Author Topic: The "N" Word  (Read 9287 times)

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Offline Zygarde

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The "N" Word
« on: November 08, 2012, 08:05:41 pm »
Kind of a iffy subject but I've always wanted to have a discussion about this what do you guys think of the use of the word 'nigger'? I personally don't care for it i don't use it nor really care if anyone else uses it so long as it's not in a racist of bigoted fashion like "Them niggers need to die" but yeah what do you guys think.

(This is also a question I've wanted to ask since I'm one of the few black members of the forum that i know of. )

Offline Søren

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2012, 09:10:06 pm »
I've always thought the concept of the whole "thats our work" thing kinda stupid. But for some reason that bigoted fashion kind of rubs me the wrong way.
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Offline Witchyjoshy

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2012, 09:11:07 pm »
Truth be told, I've had it ground into me early on that the word is terrible.  It is one of the few words I do not feel comfortable saying even if it's a discussion about how bad it is.

Seeing people who use it non-ironically tends to fill me with a lot of anger.  (That being said, I could stand to be less sensitive about it)

I will say, however, that if you shy away from using it in, say, historical fiction or modern fiction or such, then that's going too far the other direction.  Whitewashing history for the sake of political correctness means that you make the actual offense of the word meaningless.  In a story, it makes sense for a racist to use that word when they would use it in real life.

Gratuitous, over the top use, however, is just plain bad taste.
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Offline Søren

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2012, 09:21:12 pm »
That reminds me of one girl in TAFE, I'm not sure how we got to this point, but she started asking me to say the N word, just because I was so uncomfortable saying it. I thought she would go all militant black girl on me. She poked me enough to say it and she goes "see, now that wasnt so hard was it!"
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Offline Rabbit of Caerbannog

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2012, 09:39:10 pm »
I think Tim Wise does a good job of dealing with it:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnmmDiQSdA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnmmDiQSdA</a>

Offline Sleepy

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2012, 10:10:18 pm »
I'm uncomfortable saying it myself, but I certainly don't want to discourage its use if we're discussing history and that subject happens to come up (basically, I'm not going to freak out over my history teacher saying, "'Nigger' was used as a derogatory term. . .") It really pisses me off to see classic books being edited to remove the word, because it's often an important element in the story.
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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2012, 10:18:19 pm »
Yeah. In historical context, it's perfectly fine. In common parlance? I have just as much trouble with it as I have with other slurs against other groups. I said it once when I was six, not knowing what it was, and my parents flipped shit at me and explained what it meant, so I have never used it again.

Offline Agni

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2012, 10:33:34 pm »
Being a half-black man, I've not no problem using the word "nigga" in appropiate context (read: around other black people or in rapping).

"Nigger" is verboten to the max, though.

Offline Zygarde

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2012, 10:39:26 pm »
That's something I never got whats the difference between "Nigga" and "Nigger" since they seem pretty much the same to me?

Offline Agni

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2012, 12:33:28 am »
"Nigger" is a slur, "nigga" is a reclaimed form of it much like some how feminists have reclaimed "slut" or LGBTQ people have reclaimed "queer".

Offline Her3tiK

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2012, 12:51:35 am »
I didn't know what it was until the show... I think it was called 'Boston Public'... did an episode on it. I think I've used the word once in my entire life (I keep hearing it in a Maroon 5 song but am positive that it's not the right lyric, but have never looked it up), and I can barely bring myself to even type it most of the time. Hell, my roommate/guitarist is black and doesn't care if I use it, and I still won't let it slip.

The punchline here, if I have one at all, is that I don't think it's a word that should even be used, if only because of it's connotation. I'm not even sure how or why it got picked up in the black community after how long it was used as an insult against them.
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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #11 on: November 09, 2012, 01:44:02 am »
I should mention seeing or hearing ... "nigga" tends to make me feel... very uncomfortable still.

Hell, just typing it made my insides twist a bit.  I've got issues.
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Offline Her3tiK

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #12 on: November 09, 2012, 02:22:47 am »
I should mention seeing or hearing ... "nigga" tends to make me feel... very uncomfortable still.

Hell, just typing it made my insides twist a bit.  I've got issues.
That just makes me see the speaker about 5 IQ dumber than before they said it.
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Offline largeham

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #13 on: November 09, 2012, 02:40:23 am »
I feel uncomfortable using either 'nigger' or 'nigga', as Zachski said, even in discussion about the word. I also agree though it shouldn't be not used if it will cover over historical prejudice. As for black people using, IDGAF.

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Re: The "N" Word
« Reply #14 on: November 09, 2012, 04:28:20 am »
That's something I never got whats the difference between "Nigga" and "Nigger" since they seem pretty much the same to me?

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