Why is it horrifying for a white person to say the "N" word but its the most common term afro-americans use ?

Question

i hear it all the time in rap music black cinema constnatly in the streets but if i say it i will get beat down

Answer 1

like, i call myself a cracker all the time. yeah, i know, it's a bad word, but so is the n word. but see, if a black person who i ddin't know called me a cracker, i'd feel half insulted, half about to laugh. it'd depend on how he/she said it and what they said afterwards. if it was someone i knew tho, they could hella call me a crakka anytime and i'd totally laugh along with it. but even if they called me that, i'd still be apprehensive to call them the n word, just b/c of how other folk might react to it. unless he called me a cracker immediately before or after and others around could see that it's all in good fun....and i wouldn't do it around kids, don't wanna set a bad example to them.

Answer 2

If you call a close relative of yours an idiot in a playful bantering sort of way...that's fine (not really, but I understand how 'joking' is with family). Yet, if another outside your circle calls your family member an idiot...that's not o.k. Same with the Afro-American culture...they can say the "N' word to each other, but another outside their culture 'family' saying the "N" word...not cool. Also, the our white 'family' not too long ago (during the Rev. Martin Luther Kings time) did use the "N" word towards the Afro-Amer people, so the whites, by that association, don't have the right to use that word towards them due to our 'white families ill use and condescending of the Afro-Amer culture of the 1960's on back. But you already knew this...right.

Answer 3

It's not OK for anyone to use. And it's NOT "the most common term afro-americans use". What makes you think it is? The fact that you hear it in rap music or by black comedians? FYI the media doesn't represent reality. Do white people generally behave the way you see them on TV? No.

And as for seeing people "in the streets" using it...You're going to see what you're looking for. If you're going around looking for examples of black people acting like idiots then that's what you're going to find. Anecdotal "evidence" isn't proof and it doesn't validate your stereotypes or hatred.

I don't allow that term in my home. Just like I don't allow any other racial slurs. Racial slurs are wrong. Period.

Answer 4

Tough call to make. it has been known for years that white people in the past would use the N word in a derogatory tone when referring to African Americans. It is an ignorant term and it shouldn't be used by anyone. I guess when it's used by those who were targeted it's accepatable to them. Like white people calling themselves cracker. It sounds ignorant regardless of who says it anyway.. So just don't say it..

Answer 5

really? its the most common word used by black people? can i see your statistics on that? i'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that the most common words used by english speaking blacks is the same as the most common words used by english speaking white, asians, hispanics. Like, And, The, If, That, What, etc.

dude, you can't use the word. you just can't. If black people want to take back the word and use it and or whatever, we dont get to question it. they get to decide. why waste time whining that you dont get to use that word? get over yourself.

plus, a definition of racism for all the morons who said that blacks who use the "N" word are racist:
a racist is someone whose bias of another race is systematically rewarded.
i.e., white priviledge.

Answer 6

Because whites folks usto use the word to degrade and humiliate the black race in the past , so when the N word is mention by a white person it is recieved in that way still

Answer 7

That goes back to slavery stuff and many accept it as an empowerment word among our race. I refuse to use it at all. Because I think its a ugly word period. And its pretty much like gays call each other ****** or queer because they are one, they just took a negative and adopted it to turn it into one of their words. Same with some blacks. I just really think its purely ugly should not be used by anyone.

Answer 8

Number 1.. Because it is a disrespectful term
Number 2.. Especially when used in a derogatory way

There are many other terms that are accepted and proper to use other than the 'N' word..

Answer 9

It has somewhat to do with the racial history that whites and blacks, whereas the word was used and it was not a term of endearment. Most blacks used it directed at other blacks as somewhat a term of endearment. Because of the mental block of history, even if you actually meant it as a term of endearment, it could never be receieved that way. I hope this helps. May God Bless

Answer 10

i don't know. and I'm pretty much sick of it. it's ridiculous. people need to get over it and realize that all the people that had to go through the slavery incident are probably long dead by now. it's not like any of us could've helped it. today we're a more educated society, we've put all that behind us. when black folk keep bringing it up and calling each other n*ggers and such, they're just pulling themselves backwards and it's hypocritical.