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Quote by: Fonceai  It's stupidity, is what it is.
Not all blacks use that word.
My cousin and I were arguing once and he said to me, "Nigger, please."
My grandmother hit him so fast and hard that I barely saw her move.
The lesson she proceeded to teach, after he got up off the ground, is that that word should never be used out of anything but digust and hate because it's a disgusting and hateful word.
She said something to the effect that it's the rioting, gangbanging, rap-culture type Negro that are niggers. They don't take pride in being black; they are Proud. Anyone who speaks ignorance with pride is a nigger, no matter what color they are.
People will try to say that blacks are "taking the word back" from white people or whatever fluffy sociological excuse they want to make.
The truth is that by honoring the word and giving it complexity, blacks aren't helping to prevent racism. |
Well said Fonce. Your Gandmother sounds like she knew mine.
I remember Lenny Bruce when he was repeatedly arrested for using profanity in his stand up routine. His theory was that if one uses profanity enough it dillutes the meaning of the word, or can even change the meaning of the word altogether. Some believe perhaps in this case, the same could apply. Maybe, maybe not. I rather think not here.
We are dealing with a concept, not merely a word. this is what is so offensive about the "n" word. It would be like saying "Heil Hitler" to a Jew. No amount of sanitizing or repetition will evere erase the inhumanity of the concept behind these words. Their meanings are what remains offensive to this very day. We should not forget.
Now on the PC side of the coin, I remember a few years back, a teacher in the DC area was condemned for using the owrd
"niggardly" in her classroom. This was prepsterous because it is a perfectly acceptable word in the English language that means to be cheap. It has nothing to do with bigotry. It is only a racist that would fabricate this into something evil.
What this issue boils down to is the concept behind our words. When the meaning is derived at the expense of another race which has paid the price of the word with their lives and human dignity, it is a word that should never be forgotten but also should not be used in our daily vernacular without the careful understanding of its history.