Why do black people...?

Question

Ok black people (some, not all) call each other "******"? But white people are shunned when they call them that? It makes no sense. They are calling themselves black, and it was an insult, why do they enjoy insulting eachother and themselves? I've pondered thsi for a while, butcan not find the answer.

What if they know the person and still get mad?

Answer 1

Monkey see monkey do.

Answer 2

I asked the same thing to a friend of mine a few years back. The answer he gave was a bit vague, but it made some sense at the time.

First let me say that he's a big black man. About 6 feet 6 inches, 240 (plus) pounds. I'm just 5' 10" and tease him by calling him "boy". "Come here boy." (Ok, so that's another story.)

He said something to the effect; that he and some of his friends would call each other "******" because in some respect they would consider themselves slaves to the "boss-man". Although it was/is mostly done in jest. Why they still do it I don't know.

I thought it was strange that only fellow "brothers" could say this to each other. Now if i called another black guy a ******, I'd probably get beaten to pulp. I guess it's like inside slang for them.


Sorry, but that's the best answer I can give you.

Answer 3

Well since you feel so strong about the subject maybe you should call a black person a ****** or ****** as you put it. Just as a scientific experiment it would surely be hilarious. By the way in the black community ***** isn't always considered slanderous. Glad I could fill you in.

Answer 4

They are not just calling themselves black. You need to understand that it's the same as a woman calling herself a c**t, or a Vietnamese person calling himself a ****. It's an offensive term, k?

When there is a word that is offensive to you, you can remove its power by embracing the term. It looses its power over you, because you use it to refer to yourself, or others.

Eleanor Roosevelt said something like the only person that can make you a victim is yourself.

Gays have done this, as have women, in embracing the term ***** (Babe In Total Control of Herself)

but if you're not hurt by the word in the first place, then it IS offensive for you to use it, and you don't have that power, even on a friendly basis.

Answer 5

Why do we call each other ******. Its just slang and we are not insulting each other. there is nothing wrong with the word but the racist bastard who is using it. In the right context racism can be funny. For instance i am with my Mexican friends and i pick up a t shire one of them might say i see you are use to picking up things that are cotton. must be in your blood. then i might say how was the swim or tell him to go sell some oranges. I might tell my white friends that i want some Ritz.

Answer 6

If you look at this through the lens of context, then you will understand it.

I'm going to try and explore this a little deeper. The word "****-er" is a derogatory term used by non-****** in America. It represents the role in society that the majority deems proper for black people. This is a type of pressure that is applied to all blacks growing up in this society. It becomes a part of their identity as well. e.g. if you grow up in a society that calls you ugly, you grow up believing you're ugly. It becomes a part of your identity. Blacks begin to identify with the word "****-er."

Evidently, this is a predicament! The word is loaded with all sorts of negative connotations. They change the word "****-er" to "****-a" and use it with each other. The word "****-a" is quite a different word than "****-er." It also carries a different meaning coming from different people.

Finally, I want to clarify what I mean when I said "look at this through the lens of context." If your friend calls you a bad name, you know your friend doesn't mean it in a bad way (sometimes your friend does mean it in a bad way, so you get angry). If a stranger calls you a bad name, you don't know if the stranger means it in a bad way or not. There are rules that govern interactions in our society that tell us not to say certain bad names to strangers. It is these rules that makes it OK for us to use it with friends and not OK to use it with strangers.

In the case of this word "****-a," it is less so the difference between friend and stranger that matters and more so the difference between black and non-black that matters as is dictated by rules in our society.

Answer 7

When people call themselves by negative names, it is usually because they are calling them self that name before someone else can, or because they want to lessen the sting of the name by making it a joke.

However, what many people don't realize is, it just lowers their self esteem further.I have heard disabled people call themselves "cripps" for cripples. Others say "I'm just stupid". I don't like this self name-calling.

The only way to really have excellent self esteem in this world is to think positively about yourself and eliminate negatives from your life, and that includes self name calling. Do something and say something that elevates your position and stature. Don't down grade yourself.

Answer 8

It is overall because the word "*** ga" is catchy and fun to say. And If I do believe this is historically correct.. The caucasian race had came up with the word "*** ger" first. "*** ga" is a slang term for "*** ger". I don't know why people get so insulted over words but hey I guess you need something to complain about.

Answer 9

its a matter of respect. For a long time that particular word was derrogatory, until like many it was taken up by the populace which it was used against. There are many examples of this (Fag is another good modern example).

Answer 10

for the same reason girls that are friends can call each other whores but if someone said that to you that is not a friend then you would be thoroughly pissed off it's crazy but what can you do?

Answer 11

Its like how Paris and Nicole call eachother "b*tch" and its ok cuz their friends and thats just nicknames to them. But if someone random said it to them they would be pissed off. kinda like that