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Comment by qeorge | Hacker News Reader

I end up having an if-by-whiskey argument with myself about this, especially regarding the "n-word."

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.

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I don't think being offended by any word is rational. Be offended by actions and events.

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

Certainly wouldn't use it in an aggressive/hateful way, and that's what you have to always bear in mind - context.

Watch out. White people saying the word "nigger" because they're trying to be funny end up being this guy: http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-o...

I am offended at people using it even on this board.

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?

Whats so wrong with saying n-word when referring to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N6Phmale_Q#t=1m58s (nsfw)

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.))

There's absolutely nothing wrong with saying 'n-word' instead of 'nigger'. You can call it anything you feel comfortable with. If you take offense to others saying 'nigger' then I apologize, that was not the intent. Do you also get offended when you hear some rapper saying 'nigger' in a song or interview?

Nah he wasn't being funny. He was just trying to shock people and being offensive.

Funny would be Ali G talking about his homies niggaz pimpin' gangsta stuff.

I didn't say he was being funny. I said he was trying to be funny. The crucial point is that white people very rarely succeed in being funny when they say "nigger".

I'm not at all convinced he was trying to be funny, which is the crucial difference for me. If he had been really trying to amuse his audience, no matter how cringe-worthy, I think they would have (and should have) let him off the hook. But he was really angry at the hecklers and it definitely didn't seem to me like he was using the word to make them or anyone else laugh.

Angry shouting, and saying things to shock people, are both well-known comedic techniques though. So it's just as possible he's just a lousy comedian.

But this is a tangent. We should really be discussing the lousy comedian this thread is supposed to be about.

Cmon, you seriously think Michael Richards was using angry shouting and shock value as comedic techniques?

Can anyone honestly think that lashout was funny?

I honestly can not say what was going through his head at the time.

Well knowing that it does affect people, why would you use it at all? It kills me when people try to justify their nonsense.

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?

People are offended by a ton of ridiculous stuff.

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'.

You're right it's just like Harry Potter.

I laughed so hard at this.

"It's actually quite hard to work out what words you're talking about :/ Why not just write them."

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.

women can use the b word - 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.

I try not to use the word but it slips occasionally. And to be honest, the word in itself does not offend me, only how it is used. Now for the big but...about ten years ago I was at the mall. I saw a white kid and black kid hanging out together. They were going back and forth, saying nigga as if they were in a hip hop video.I wouldn't prefer it but still was not bothered enough to says something about it.

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.

Words themselves do not matter, it's after all just a sound we make. The important thing is the emotion behind the utterance, the context and also the interpretation of the meaning of the word.

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.

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