is That Wrong

haha. this actually inllustrates my point in a way. i doubt the person who named the albums was refering to a black slave. out of context nigga!

 

[classic]

its 3am but ill give this a go....

I DONT see how they are two seperate issues in your situation because:
both parties use it out of context for ESSENTIALLY the same reason: they are surrounded by it. and that is not their or your fault....the reality is that people become a product of their environment. but again, id like to say that you have no right to call out someone who is using nigga out of context when you do the exact same thing. if however, you used the word in context (eg only when refering to a black slave) then you would have the right to question other peoples use of the word.

Naw I VERY much disagrees with this, your right on one point we are both surrounded by the word, but the reasons and the issues are TOTALLY separate. If hip hop never was created, I seriously doubt that anyone outside the African American community would be running around calling each other niggas, BUT African Americans would still be using the word.

As I have stated many times before it comes down to people imitating popular culture.

The same thing goes on when u suburban kids trying to imitate gangs. They do it because they think its cool without a true understanding of why they are doing it. So your telling me those suburban kids fronting like they are bloods have the same context of those red colors as a true “banger” in south central LA???? HELL NO. Now both are wrong,(the true gang member and the subranban punk) but the issues surrounding why they are in those gangs and claming those colors are separate.

if your going to qustion someone else on this topic, question yourself also.
see what im saying?

I do agree with this , honestly, why do u think I started the thread in the first place?? I wanted to hear other peoples perspective on this.
I am just one individual, you can ask 3000 black Americans about this topic and u will get 3000 answers. I brought this up in the barbershop yesterday and we had a very heated discussion. Everyone had different views, but we all agreed on this

Its not the same for someone from the outside looking in

I hope u do understand, that while the word nigger may be slang to some, THAT SHIT IS STILL REAL HERE. No matter how many times its used in a rap song, or how many white boys call each other the word nothing will take away from its original meaning. To many people have been hurt by that word for cats to say it don’t mean anything anymore. The use of the word sucks, on both ends.

Im pretty sure u all have read the history of my culture and know what we been threw, but there is a difference between book knowledge and experience, so its very easy to brush off someone’s perspective if your not their witnessing it first hand.

And like I stated earlier, since ive become enlighted I don’t use the word(unless im really pissed off)

class...

 

[classic]

haha. this actually inllustrates my point in a way. i doubt the person who named the albums was refering to a black slave. out of context nigga!

Damn EQ..........
u really lost cool points for that one

class...

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

This is an interesting topic... I'm gunna tell you how i feel on this one... When i was younger (in 8th grade) i use to use the word non fuckin stop (and im white)... And then, i saw a movie called black and white. This movie quickly ended my phase of using that word and im gunna tell you why... When i was young, in that age frame (12-13, im 20 now) I didnt't know that the word was as offensive as it was... And that movie just showed me that using the "N" word as a young middle class white-boy is just making me look like a fucking idiot! And honestly, I think the word altogether (nd that goes for anyone who uses it) is a disgrace to all Black People... Put it like this, If i heard a bunch of black kids calling each other cracker I would just kind of look at them like,".........................................?" I think that young people need to be educated more on that word.... Another reasonwhy i just uninstalled that word from my vocabulary is because that word is as bad as a bullet to an older black person who has been through the bullshit of being called that and made felt like a peice of shit for just being alive and being black...