Why are white people so torn up over not being able to say the N word???

Question

Do you miss saying it or something?

Answer 1

We are not able to say the (n) word because people will take offence .Actually if you look at the flim "Blazing Saddles"it is used in a very humours situation .I never took offence at it and I,m sure you did,nt eitherI.I think we are too polticay correct treading on egg shells. Another stress to ones already overstressed world .

Answer 2

i personally think no one should. if you notice, African Americans who use the word; they usually don't have much education, and oppositely, how many educated African Americans do you know who uses the word. if it is not good then no one should use it. all the rap musics also made by uneducated people and use the word only humiliating themselves and their people. the white or Caucasians who are in power like that and encourage them so you hear it all the time. now what if some Caucasian is singing it while listening to it. how would an African American deal with that? originally African Americans started to say that to each other only to undermine it and hope the white man wouldn't use it to hurt them and that it may loose its effect and wouldn't be used. the supremacists still use the word to hurt African Americans anyway specially when they are not out numbered. it is confusing some people too, IE; in Europe people who hear the rap music and watch the Hollywood movies(a white man got rich by having African Americans to call each other the word and they most likely are laughing at them too) and hear the word, and have no idea of the history of the word! only the ignorant people can't see that, it is a tool used without us to realize it. so i think it should be not used and this way we would know when someone is using the word means to hurt someone!.

Answer 3

No offense but what makes you think that Whites are a homogeneous group? It is primarilly educated, middle and upper middle-class Whites (Yuppies) who refrain from using swear words and racial epithets.

However, most White people in the United States are still part of the "working poor" and the "struggling middle class;" a fact which the American news media often ignores.

Whenever Black Americans become wealthy or upper middle class they tend to adopt the same manners and habits as their White counterparts which is good. On the downside, however, they tend to ignore their brothers and sisters who still live in poverty just as do Whites who have made it.

Answer 4

I am not and use it when ever I feel like it. I don't usually though. I think it is funny every time I hear people say "the n-word". Just say it. I do call them as I see them on every subject. Like Isaiah Washington from Grey's anatomy who got fired over what? He called it like he saw it. He should get his job back and they should have fired the other whiny dude. I'll never watch that show again. A spade is a spade is a spade... not a club, not diamond and not a heart!

Answer 5

Personally I have no use for the "N" word.

What bothers me is a Brother can call a Brother a N*****, but if a Cracker uses the same word, he or she catches Holy Hell.

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****** (also spelled ******): a word that is an alteration of the earlier neger, ****** derives from the French negre, from the Spanish and Portuguese *****, from the Latin niger (black). First recorded in 1587 (as negar), the word probably originated with the dialectal pronunciation of ***** in northern England and Ireland.
--Anti-Bias Study Guide, Anti-Defamation League, 1998
In the United States, "******" was first regarded as pejorative in the early nineteenth century. In the era of enslavement, the words "******" or "black" were inserted in front of a common American first name (e.g., John), given to a slave to distinguish the slave from any local white person with the same name. While usage of the word in African American culture is complex in that it can be used affectionately, politically, or pejoratively, the epithet is considered an abusive slur when used by white people. Langston Hughes in The Big Sea (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1940) offered an eloquent commentary:


Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn't matter. Negroes do not like it in any book or play whatsoever, be the book or play ever so sympathetic in its treatment of the basic problems of the race. Even though the book or play is written by a *****, they still do not like it. The word ******, you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America.
The word has gained more acceptance in recent years in youth culture through song lyrics and stand-up comedy. Some claim that the word can be defused through reclaiming it. However, most adults continue to view the word as offensive and harmful.

Answer 6

What? When did this happen? I'm sure anyone can say it. *sarcasm*

"Burying" that "n-word" did not change anything. You can still say, write it or type it. Why is this in the languages section?


edit: Tab H, now you know how I feel when people generalize blacks as lazy, stupid, etc.

You're all wrong. It's a big deal if something racist happens to someone who's NOT black. I.E., Emily Smith wasn't accepted into an Urban Journalism Workshop that was meant for minorities and everyone was SO shocked and believed it was wrong. If the case was flipped, the story wouldn't even make it to the news.

Answer 7

It's OK for every race to bust on Whitie, but if this cracker was ever to utter a "racist" ethnic remark, then I'd be guilty in the people's court - just b/c some aristocratic douche-bags 200+ years ago decided to enslave tribes and use them for cheap labor. Nobody is oppressed in the USA anymore, unless you're illegal. In that case, register for citizenship and you'll have rights. Everybody has an equal shot, so get over it. As far as the "N" word, who gives a f*ck. But it should be an even playing field, and it's not.

Answer 8

I'm white and have no desire to use that word. I know how to cut someone down to size without using racial slurs and I can do it with a smile on my face and not a hint of anger in my voice. So as far as i'm concerned i'll never have a use for that word.

Answer 9

Where I live the word "white" is a term of abuse and people apologise when they apply it to anything in the hearing of someone of pale skin. We receive public apologies from our minister at church when he refers to anything white -- a white donkey, for instance. I don't know why they get so up tight about it, but they do!

Answer 10

who is torn up about it? I don't say it and i am fine with it being inappropriate for me to do so, but if some white person thinks it is OK to say, trust me, they say it all the time anyway