Re: The N word

[Frankela Albury]

Hey Group Welcome Back!!!!

 

 

In rememberance of Martin Luther King Jr.  I thought this topic would be appropriate.  I was watching Oprah's special yesterday on racism and how it has progressed/digressed over the years.  And she had an interview with Jay-Z some years ago and they disagreed on the use of the N word. 

 

Jay-Z remarked how they way rappers and black youth used the word now takes the power out of the word that it previously possessed.  And it is used as a term of endearment.

 

Oprah remarked how after slavery men/women/children were hung and quite possibly the last word they heard before taking their last breath was Nigger.  She felt our ancestors were degraded by that word for centuries and should not be used anymore, not among our youth, or our oppressors.

 

I'd like like to also bring out that many revolutionaries also used this word in their lyrics.  They are not from our generation but from the civil rights generation (ie. The Last Poets "Niggas is scared of Revolution")

 

I'd like to get everyone's opinion on the use of the N word and if it bothers you when it is used.

 

:-)

 

[Faunya Estrada]

It definitely annoys me to hear people using the word.

 

Although many people claim that they are using it as a term of endearment and they are taking the power out of the word, I believe that they are using it because 'everyone else' is using it to.  It's part of urban venacular and they are not conscious enough to rise above the status quo and communicate differently and stand up for themselves.

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[Middleton, Angella]

Wow, I was just discussing this the other day with another group of people.

 

Personally, I find the word offensive.  No matter the race of the person using it or the context of the conversation, song lyrics, etc., I almost always cringe, even if just on the inside.  Maybe modern rappers and hip hop artists have ATTEMTPED to take the power out of it by using it for purposes other than degradation, but they have not succeeded; not with society at large and not even with themselves.  I bet that most, if not all of them would be offended if a white person used it the way they do.  So why even plant the seed in their minds that it’s ok?  I say no one should use it, period.  Are we really that pressed to find a word in our language to denote comradery and brotherhood?  Must we use a word that has such negative historical connotations?  Let’s broaden our horizon and find another expression.  I think Jay-Z and the like are creative enough to handle the challenge.

 

Does anyone know how this all got started?  What sparked the desire in blacks (and apparently black men, specifically) to want to use the word against/with each other?

 

Angella

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[Tamara Evans]

HELLO GROUP!!! 

 

Wow the age old 'N' word question.  Does the word bother me?  Yes, as of a matter of fact, it does.  It annoys me to hear people using it. 

 

The work NIGGA is not in the dictionary but the word NIGGER is in the dictionary the origin or the word currently being used today 

Nigger - Extremely Disparaging and Offensive; a black person, a member of any dark-skinned people

              a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc..

              a person that is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised

 

Ok, so with this definition, why would anyone want to call another human being this unless they were intentionally trying to insult them and make them feel less of a person?

 

Not just the history of the word but the current meaning of the word is very demeaning and as far as I am concerned is still a form of mental slavery.  It causes another to think that they are nothing more than this word.

 

Just like a female that is called a B**ch by her mate and friends.  She may take on the mentality of what she is being called.  Some females don't have an issue with being called a B by other female friends but if a man were to call them by this name... it causes an uproar. 

Well the same goes on with blacks some feel it's ok to call each other the N word but when someone of another race i.e. white men or women use the N word.. it causes an uproar.

 

Why are we using words that can only be used by a certain group of people.  Like Angie said use your minds, be creative there are so many other words in the English language to show comradery. 

[Will]

I personally do not find the word offensive. Not because it is a term
of endearment, but because it is a word that only has the power to
impact me the way I allow it too. Anything can be said with malicious
intent, which means that any word can be used to degrade or demean
someone. To me it’s just a word, like many other words in the English
language that when used improperly, are humiliating and degrading.
This in no way lessons the impact of slavery and the discrimination
that our ancestors experienced. But, there were many other derogatory
names that people were called then and now that no one is showing much
concern for. The word by itself is meaningless, the intent and action
behind the work is where the root of the problem lies, and that’s
regardless of race. If we are going to start banning words, why stop
at just one, we should take all of the words that are degrading, and
everyone should stop saying those too!
On Jan 18, 1:41 pm, "Middleton, Angella"

[Obatunji McKnight]

Will makes an excellent point. My friend told me a story about how he visited with family in Arizona. He went to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousins who were all born again Christians. They don't use any profanity. However, while he was playing volleyball with them he noticed even though they didn't use swear words, in the heat of competition they would use 'acceptable' terms that weren't swear words. When he missed a save his cousin yelled, "You idiot! You missed the ball!" Now idiot isn't a term most of us are bothered but if you say it the same way you call someone a motherfucker... Language is more than the actual word. It is context, emotion, information and some of that information is history. Me and Pre were talking about this and she brought up that nigger may hold more impact due to the fact it is a word that had no earlier meanings than it's historical derogatory definition. That led me to consider other words that specifically address an outsider groups and have no other apparent meaning. There weren't many but by the same token 'nigger' is taken by blacks, 'slut' can be taken by women (I would have used 'bitch' but it has a proper definition as a female dog).

There is a magic in words, through understanding, belief and knowledge. If one practices this  word art of 'casting spells', then rules defining acceptable speakable language is necessary. Most of us are only partially invested in this sytem as in, we use it purposefully sometimes. It is more often used for mundane information transferral. The power of any word lies in how the speaker uses words in general VS using them in incantation. This relationship directly influences the speakers mind/reality. This effect can be seen in deeply religious/spiritual people who either pray or meditate a lot and it can also be seen during speeches. Budhist mantrams, christian prayers, taoist meditations all use word magic. Obama, Bush, Clinton all used word magic. For most of us most of the time, this gives words a limited power to affect us individually ie. categorization. Even if just a little, words have a definite effect. So it is up to the individual to decide to react or respond. Otherwise like Will mentioned, why censor just one? Lets get rid of slut, fag and dumbass and all the other derogatory terms too.

[tamara...@gmail.com]

I agree that these words should be at the bottom of the barrel in a persons vocabulary. The use of derogatory terms will never disappear, just for the simple fact that we are human and humans are cruel to their own species as well as other species.

And like I said unless your intentions are really to call a person what the real meaning of these words mean, then why use them.

Someone may call a person an idiot and they really feel as though they are idiotic therefore it wasn't used out ot context. Most of the time when people use Nigga it has nothing to do with its true meaning therefore used out of context. The same when calling someone a B. And is MotherF even in the dictionary or is it a made up profanity?

Words have meaning. So you can either take them all at face value for the true meaning or choose to dismiss and alter the meanings for your own benefit.

I use the word "JOKE" often to refer to a person who may have done something comical to me... The definition of a joke is an amusing story or act.
Or maybe the way women call men "DOGS" meaning they act like a dog when dealing with women.
Hmm.. Once again all of these things relate back to the original meaning.
So when the word Nigga is being used does it relate back to its original meaning?

Nas has a line in one of his songs, if I ruled the world, that has stood out to me for years, "Be poor or be rich still don't nobody want a 'Nigga' having sh*t". Is he referring to Black people calling us all Nigga's just like the creators of this word or is he just referring to "those" people? Does he himself feel as though we are all Nigga's? Just questions...

My opinion and after MLK day... What did our ancestors fight for, die for?? Just because of the history, the blood behind the term... People should think twice or even thrice before freely using the term.

Oh and a quick story.. I heard this weekend from a black female that has some white friends... They were all hanging out and the friends were telling a story about Eddie Murphy and referred to him as a Nigga.. They quickly retracted and apologized when they realized that a black women was actually sitting in their mist. This has happened to her twice, two separate conversations. Another time they were just talking about blacks and referred to them as Niggas. Just freely flowing terms from their mouth.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: Obatunji McKnight <obat...@gmail.com>

Sender: life...@googlegroups.com

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:42:00 -0500

To: <life...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: life...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Group Discussion: Re: The N word

Will makes an excellent point. My friend told me a story about how he visited with family in Arizona. He went to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousins who were all born again Christians. They don't use any profanity. However, while he was playing volleyball with them he noticed even though they didn't use swear words, in the heat of competition they would use 'acceptable' terms that weren't swear words. When he missed a save his cousin yelled, "You idiot! You missed the ball!" Now idiot isn't a term most of us are bothered but if you say it the same way you call someone a motherfucker... Language is more than the actual word. It is context, emotion, information and some of that information is history. Me and Pre were talking about this and she brought up that nigger may hold more impact due to the fact it is a word that had no earlier meanings than it's historical derogatory definition. That led me to consider other words that specifically address an outsider groups and have no other apparent meaning. There weren't many but by the same token 'nigger' is taken by blacks, 'slut' can be taken by women (I would have used 'bitch' but it has a proper definition as a female dog).

There is a magic in words, through understanding, belief and knowledge. If one practices this  word art of 'casting spells', then rules defining acceptable speakable language is necessary. Most of us are only partially invested in this sytem as in, we use it purposefully sometimes. It is more often used for mundane information transferral. The power of any word lies in how the speaker uses words in general VS using them in incantation. This relationship directly influences the speakers mind/reality. This effect can be seen in deeply religious/spiritual people who either pray or meditate a lot and it can also be seen during speeches. Budhist mantrams, christian prayers, taoist meditations all use word magic. Obama, Bush, Clinton all used word magic. For most of us most of the time, this gives words a limited power to affect us individually ie. categorization. Even if just a little, words have a definite effect. So it is up to the individual to decide to react or respond. Otherwise like Will mentioned, why censor just one? Lets get rid of slut, fag and dumbass and all the other derogatory terms too.

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