Monday, July 21, 2008
NIGGA PLEASE!!!
The "N" word has reared it's ugly head once again. I believe it was two times last week. First, you have poor Rev. Jesse Jackson caught with a "hot" microphone again and by whom? The Fox network saying the "N" word... Poor Jessie....What would make you think that they would ever turn your mic off in the Fox studio? (They probably had it on from the time you got there.) considering the juicy tidbits they got from you last week, the Obama thing, and now this... it probably was good business, from their point of view, to keep it on!
Then, as you all know by now, the ladies on "The View"... Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd were discussing the issue and had to explain to Elizabeth Hasselbeck that we do not yet live in "One America" and that words have whatever meaning the user gives to them. In other words... in black America, we have taken the sting off of the "N" word and when we say it amongst each other it has a whole different meaning than when, let's say, a tobacco-chewing klansman uses it.
That being said, it doesn't make it right when we use it to each other. It didn't just start with the young people and the hip-hop crowd. Black people have been calling each other "nigger" and now "nigga" as a term of affection since the end of reconstruction. A part of me agrees with Elisabeth Hasselbeck... why would we want to use a term toward each other that brings back so many memories of so much pain.
When I'm on the subway with white people, it embarrasses me to hear our young people calling each other the "n" word and I know it probably perplexes the average white person. Young "wiggers" who want to be down with their black friends have made the mistake of using the "N" word to them and much to their surprise, they discovered a whole new reality. In other words... we can say it to each other but, YOU better not fix your mouth to say it.
A lot of whites scream that it's a double standard (which it is but, so are a lot of things in life) but, I'm also very suspect of those who protest a little too much. It makes me wonder, (1) if they're mad because here is something we can say that they can't say and (2) if maybe, they really want to say it and are pissed off because they can't. This could be a subject for a whole 'nother blog post.
For the record, I stopped using the word myself, about six or seven years ago. It is a racist and degrading term and I can't use it towards my people in an endearing fashion of any kind. That's just me. It would be nice if we could live in one America where "race" wouldn't be a big deal anymore. An America where the words "nigger", "spic", "wop", kike", "fag", "dyke", and even "bitch" would be a distant memory of the past. I know we are not there yet but, I'm doing my part by not saying that word or any word like it that demeans another human being.
The question I have for you is what are you going to do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
KEEPING THE FAITH: RANDOM PRAYERS "ON THE DOWNLOAD"
"Mommy, can I go to Timmy's blog and play?"
9 comments:
Chris Rock put it best when he said; it's the only advantage to being black he knew of. He said any white people wanna trade? You can say nicca, if I can set interest rates. *lol*
However, like you I too am conflicted with its use. Blackgirl in Maine had a really good post about it last week. She's in my comments section.
-OG
@ Keith
*coming thru for the 1st time*
I feel where you're coming from. I still use the word but I only use it in social settings with my closest friends. For us, it is a term of endearment. I can understand how it bothers some people and I'm very conscious about when and where the term is used.
To me, it's a word that will upset some of my people...i understand that. I think the acceptance of the word comes b/c there are some who've never heard that word in a harmful or demeaning way. There are some black folks who have only heard that word from the mouths of other black folks. Their experiences are different and thus...a different outlook.
good blog, bruh...i'll be back. thanks for coming thru to the 12th Planet
ohhhh Lord i will just stay away from this topic, cause i have been guilty of using the term to describe some of our ignorant black people.
sorry though, gonna try to get better,lol
@ O.G.- I remember that Chris Rock
comment..that was funny.
@12Klyle- Thanks for coming through,don't be a stranger.
@ Dreamy, We are all guilty of that, I'm just pledging to stop.
Hi there. Stopping through for the first time. Enjoyed your post. I've always hated the "N" word whether spoken by members of ANY race and even if it was used as a term of endearment. I don't use it in my own personal circles either. I feel the same way about the word bitch too... Maybe I'm a prude but I'll go out of my way to find a word better suited to what I want to convey.
P.S. Luv the Crimson and Cream!
Just read through a few more of your posts. Hope you don't mind, I'm adding you to my blog roll...
@Dione- Thanks for dropping by and don't be a stranger...I'm going to add you to my blog roll also.
Keith, I applaud you!
This is a better interpretation (and a more concise one) of the N-Word debacle, than the one I did last Thursday.
You are right. Most of us are guilty of using the word in leisure, but detesting its ugly past. And if you think about it, why are whites so angry? The N-word is not the cure for cancer, it's just a slang word. But what can you do?
GREAT POST!
Intersting topic!
It is double standard. I personally don't use the term much. I use it almost as rarely as I would use any other curse word because that's just what it is in the truest sense of the term. The word was a curse.
On the other hand, I am not offended in the least when I hear blacks excahnge it amongst themselves in the presence of only blacks. BUT if a white person says it regardless of whether or not they think they're black it just doesn't sit too well with me.
It's a cultural thing.
Post a Comment