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by mrtoolman on October 25th, 2008

mrtoolman

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If black people including Obama still talk about problems with racism, how come they haven't come together and forced the rap/hiphop industry and black communities to stop using the N word? They're complaining it's offensive, while their peers use it.

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Answers. 11 helpful answers below.

  • by Im Alec has abandoned this account on October 25th, 2008

    Im Alec has abandoned this account

    I have trouble with "forcing" anybody to do anything unless it is really necessary. Force should be a last resort. What they should be doing, and they are, is trying to persuade. Anyway, focussing on one word will not change the attitudes behind that word. I agree that the ghetto mentality that leads to the use of that word is harmful - it as racist to support somebody /just/ because they are black as it is to repress them. But you need to attack the mentality, not the words.

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  • by SmashTheState on October 25th, 2008

    SmashTheState

    We don't live in a vacuum. While ideally our laws and social rules should be colour-blind (and gender-blind and sexuality-blind and class-blind), the reality of the situation is that some people require more rights because they are the target of extra wrongs. This is why the plaintive Angry White Male cry of "reverse racism" is so offensive; they are not arguing from a position of equality, but one of superiority, where the deck is stacked wildly in their favour already.

    The black community in North America was permanently warped by the effects of slavery. It altered their traditional family structure, their collective self-image, and their social roles. These effects have been documented by many different anthropologists, and are indisputable. While these effects are mitigated by the passage of time and the integration of people into the larger social fabric, a century and a half of profound prejudice has instead exacerbated the effect of slavery to the point that, at current rates of incarceration, 2 out of every 3 black males in the United States will have spent time in the prison system by the year 2020, and make up 40% of the population of US prisons while they make up only 15% of the general population.

    The use of "nigger" by the black community is a double-edged sword. On the one side it's a way of appropriating a word with powerful negative connotations and rendering it harmless, the same way the feminist community has appropriated "cunt" and "bitch" to have positive qualities. On the other side, it's also on a deeper level a symptom of self-hate created by a culture of oppression. This dichotomy is why the word continues to be controversial, even in the black community.

    Ultimately, those of us who are not part of the black community must respect their right to self-determination and allow them to work out their problems in their own way, and in their own time. It is out of this respect that we refrain from using the word, while likewise refraining from criticism of those in the black community who -- for whatever reason -- feel the need to use it themselves.

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  • by ConservativelyLiberal on October 25th, 2008

    ConservativelyLiberal

    Because it's ofensive for white people to say it. Not blacks.

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  • by xhepera on October 26th, 2008

    xhepera

    Okay, I'm gonna go out on a limb here (and get DR'd up the wazoo most likely) and make some politically incorrect points. There is a semantic/linguistic issue here that most people are unaware of: Black people do not use the word n*gger. Repeat after me. . .Black people do *not* use the word n*gger. Well, actually they do on occasion. But rarely, and only to be facetious in private. They do, however, use the word "n*gga*.

    Now, there are those who are gonna tell me that it's the same word. It is not. And the difference is NOT simply in pronunciation. Most black people who've lived in an urban area or in certain places in the south (and are being honest) can tell you that n*gga has a multitude of uses among black people. It can be used to express fondness, it can be used generally, and it can be used to express contempt or disapproval of actions among other things. N*gger has only one use, and that is to express malice and/or hatred, based on the color of one's skin. The problem is most non-blacks don't know, refuse to hear, or refuse to believe that there is a difference. N*gga may have been at one time but hasn't been a mispronunciation of n*gger for a very long time.

    I am of mixed race and black-identified, not unlike the esteemed Senator from Illinois. If a white man comes up to me on the street and says, "What's up, n*gga!" my first thought is going to be, "oh lord, here's some wanna-be black man trying to be 'cool'." But if that man comes up to me and says, "Hey, n*gger!" the fight-or-flight response is on.

    The question of whether or not white people should feel free to use the term is a sticky one, I suppose. After all, in the U.S. we live in the land of freedom of speech. But I think it inadvisable to use a term for which one has no cultural background or affinity. I remember two friends of mine in college. One was a Jewish guy who used the term "Yid" around me. The other was a sansei Japanese guy who regularly referred to Asians, generically, as "Buddha-heads." I didn't (and don't) care for either term but believed it was their right to use them. I also believed that I should not use them, because I did not have those cultural backgrounds nor the sense of when it might be appropriate and when not.

    That was many years ago, but right now I work with a woman of Italian descent who loves to talk about her "Wop" relatives, and many white folks who (in this fairly rural area) love to toss around the term "white trash," which I find deeply offensive and would not for a moment think it advisable to use. Besides, can you see the faces on either of these if *I* was to say such things?!?

    Anyway, these are just my thoughts and observations. Make of them what you will.

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  • by mrbuddhafreak on October 26th, 2008

    mrbuddhafreak

    You can't stop anybody else from saying a word. You can stop buying their products. You can stop your kids from buying their products. And you can not say the word yourself. Disavow and disown the users of the word. Sociological babble and acceptance just perpetuates stereotypes and myths.

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  • by three cousins from the 313 on October 26th, 2008

    three cousins from the 313

    Because they can't force anyone to do anything. Just because you walk up to someone and say quit doing something doesn't mean they are going to quit doing it. Even Barack Obama doesn't have the power to tell anyone to change their behavior and expect it to change because he said sp. And even if the N word was removed racism would exsist in some form. And think about how many peers do we have that embrass us but at the end of the day can't change how they conduct themselves. Double standard yes but don't be blind because each race has double standards.

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  • by Tamilze on October 26th, 2008

    Tamilze

    First of all, forcing certain groups of people to stop using a certain word is not the right way to go about doing anything, ever. Think about it. Second, words are only offensive in the right (or wrong) context. Think about that too.

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  • by Mephistopheles on October 26th, 2008

    Mephistopheles

    What's goose for the goose is not good for the gander

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  • by xhepera on October 26th, 2008

    xhepera

    Point taken. But I would point out that the problems with racism in this country do not have much, if anything, to do with the use or non-use of the "N" word. Besides, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans are not usually called that name and they experience racism as well. The use of that word pales in comparison to the real, insidious racism that many experience on a regular basis. Believe me, being called a name is the absolute LEAST of their worries. It may be offensive to them, but that ain't the racism they're complaining about.

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  • by Occams Electric Razor on October 25th, 2008

    Occams Electric Razor

    good question. It's a word that I think should either be done with completely amongst all colors of peoples or the stigma with it be dropped. If there's that much hurt and pain associated with it that no one is supposed to say it then I don't understand why blacks would choose to use it, especially in music since the majority of rap album purchasers are middle class teenage whites. Rappers don't have a problem selling the album to whites but the whites can't sing half the lyrics on the album...this seems a little hypocritical to me.
    But I won't say racism doesn't exist, because it does and it rears it's ugly head in more forms than in a word.

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  • by Greekgod on October 25th, 2008

    Greekgod

    Because in soceity we only do that, that suits us.

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