The Infamous "N" word! What do you think? Should the "N" word be allowed in songs and in movies?

Question

Do you think only blacks and minorities should use it and not whites or do you think nobody should use it? Do you think rap artists and their usage of the word promotes it?

Kanye West: Great rapper and I love all of his music but I do not agree with him or anyone using the "N" word. Tell me what you think! And this is a serious matter so please control all ignorance! Thank You

Answer 1

It would be nice if people could stop using that negative word, it might help our nation to stop being so racist. But we as Americans have freedom of speech and we can't take that right to say away from people or it could lead to more limitations that nobody wants. I think that if African Americans don't like the word then they shouldn't use it in any way either. I myself hate the word and wish people could grow and not use it anymore and grow up too. We need to be above that negative talk. I think it is ridiculous that they sing with that word and have no problem with it. How would it sound if white people called each other crackers in songs or Hispanics called each other wet backs or Italians called each other wops. "what up my wop-cracker-wet-back buddy?" Sounds silly and ridiculous don't you think.

Answer 2

Personally I think black are free to use it but as long as it's used positively its okay. White people get so upset and ask why they can't say it and i don't know why they care so much. Do they HAVE to say it? It was used to bring shame upon african-americans and it has negative meaning towards us. White people used to use the word negatively they came up with it. Black people turned it into something positive. And yes rap promotes it because its a popular genre and a lot of young people listen to it. Sometimes it is unnecessary when you hear it though. Kanye West is my favorite and I actually don't like when he says it too much because he's not like all them other rappers who use the same lines and talk about the same topics and always use that word. But yes it is promoting it since its being said by a fans favorite artist or even a role model to someone. That's just how I feel though.

Answer 3

I think freedom of speech is too important to allowing banning words no matter how hurtful or abusive they are. In the end, the use of such words usually reveals the ignorance of the speaker/user. Having said that, I do believe if we want people to stop using them, the best way is to ignore them...that is, don't buy their records, books, etc. There are times when the use of even the worst words is appropriate or necessary, but when they are used just for shock value, we should disregard the artists work whether music, movies, talk radio, etc. Vote by turning them off, or never going to their shows, or writing the station, but do not suggest the governmet ban them.

Answer 4

I think young Blacks should travel back in time to when the N word was first being used and experience for themselves what it meant. It means different things to different people.

I believe older Blacks are truly offended by it. Younger Blacks seem to have a whole different level of meaning for it, no negative connotation.

As a White girl, I don't use it and think it's offensive. I work at a Black newspaper and no one there uses it. And many of the older opinion columnists are very much against it.

Answer 5

i don't think it's ok either way. why is it only ok for a race to use that word if it has a negative meaning to it if used by a white man? i don't understand why it would be ok to for blacks or minorities to use the word to call each other but when a white man uses that word toward them like they had just been doing to each other it's wrong? why is it acceptable for women in rap videos to be called bitches and hoes? this is a double standard subject. the word only seems to piss off most blacks and minorities when it's used by a white man, but don't seem to care that their own people use it and that it makes them look ignorant. if their going to make a big deal about a white man using the word then don't use it toward your own people.

Answer 6

If the word was banned from all art forms, there would be no Huckleberry Finn. I think it is overly politically correct to say it can't be used in songs or movies. John Lennon used the word effectively in the song "Woman Is The Niggger(can't spell it correctly or it will be censured) Of The World." It has a meaning beyond its racist context. It can be used to describe those who are powerless and disenfranchised.

Answer 7

Nope if certain people aren't allowed to speak the word without being beat the heck out of or killed for that matter then the word should never be used by any race.

Answer 8

I to hate that word. It is not allowed to be said in my house. And if these people who say it would look in the dictionary it says nothing about color but, that it does say that it stands for ignorance. So, a white person or a "African American" can be one. I think it is ridiculous the words that are allowed in movies and songs.

Answer 9

That word should be allowed (freedom of speech) and there shouldn't be a double-standard about using it. If those of African descent can use it in music and when talking to each other, then anyone with any other colored skin should be able to use it as well.

NOTE: That particular word is actually coming back into more prominent use here in the Detroit area, but it's not being used to describe people of a certain skin color -- it's being used to describe people of a certain attitude. I heard my nephew use that word in describing one of his classmates (who happens to be white), and apparently my nephew and the other students at his school use it when referring to the gangsta-thug-wanna-be's. Apparently that "N" label has been slapped on Eminem too, and using it to describe a certain attitude, I'd say it fits.

Answer 10

"a movie's single use of one of the harsher sexually derived words, however in basic terms as an expletive, shall initially require the score Board to project that movie a minimum of a PG-13 score. better than one such expletive could desire to steer the score Board to project a movie an R score, as could desire to even considered one of those words utilized in a sexual context. those movies could be rated much less critically, notwithstanding, if with the help of a particular vote, the score Board feels that a lesser score might greater responsibly replicate the opinion of yank mothers and fathers." -MPAA (action image affiliation of u.s.)