Same with gay, homosexual, etc. Doesn't mean anything bad.
I'm quite surprised with all the videoclips/songs, tv shows and videogames that avoid f-words or are edited (with noises).
People sometimes want to harm with words, words themselves mean nothing.
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean removing the hatred and power behind a word which has divided our people for centuries by giving it a new and friendly connotation, then of course I am for it.
If by saying the n-word casually, you mean flippantly dismissing decades of institutionalized enslavement and murder, and a constant reminder that for all our progress we are still very much two nations, then I despise it.
Its clear to me though that the n-word still causes a great deal of pain to many of my brothers and sisters, and I want no part of that. So even though I hope that someday the n-word will lose this meaning, you're not going to hear it coming out of my mouth.
The list of outlawed words is growing by the day which is just ridiculous.
Nigger is used in rap music all the time.
You'd hear it come out of my mouth:
1. If singing along to R&B Rap etc
2. If quoting some comedy or trying to be funny
Yes, I am a rational person and words shouldn't affect me, but the fact of the matter is that there are deep seeded emotions behind the usage.
Whats so wrong with saying n-word when referring to it?
Because to matter how much lipstick you slap on a pig, it's still a pig.
(Apologies to my sus brethren.)((Oh, and just be clear, we're talking about the word and the word only.))
Funny would be Ali G talking about his homies niggaz pimpin' gangsta stuff.
But this is a tangent. We should really be discussing the lousy comedian this thread is supposed to be about.
Can anyone honestly think that lashout was funny?
Think of it this way. Membership in an oppressed group has its obvious detriments but it also has a few benefits...if you want to see it as a benefit. The benefit is that members can use the word but no one else can.
Gays can use the f word - noone else can Blacks can use the n word - noone else can women can use the b word - no one else can.
The real question is why are you fighting to be able to say it?
It's actually quite hard to work out what words you're talking about :/ Why not just write them.
>> "The real question is why are you fighting to be able to say it?"
Because I don't think it's healthy to attach such horror and outrage at simple words. It's like in Harry Potter where they dare not mention the V word, they just refer to him as 'he who should not be named'.
Here, I'll rewrite it, since I have no compunction against saying offensive words in a conversation about offensive words.
Gays can use the "faggot" - noone else can Blacks can use "nigger" - noone else can women can use "bitch" - no one else can.
This one's actually news to me. I'm glad I never bothered keeping up with trends in political correctness, it seems to be a battle fought over shifting sands that cannot be won.
Now, this older lady walks past and she is at least in her 70's. She hears this white kid yelling nigga in the middle of the mall, laughing about it. I see her eyes and its not anger but hurt and fear. Those words meant something powerful and deep to her because she lived during that time when if you heard the word, there was a good chance you wouldn't make it home that night. After that, I as a black person feel guilt every time I say it. It still slips out every now and then but I try my best.
Like what you said, the n-word means different things to the old lady and the kids. The kids are at ease using the word while the lady is not. Words which are very acceptable nowadays may turn out to be taboo in the future.
I don't think any of us say "afroamerican", but we do use "African American" even when the person in question is not American--it's kind of silly.
And yes, we say f*ck (censored because I don't remember the HN rules) constantly here too, but that's generally in a specific context: working on something with friends, out with other college students, etc. My friends and I, and most people I know, tend to not swear much around our elders or children; it's censored on TV because the audience is much wider than the couple friends you're hanging out with.
As far as censorship goes, look what we can do now thanks to years of bleeping and blurring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Vh9_Hi1kY