SERIOUS QUESTION: about the "N" word?

Question

FIRST OF ALL: I don't use this word, I find it quite offensive and disrespectful.


Why is it OK for black people to call their fellow men and women that word when every other race can't use it? And why would you want to call each other than when it's meaning is so demeaning?

AND I WANT SERIOUS ANSWERS. ANY RACIAL COMMENTS WILL BE REPORTED!!
Thanks! ♥

*I would like to formally appologize for lumping a race together like I did. I should have said, "why do some...". Thanks for bringing that to my attention! :)

Answer 1

Up until the last quater of the 20th century blacks used the n word negatively towards eachother. My generation, the hip hop generation sought to take power away from the word by transforming it into a term of endearment, even by going as far as creating an acronyms like n.ever i.gnorant g.etting g.oals a.ccomplished. With the influence of our culture on white America, of course whites wanted to use the word to be cool and identify with hip hop. The fact that some are offended by this proves the word still carries the same negative power it did in the 1900s and it is still rooted in hatred, whether white or black self-hatred.

Answer 2

To all races
Its not right to use the N word in any fashion.
All of us on this planet are different but everyone is a human being. I don't care what color We are all of the family of man using the N word should not be tolerated in media or anywhere, Its meaning when a caucasian says it is degragatoy and disrespectful of another race of man.
Just think if the majority on this planet had dark colored skin because the ozone had been ripped away by the pollution in the future would the word be still used...
or if a pandemic wiped out most caucasions would it be right if the remaining races of man called causasians whity or honky Being born near the equator is the only reason there are darker colored humans. What if the earth wobbled differently than it does now and the northern hemisphere had all dark colored skin people ???. Race intolerance should not be tolerated because without all races the human species will not go on.

Remember buy no gas on May 15

Answer 3

The N-word is considered one of the most offensive words. Sometimes when black people call other black people the N-word, it means that they are good friends with that person. When black people call each other the N-word, it isn't meant in an offensive way. I don't call any of my blacks friends or relatives the N-word.

Answer 4

Friend , please do not let the fact that 'unhuman' isn't an established word of reference be a factor that prevents you from utilizing it. If your publisher feels it not to be entertaining, then that is another issue indeed. Shakespeare created some 50 new English words per play, on average. Damn the torpedoes, those inhuman precedents.

Answer 5

Because they are two of a kind. If a fat person calls another fat person fat they can laugh about it (ie FAT CAMP). But if someone with a nice sexy body calls someone fat it is different and might hurt more. I have white friends who live in the trailers and they joke say trailer trash to each other, why, they both live in the trailer so it is OBVIOUS that one is not trying to put the other down. But if someone from the rich neighborhood calls them trailer trash it is NOT so OBVIOUS that it is a joke and even if it is can you see how that would NOT be a good one. Same with the N word.

Answer 6

I don't consider it ok, but here's the only explanation that makes sense to me. If I'm in a verbal fight with my wife, and I call her a name, well, I'm the one that called her that name, but if I hear someone else call her that, I'll take their head off. Does that make any sense at all?

Answer 7

I rarely use this word and if I do I dont feel comfortable saying it and im black. Some of my friends and my cousins and my sister use it and i don't know why they use it. And i guess many races have words only words they can use (ex. white-cr@ckers ((no offence)) black- n!gg3r))...yea

Answer 8

It's not OK. Stop worrying about what the idiots are doing and remain true to your morals. If you know it's wrong, that's all that matters.

Answer 9

It isn't ok. Any black person who uses this word is a hypocrite, plain and simple.

Answer 10

I've answered questions like this before. I will post my previous answer:


I don't see any problem with you asking this question, but I do agree with the person that said you should have said "SOME black people" rather than lumping all black people together. Not all black people feel the same about this issue. For that very reason, you're likely to get several different responses.

However, you're not the only one lumping an entire group of people together. Someone mentioned that most people who aren't black (who use the "n word") don't use it as a term of endearment. How could that person possibly know how many do or do not use the word in such a manner? Did this person forget about the several non-blacks who identify with hip hop culture and use the word in the same manner as many blacks do?

To answer the question posted...
Many people use the "n word" in an offensive manner, which was the first reason for the use of the word. But many black people have chosen to combat its original intended meaning, so to speak, by using the word for other purposes. It's often used as meaning friend, brother, confidant, companion, supporter, chum, etc...
I've also heard some black people use the term to refer to other black men, but in a non-offensive manner. In other words, "That n♥gga..." is often said rather than specifying "That black man...". And I've heard some use the term to refer to men regardless of race. I've also heard it used by some black people as a way of indicating that they believe a particular black person (or people) to be obnoxious. For example, a black person might say, "Why do n♥ggas have to ruin all the good clubs?" or "N♥ggas make us all look bad."
You can usually tell how it's being used if you familiarize yourself with African American culture. But, as I said, not all black people feel the same about this issue... There are several who do not condone the use of the word at all regardless of intension. And, please, don't take offense to my saying "African American culture". I am NOT saying that the "n word" is accepted as being a part of African American culture as a whole. (As I said, there are black people who do not condone the use of the "n word" at all.) But rather I am saying that the use of the "n word" is embraced by some people and subcultures within the African American community.

I'm just taking a "stab in the dark" here, but is the following question the one that you really wanted to ask?...."Why do some black people who use the "n word" complain when a non-black uses it in the SAME MANNER as they do?"
If this was your intended question, I think it's understandable that you would ask as such. If it's clear that a person isn't using the "n word" in a negative manner, no one who uses the word should be offended regardless of the color of the speaker's skin. If you do use the word and you are offended by someone else's non-negative use of it, you're just as guilty of making color/race an issue as anyone else who makes it an issue.

Anyone watch the show called "Girlfriends"? If you do, you might remember the episode in which Lynn's sister offended the ''girlfriends'' during a visit. (And, of course, if you watch the show, you know that Lynn is mulatto/bi-racial (black & white), the other "girlfriends" are black, and Lynn's sister is white.) Well, during her visit, she said "n♥ggas" while rapping along with a rap song that was playing on the radio. The "girlfriends" were angry at her about this, and they also didn't appreciate the fact that she was a "w♥gger". And yes, the word "w♥gger" was used to discribe her. In case anyone doesn't know, "w♥gger" is a term indicating that someone is a "white n♥gger". I have three questions: Why would anyone, regardless of race, be offended at the use of the "n word" while not being offended at the use of the word "w♥gger"? (After all, "igger" is "igger" regardless of the letter that preceds it.) Why would anyone, regardless of race, be offended at the use of the "n word" by someone who is rapping along with a rap that includes the "n word" while not being offended at the rapper's use of it? And why would anyone be offended simply because a person has embraced another culture or parts of another culture? I know that "Girlfriends" is just a television show. But situations, such as what occured during the episode I've discribed in this post, do occur in "real life". And it's such a shame. No person (or group of people) own (owns) any particular culture or any aspect of a particular culture (such as foods, vocabulary, fashion, etc...). Individuality would be nonexistent if such were the case.

Personally I don't like the "n word" regardless of what variation of the word is being used and regardless of the speaker's intended meaning. But, honestly, I can't claim that I never say it. During my childhood and "teen" years, most of my friends, neighbors, and boyfriends were black. Naturally I was influenced by my environment and the people I came in contact with on a daily basis, so my vocabulary became a mirror of what I heard. I heard variations of the "n word" used all the time, so I employed these variations in my speech. What may come as a shock to those of you who stereotype people is the fact that I can't remember one single instance in which a black person expressed to me that I offended him/her by using that word. I did experience prejudice regarding other matters, but not concerning the "n word".

Anyway, due to having used the "n word" for so long, I often let it "slip out" (never with a negative intension). When I do this, I'm usually using it to "replace" another word (such as "man", "friend", "silly person", etc...). But, as I said, I don't like the "n word". However, while I don't like it, I am not offended at others' use of it. I realize that everyone has the right to say whatever they want to say, so it doesn't bother me.