What is the fascination with the "N" word?

Question

A common topic came up in my poli sci class and Im very curious to what others opinion are about it. What is the fascination with the "N" word particularly with other races and why is it that people of races other than black (i.e white,hispanic,asian,etc.) always want to know why they cant say the N-word? Why do they care so much...is it that they REALLY want to be able to use the word? I am biracial and dont use the word at all with an "a" or "er" ending, but I can moreso understand the principle of not using it f you are not African American. I mean to me its like if one of my girlfriends call me a "b" I know its a term of endearment, whereas if some random girl I didnt know said it then I would be insulted. I know my opinion can seem a bit one sided but there is a negative history with OTHER races using the word not blacks so I can understand a black man not wanting to be called an "N" word by a white man. Maybe Im wrong...OPINIONS???

I dont htink it is hypocritical, I think it is wrong for ANY race to refer to another race by any negative names. My family is half Colombian and they will call each other Sp** all day,but if another person said it it would be very offensive. I do think people should use ANY racial names outside of their own.

Answer 1

WEll Jayo Here is my reoccurent answer on this tpoic:
I am so tired of people trying to justify reasons for using any of the words menioned. One of the rebutals I constantly here is "I call my self fat but if you were to call me fat it would be rude." Are you kidding me? What is it with people thinking negativity is okay in ANY way? The best way to put it is like this, racist terms are racist terms, color them pretty, say them with a smile, it doesn't matter becuase the base of those words all come from the same origin, hate and ingnorance. If a white person calls themself a cracker or anybody else, if a black person calls him self the "N" word or anybody of his race that, no they aren't racist but they are fcking ignorant, and stupid not to mention hypocritical. Black people shouldn't say it, I don't care if you are straight from Africa, becuase you are still using a derragoty word that so many b*tch about. Its hypocritical and if people themselves can't take the initiative to stop using racist terms becuase you justify it, then what makes you think other people won't find "good" reasons for theselves to use it? The change has to stop somewhere. It should stop being about what other people need to do and it should start being about what you as person need to do to start maknig that change. People are so ignortant....

Answer 2

No one is not allowed to say a word. Any other race can say the N word but most are afraid to say it because of the consequences.
Ni gger is the "racist" word and ni gga is its friendlier version. Most Black and Hispanic people say the latter but I dont think either should say it. Being Black I dont use the word unless someone is really being ignorant. The word means ignorant and those that call friends that are truly Ni ggers.

The N word was used to remind Black people that they were less than Human by mainly White people; they history the word has on it still has a scar on society. After a while of African slaves being called "ni ggers" by their masters, they too called themselves that without really knowing what the word meant. So for a White person to go around saying N word or its other version is a slap in the face to the Black community. It's saying "who cares what your people have gone through and what that word means to people like you", its for the most part disrespectful.

Its scary how many people want to be able to say the word so badly, regardless whether or not they know the history of the word. Nothing about it is racist. Those that believe that are truely Ni ggers.

Answer 3

i asked a similar question like this and i agree. i have heard that it's ok for two blacks to call each other the N word, but not a white person. somone of a differant race could get the **** beat out of him/her for saying such stuff.

Answer 4

Because there is still racism and while it's politically incorrect to look down upon people for their race, there are still people who do that. Until the root causes of racism are tackled, all the success and efforts of African-Americans will be limited.

Answer 5

I kinda agree we ALL use terminology we would never want others to hear us say we all do it. I call my girl friends "b"s and wh***s etc. but if someone outside of my group said it it would be offensive. The same goes for the "N" word outside of a certain group its not acceotable. yeah its all fine and dandy so say oh its negative dont say it at all, but is that gonna happen? NO! Nobody is going to stop using profane language its about having enough sense and common decency to not say certain things around the people it will offend. Thats my piece.

Answer 6

my opinion is this
black ppl shouldn't sit up there and call each other that and a white person not to....that hyprocritical. making that word exclusive to one group only would make ppl want to call us that even more...it wrong...we shouldn't call each other that just like white or any other race of ppl shouldn't call us that

Answer 7

if a black guy calls another black guy a Niger, no one gets mad
but if a non-black says it, every black person freaks out

WTF, they're being racist
only they can say that word and non-blacks can't
talk about being hypocritical!

Answer 8

Why does anyone have to say it.

Answer 9

I don't think it's as much a fascination as it is a misunderstanding.

I'll simply post the answer that I gave to other "n word" related questions:


It's silly and pointless that people argue about this- if for nothing else other than that there are so many issues of much greater importance (in my humble opinion). Of course, I'd be a hypocrite if I claimed to have never debated with anyone about the matter. (Although, I've only done so on line since I've never been confronted with it in any other forum- Black people where I live are generally not offended when white people use the "n word". The extent of my hearing about this issue has only involved the Internet and television.)

I grew up primarily around black people. Most of my friends were/are black. All of my romantic relationships have been with black males. And my husband is black. But, of course, I still had/have ties to white people. In my opinion, to a certain extent, this has put me in the position to see things from both "sides". So I truly do understand many of the points that a lot of black people make when they object to white people using the "n word". I just happen to disagree with them.

From my perspective, one of the problems with regards to using the "n word" is miscommunication. I think there are white people who assume that black people (or rather the black people who use the "n word") want to speak the word as a way of asserting dominance or control. And I think there are black people who assume that white people who speak the "n word" (or ask questions about it) are doing so because they feel some overwhelming need to say it (like how kids argue, "If you can do it, so can I.").

Well, the above does apply to SOME people. And there are probably people who have been told all sorts of things by others. And, as a result, they assume that everyone else is of the same opinions. This is where we're going wrong. We're getting our wires crossed and misunderstanding each other.

As a white person who has spent enough time around white people to know, I can attest to the fact that there are many white people who do say it in the same contexts as the black people who say it. No, they are not coming from the exact same place... But they do say it within the same contexts: making references to a brother, a friend, just another person, and so on... There are a few reasons for this. And while one of them (reasons) is a matter of trying to be "cool" and relate to hip-hop culture, there are others which aren't that simple or ridiculous.

As for me, I can't say that I like the word. But I freely admit to speaking it. And I do say it fairly frequently. My reason for using the "n word" is the same as with a lot of other white people. Having spent most of my life around black people, I have been in the company of many blacks who make regular use of the word. This has been the case for as long as I can remember. My life has been heavily influenced by black culture/sub-cultures. When I say the "n word", my mind is in an entirely different place than what others might assume... It isn't a matter of, "Well, this is cool," "I wanna be down," "I wanna say it since you just said it," and so on... I'm not making a conscious decision to say the "n word". It's merely flowing out of my mouth just as do many other words that myself and others are in the habit of speaking. In this case, I am a product of my environment.

Yes, I'm aware that there are some impudent a*s white people who blurt "n word" or ask about it just for the sake of irritating people and pissing them off. But this doesn't apply to all of them. And why should it be assumed that it does? Firstly, to do so is to make race based generalizations. Isn't that what those of us who champion equal treatment want to avoid? Yes! Secondly, consider people like me- people who have been almost as (or just as) influenced by black culture/sub-cultures as black people- How can anyone demand that such people should live by cultural/societal rules and norms applied (or expected to be applied) to white society? Do you have any idea how much restraint one has to exercise in order to refrain from saying or doing something that has been taught to that person from day one?

Also consider one of the fundamental problems with applying certain rules to entire races of people: The problem being that, whether we like it or not it's quite often very difficult to determine someone's race via visual examination. There are more physical differences within the so-called races than there are between them. Someone might, for example, have all the characteristics commonly associated with white people, but one or both of his/her parents may have all of the features commonly associated with black people. Is it fair to apply "white rules" to this person? I think not. In my opinion, it's both ridiculous and unfair to apply any sort of race based rules to people.

On this site, I've read some people compare blacks using the "n word" to people calling their family members by certain names. Their logic is that, just as we may say things to our family members that we wouldn't want others to say to them, some black people say the "n word" but wouldn't want someone who isn't in the "family" to say it. I can certainly understand this logic, but I have to say that I respectfully disagree with it. I don't think it's reasonable to compare name-calling within families to saying the "n word" since the latter involves having race based expectations.

I've also heard the claim that some black people feel they've "taken back the n word." Again, I understand the logic. And, actually, this particular logic makes perfect sense to me. However, if someone who makes this claim allows the use of the "n word" to offend him/her then that person hasn't truly "taken it back". The reason being is because the very same logic behind "taking back the n word" dictates that the word no longer holds power over the individuals who claim to follow this logic. If the "n word" has power over you then you have failed to "take it back." It's that simple.

There's also the matter of claiming "n word" to be a term of endearment among black people. However, the meaning of a word doesn't change based upon skin complexion. (Ditto to what I said above regarding race based expectations.) This should be common sense and is evidenced by the fact that, as I said, there are white people who use the "n word" in the same contexts as black people who use the "n word". What's more, it is further evidenced by the fact that not all black people who use the "n word" are using it as a term of endearment.

Personally, I think the only way to resolve this issue is to stop making it an issue in the first place. We need to stop making assumptions and realize the following: 1) Not all black people say "n word" to each other or anyone else. 2) Of the black people who do say "n word", not all of them have an "across the board" expectation that no one other than black people say it. (Example: Just because you hear a black person say "n word" does NOT mean that he/she appreciates hearing it from every black person. For all you know, he/she may only view the use of the term as acceptable among family and/or friends.) 3) Not all white people who say "n word" are doing so to disrespect, to offend, to try to be "cool", or to play "if you can do it then so can I."

Other realizations that we need to come to are: 1) When in doubt, we should simply be respectful enough to not say "n word". 2) If we're offended by someone saying it, we should politely let that person know rather than "flying off the handle" like some crazy person. If that individual refuses to respect our wishes then we should, if possible, have nothing more to do with that person. If we cannot avoid the person then we should take appropriate action (such as filing a grievance at work, for example). 3) We're probably never going to collectively agree on this subject. We should just accept this and at least politely agree to disagree.