why do white youth feel upset when they cant say the N word?

Question

i think the N word is self degrading but its a black ting, somthing WE meaning black people have to deal with, i was in class and a white young man said to me " slavery is overm and you guys are overreacting, and its in the past", also alot of the white youth i know supply the argument " you guys are so hypocritical", how do you guys feel about this, and what would you say in response to this kid, please note this is a sensitive subject, please give mature answers!

Answer 1

youth today aren't seeing color anymore. well i can't speak for all but it would appear that our youth are seeing people instead of their skin color. also having street cred is somehow connected to using as much slang and broken language as possible. they want to be included into a world that they do not and probably will not understand. if you poll any number of white youths you will find that praticially all of them will use the "N" word amongst themselves. they believe that they are intitled to use the word because it no longer has "meaning". WHO said that it didn't, that's my question.

but of course we are the ones who are whining. umm i don't know any black people who call themselve or their black friends cracker, hunkie or c***. we don't call each other demeaning names of other races because they don't carry special meaning to us. we turned a word that held so much hatred behind it into something that WE wanted it to hold. when the "N" word is used
by us we know and understand the meaning behind it. we don't have to wonder at the meaning when it is being used by another race of people.

me personally i don't care what you do amongst your friends. just understand that somethings are taboo and shouldn't be said. would you like me to call you a c***?? then please don't call me a "N"

Answer 2

I don't think that kid justified himself any by saying that. I think I know where he was coming from but maybe he didn't explain himself properly. It's like this: sometimes nice, non-racist white people just get tired of always being aimed at, insulted, picked on, etc. by black people who rant and rave and carry on about how they have it hard because of what happened to their ancestors. Sometimes it just gets to the point where it's like "okay, you're going overboard, that's an excuse". Some people feel sorry for themselves and that's not helping. Look at how many thousands of yrs Jews were prosecuted, you don't see them complaining and using excuses left and right. Now, for the normal black people who don't over do it with all that crap, there ain't no problem at all. I don't agree with white kids who wanna use the "N" word. Even if it's meaning is entirely diff nowadays, you shouldn't celebrate a word that was once so degrading and harmful. If black people wanna use it then let em, they're black, we're white. Just like a white person can call themselves a cracker but once a black person does it, it's a racial slur. Kids just gotta realize there's boundaries, no matter what they think.

Answer 3

I don't know why anyone would want to use the N word no matter what color you are. If the slaves could be here today and hear people say that word, especially blacks, I believe they would be totally upset. That word was so derogatory in their day and they had to listen to it all the time. They didn't have names they were just N. Even when slaves were freed, they still were not free. They had to fight for their freedom and a way of life they deserved. No one was treated better than a dead dog. I firmly believe all the young people today need to spend time in school learning about all the horrible things the slaves went through in their lifes, how they were treated, what they were called, and how many of them were killed just because they were N. Those people who feel they have to use the word N should take an English course to improve there language skills, so they can come up with some other word to use.
Word Up!

Answer 4

i lived in halifax nova scotia, in the north end. i was right across the street from public housing, and in my nieghbourhood there were alot of colored people. i have nothing against them at all, i was even friends with my nieghbours who were black. but it dont make any sense to me what the difernce between a black person saying it and a white person saying it is. i have heard colored people saying the n word to each other in a joking tone amung friends and there was nothing wrong with it to them, but if a white person from that same group of friends said it in the same way, it was a insult. this made no sense to me. i have also heard the word in rap music. it is just a word. i know that there is a bad conection to it, and that it was originally a derogitory term. but the same goes for all bad words, what about the f word, are we going to ban that too? we are all the same on the inside, so why do we celebrate our differnces insted of our similarities? i think if we would concentrate more on how we are all the same insted of how we are difernt from eachother then we may not have a problem with discrimination,

Answer 5

Well there's no such thing as a word only blacks or whites can say. That in itself is racist, and racism is terrible and hurtful, so you can see why it pisses them off, yeah?

The only reason someone should not be "allowed" to say it is if it's said in a racist way. Simply repeating the word or using it in any form other than an insult (eg, when discussing history or repeating what someone else said) should be acceptable.
It's just taboo. If you want to be extreme people should even be entitled to use the word n*r as an insult, free speech after all.

I think it's pathetic that one word is not even allowed to be uttered. When people say that only blacks can say it, it is REALLY ironic and seriously not funny.

Answer 6

I agree it is hypocritical, and I find that a lot of black people/African Americans (something else I find hypocritical...if you were born in America you are American, no matter what your skin color, if you & your parents immigrated from Africa and became citizens..then you're African American).

As I was saying, a lot racism is dished out by various cultures and some black people (not all) dish out reverse racism and the white people have to live with the slurs. I would agree that the N word is a racial slur and is still used today heavily by black people in regards to each other in my experience. In some ways it is a jest but in others I believe it classifies a low life person that has no regard for anyone or anything but themselves, are uneducated, and do not attempt to succeed in life...kinda like what WE meaning white people call white trash or trailer trash.

Answer 7

I didn't know that 'white' youth were upset about it. Never mind - the N-word is resevered for 'blacks' amongst each other - seems to be an unwritten law. Seems fair to me - I'm white, but way, way older than youths(62). Movies seem to over-emphasize this, or maybe they don't. You probably know. I'm sure you do. Best to you - remember, all youth can be cruel at times. Most grow out of it, I would assume, but the two 'races' will never come 'truly' close - it was never meant to be.

You can 'thumbs down' all you want. That's the way it is with the African-American community. They talk to each other, per se, in 'ebon' (I believe that's close to the name). They have every right to - free country and all. No matter what you may think of 'their' people, they've had to fight like hell to get as far as they have - the good, the bad, and the ugly. At least give the community that much. As far as the problems they have and create for whatever reasons, their social status has always been viewed from a 'white' man's point of view. That will never stop. I don't think us 'whites' would like the reverse.

Answer 8

I don't really take much importance to comments like that. I don't find them racist. I mean, I don't find that black people are n's. I know a ton of white n's. I know a ton of hispanic crackers. That's just me though. And in response to that stupid kid, I'd just tell him to shut the hell up.Obviously, he's too immature for you to try and talk to him about the way you felt when he said that, so why bother? He's white trash. (See? Like that. That's what I mean. Some people are gonna find me saying "white trash" racist. I don't so I don't care.)
Anyways, get some brothers together and we'll teach that punkass a lesson.
haha, I'm just kidding. I'm Sorry you have to deal with this but come on, just let it go. That kid is just trying to be cool by saying it, and trying to make himself feel as if he overpowers you.
You gonna let that happen?

Answer 9

Why would I need to use the N word unless I was speaking Spanish? It is true that whites feel it is unfair how blacks get their own channel, scholarships, and employing quotas.

Think of it: There is a white and a black applying for a job. The white is clearly the better candidate (because of their skills), but the employer has to employ a black to fill his quota. Is it fair that the better candidate goes home without a job? Also, if whites were to get their own channel, it would be seen as racist.

So, I can see both points. However, people will be forever racist because of the things they hear and assume certain groups are the same. To some whites, blacks are often seen as whiners because of the enviroment around them.

Answer 10

Because no one should say it. Look obviously you are young and your horizon has not yet broadened but one day you will see that this is the type of **** that keeps people divided. I'm black and I will say it: I think the ball is now in our court, someone has to disarm. I believe efforts have been made, maybe out of force, but we have come a long way. No, everything is not equal, but we have come a long way and we are currently squandering it. We want to be looked at as just people, seriously, why do we have to separate and create our "own" instead of contributing to "every body's". All I'm saying is that if we want be apart of the world and not just the black community, there are so many ideologies we simply must give up.


love ya!

Answer 11

I think everyone is getting pretty tired of Blacks using the word N I G G E R, or more commonly, I suppose in Ebonics "**** A", in their films and music. Then expecting everyone else to stay totally clear of the word.

Black are 12-15% of America, but think they should have words only "they" can use. How racist! How pitiful. And delusional also if you think it isn't creating more racism by wanting this very selective use of the word N I G G E R. The word would have DIED a generation ago if blacks weren't keeping it alive. Now people are becoming so disgusted that I am hearing it more and more in general condemnation of that culture. Sad, but true.

A suggestion, everyone stop using the word, it will die. Or everyone use the word and let it mean the same as Africian American, Black, *****, whatever the word du jour happens to be politically correct at the moment.