what do you think about the "n" word?

Question

i think it is very disrespectful to black people for anyone to use the word. but teens and younger adults seem to think its ok b/c they are black. they say "we just use it like 'hey whats up my friend'". but i don't think that just because you're black you can use a word that degraded blacks for many hundreds of years. older wiser black people disagree and would never use it. the young black kids in this generation did not have to go through what blacks generations ago had to. white people definitely can'tuse it but asians and hispanics kinda can depending on the situation. why can't we just do away with that degrading word?

the reason i post this is b/c my neighbor reggie called his uncle a "*****" and his uncle was very offended and told him not to use the n word. but reggie tried to explain that him and his boys use it as a greeting and his uncle and aunt were pissed and thought it was ignorant. they said that the word has along negative history and should never be spoken by anyon and i totally agree.

but then they say they said "*****" and not "******". i think no matter how you slice it it shouldn't be said period.

Answer 1

I don't think anyone should use it.

Answer 2

First, this is America and no one can tell anyone else what they can and can't say.

Now, with that being said don't expect everybody to be ok with what you say. When using the N word the receiver of the word has to accept it from the speaker. I am black depending on the context of the I might and might not accept it from a person whether they are black or non black. Most of the time when blacks say ***** to another black its meant to show a bond or friendship. The whole reason the word is used like that was to reverse its meaning, which was forced upon us when we lost our original languages. It can also be used in a derogatory way by blacks if its put in a certain context or tone. Id even let some white use the n word mainly whites who were raised around blacks and who grew up in the culture.

Answer 3

The word is used as an inside joke, a self-parody that supposedly disempowers it among its intended victims by declaring a sort-of "we're all just folks" humility while showing that the word itself can be ignored, despite the violence that has traditionally come with it. The usage deliberately ignores history, showing how tough the user is, to be able to handle such a dangerous word without injury.

That could be a valid tactic if the word was being reclaimed from its negative connotations. But the word never was anything but negative. There is nothing to reclaim. And those who were truly wounded by it before are understandably leery of it.

Unless one has personally experienced descrimination based on ancestry, one cannot comprehend the power of a word to limit, to injure, to control. That's why politicians and social engineers choose their words carefully, to properly frame the concepts they wish to impose on a culture. The "n" word has been discredited, other, more subtle words must be employed, but it is still poisonous.

I believe the reason the word is kicked around among young black people is to demonstrate that the ideas that gave it power are long dead. It's like kicking around the head of an assassinated tyrant. The word may be dead, but the ideas are not. The barriers are still there, shifted and disguised. Denying the destructive power of old symbols is to deny that there ever was a problem. The word should be acknowledged in its historical context, left judged but uncensored in the literature where it was found. But it should not be resurrected for current usage, even as a joke.

Answer 4

It is very a demeaning word. I am older, so when I was a child, it was the "norm" to use that word publicly and was generally used towards the African-American society. I, personally think that any race can be an "N". What I don't understand is, if the African-American society is so offended by it, why do they call each other that? Why is it that we cannot say the "N" word, but yet, they can publicly call caucasians crackers, honkeys, etc. and the caucasians are expected to just sit back and take it? That's a double standard.

Answer 5

The "N" word will never go way. While you have these rappers using this word in there rap songs, and the younger black generation using it also, it is here to stay. I personally feel if they (the blacks) don't want anybody calling them by the "N" word, they need to start with thin their own race then work on the rest of the world but until then, the word is here to stay.

Answer 6

I think the word has a vulgar history that started in the days of slavery in the western world. The word is a chopped up mispronunciation of the word "*****" which simply means black. Some people think it is okay to use as a slang word, but it really is a bad word. I guess you could relate some people's use of "n" with how some people will refer to their woman as a "B*tch" . Some women are okay with it, and some are offended by it because it is a derogatory term.

Answer 7

well...you are right no matter what race you are you shouldnt use words that may seem cool but are derogatory. I have wondered the same thing and have asked people why is it cool to call 1 another something that was used as a unkind word long ago; they responded as saying it was cool and just got passed down as something you say to another black person;but told me if a cocasion person was to say it . It would be taken in offense.

Answer 8

It is disrespectful no matter who uses it. Unfortunately the rap and gangsta movement have glamorized the word and now young Black people, with no sense of history, are using the word. Then they are offended when Caucasians use it. Go figure.

Answer 9

I'd like to see the word go back to it's original meaning of slave, rather than it's current meaning of black man. Then people wouldn't say "you're my ***" so easily--the meaning would be completely different. If your friend understood the history (as his uncle clearly did), he wouldn't use the term so loosely.

Can't young black people go back to 'brother' if they need a special word to identify other people like themselves?

Answer 10

Words only have meaning because we give them meaning. If the uncle is offended, then no one should use the word for the uncle. If the boy's friends find the word acceptable, they can use it.

It's all about context.

Answer 11

I think the word was ill-concieved by people with a very limited mentality and that it, along with all other ethnically derogatory terms ought to be eliminated from all forms of communication and any who use these forbidden words have their tongues cut out, but that's just me and my extreme sense of justice.