the n word?

Question

why is it ok for a black guy call another black guy the n word but any other race says it and all black people get mad. im confused

Answer 1

***-ger and f-a-g-got are two words that blacks and gays use with themselves that were used against blacks and gays while torturing and killing them, therefore nobody should be using either. I'm gay and I don't even like saying the word "f-a-g." I think a lot of people in this country are so spoiled and sheltered they don't even know the true meaning of the words they say or the torment associated with them by our ancestors. They just need to grow up and grow out of it already.

Answer 2

First of all, a lot of black people don't like the word used at all -- the word is so degrading.

However, this phenomenon is quite common. I have listened to people complain about their family members -- especially their mothers. And then if I use some of the same disparaging comments my friend just made to show support they many times have gotten quite angry with me.

Another reason is that using the n-word on "the playground" is to indicate a closeness and an understanding that people who are not black most likely cannot understand.
It shows a level of acceptance that isn't felt from people who are not black.

Personally I don't like using it, although I did all the time as a kid.

Bottom line, there are things only family can say. There are examples everywhere. You can hit your sibling, but are you gonna let someone else outside the family do it?

Peace.
Note: I don't hit my siblings either.

Answer 3

I don't even understand why black people even choose to use the word. White people don't stand around calling each other crackers, and that word has no where near the same negative conotations.

Someone said something about taking back the power? That doesn't make any sense to me either. If my ancestors were oppressed and discriminated against, and the word n-gger was associated with all of that, do you think I would continue to be calling my people n-ggers? Is that supposed to be empowering? I don't think so, it's bad enough that other people of other races might still sometimes use the dreadful word, but it's even worse for the people who were hurt most by it, to begin using it themselves. It almost seems like accepting the designation as opposed to rejecting it. Why would anyone, or any people, ever want to do that.

Answer 4

This is a tough one, and I can't pretend to know the answer - it bothers me too. I'm hoping that by not saying it, ALL people will stop saying it. That seems the best recourse. The problem is that every black artist and comedian throws it out like a shot pilot throws out Mayday!. Don't even try to retell a Chris Rock joke - your done. I've had to learn all those "redneck" jokes just to get by. To be honest, I'm only giving this so much more time, before I just start to use it and be like What?! If a friend ever came up to me and said Wazaup Spik - I'd pop him in the mouth. I just don't know how to be supportive here, as I feel confused too. I hope the final decision is that none of us use the word.

Answer 5

It's a cultural matter as well as dependent on location. Where I went to school, it was a common term used by the black students, but it wasn't used seriously; it was kind of an in-race joke, I guess you'd say. And it really wasn't racially exclusive. As long as you were cool with the person you were talking to and they knew you didn't mean it in a prejudiced way, a person of any race was free to use it, just not excessively. I guess it was just kind of an understanding of what was appropriate and what was not.

I think the "b" word is a similar example, though it's not as taboo. But it's usually more common for one woman to jokingly call another woman a "b" word than for a man to say it in that manner.

Answer 6

I think if a word is offensive for one race to say it's offensive for all races to say and for anyone to think otherwise is hypocritical.

As for HeartOfStone... if white people invented the word why can't they use it anymore? Personally, if the word was so bad to begin with why did anyone ever bother calling themselves that? Make any sence? No. So if anyone should not say it, it's black people. You're setting yourselves back hundreds of years by calling eachother that, makes absolutely no sence. I never call ANYONE that, I have respect for all people, what I don't have is tolerance for double standards . To tell other races to NOT call someone that when it's "ok" if you do, is pure stupidity!!!

Answer 7

Well...i am black and at my school....ive been called a n**** 3 or 4 times so far.....each time by a white person......so to me its hateful when its said by anyone other than a fellow black person.....but its the same situation with women and the B word.......when a man calls a woman a b****, most of the time its derogatory.....but when women call their friends b***** its a playful thing......

Answer 8

The n word is like a kinship between black men, once a negative and by using the word themselves it suppose to take away the stigma/power of the word but I don't like the use of the word. It's kind of like the word *****t and i hear gay people now who use it with each other.

Answer 9

The "N" word when taken in its true meaning is an ignorant person. When one black person calls another the "N" word it's not meant in a derogatory way. When a person of another culture uses it they use it in its most offensive term. For example, a spade can call another spade a spade because they share a common background. If a heart calls a spade a spade it's a derogatory statement because they don't understand the background of the word.

Answer 10

It is considered acceptable for individuals within a minority group to refer to one another using negative language because it does not have the same effect as an outsider using the same vocabulary. If a person uses condescending language with someone they are not familiar with it is automatically taken as an insult, although it may be said in jest. Perhaps due to the extensive history of racial tension worldwide, people are prone to expect the worst of someone different from themselves.