You are saying that they should have the tight to hold on to a word that was originally theirs and you have a legitimate point.

But there is another way of looking at it too.

If someone stole one of my plates and pooped in it , I would never try to get back that plate from the pooper , wash it off and resume eating on it as I used to prior to the pooping offense.

My point is that some possessions or liberties in life that are rightfully ours , are SOMETIMES no longer worth salvaging if they have been irrevocably tarnished in sentiment or in physicality.

Secondly if black people are not prudent enough to voluntarily terminate the use of a word which subliminally only binds us on the plantation level of oppression, then we cant be offended if white people are not prudent enough to understand the traumatic effect of them using it on us.

The bigger picture for me is not about which race has the pwer or right to use a word vs those that dont.

Its about re configuring our perception of what power in uts purest sense really is.

I associate power with self- respect and a mind that is geared toward elevation.

Is there no other word that black people can collectively use to acknowledge the oppressive past that binds us but at the same time solidates us in reaching for something higher?

We have the power to create a NEW word to celebrate our triumphs and embody the higher place that we are striving to be.

Thats the kind of power I want our people to embrace.

Sorry for thr multiple reposts my phone is going crazy :(

no worries,,

I don't have a cell, but my computer has done that to me many times

come now people,, action and reaction

action : But as I stated at the beginning of the thread. you want to call each other ******.. Fine.. but don't be surprised when the word continues to stay on in society.. as you are keeping it alive.


reaction: yes, because without us saying it, racists would cease to remember to,,



explanation : In the above exchange the response used the same person as the assertation

'we' is in response to the collective 'you' used when being addressed


the implication of that assertaion is that blacks using ni&&a is responsible for allowing the word to 'stay in society'

the extension of the argument is the idea that blacks not saying the word will cause it to 'leave' society,,lol



so, no its not a community service, anymore than not using it would be

its having the POWER to speak to each other in any way 'we' agree to

"homie" but I don't think that acknowledges anything other than being from the same neighborhood

yeah, whites can call each other ni&&a whenever they want


nothing racist there,,,

I didnt know which post to comment on because to some degree. everyone is citing very legitimate points.

But there are only 3 critical bullet points to race discussions as far as I can see which ultimately get overlooked


1. Ultimately many people (both black and white) would like to see racism eradicated in America. Even in this thread, we see a glimpse of that higher ideal expressed in different ways

THAT'S THE GOAL TO STRIVE FOR

2. Both white and black communities have to understand that there are certain actions perpetrated by BOTH communities that can either HELP the cause of eradicating racism or HINDER it .

3. Both communities have to understand that if they continue to PERPETUATE the actions that hinder the goal of eradicating racism, and DEFEND those actions, racial problems will persist.

In other words...

When BLACK people defend their right to appropriate a word for each other ,that is irrevocably tied to racial oppression, which they ironically protest against , this HINDERS the cause of eradicating racism.

AND...

When WHITE people fight for the right to duplicate the less-than-smart black community practice of appropiating that same word for black people, when historically, brutal lynchings typically accompanied the word ****** from a white person's mouth... This HINDERS the cause of eradicating racism also.

In conclusion:

1 stupid act + another stupid act will never = a smart or successful act or outcome

we can agree to disagree that racism's eradication is hindered by use of a word,,,,

there are many that the true original meaning of the N word fits
of all ethinicities

I also disagree with your context that ****** is MERELY the use of a word.

****** is irrevocably evocative of black torment including beatings, rape, and lynchings at the hands of whites (which blacks spent years fighting against)

****** is irrevocably evocative of insulting stereoptypes perpetuated about blacks ie that we are ALL prostitutes, illiterates, gang members, criminals and deadbeat parents {which throngs of blacks are presently fighting against)

****** is irrevocably evocative of institutionalised racial segregation and polarisation, (which both blacks and whites spent many years lobbying against)

Both whites and blacks have a role to play in the eradication of racism. And perhaps PART of that work would involve steering society's focus away from a racially tumultuous past and towards a racially united future , as well re-wiring society's misguided concept that ALL BLACKS are degenerates.

When the black community VOLUNTARILY refers to themselves as niggers , they are unwittingly identifying themselves with the IRREVOCABLY NEGATIVE images I described above, which most blacks ironically spend their whole lives protesting AGAINST.

How does that help the cause of eradicating racism?

Ps: As I said before whites and blacks all have a part to play in the eradication of racism. White people fighting for the right to call black people niggers because African-Americans are doing it to themselves, does not help the cause of eradicating racism either

1 stupid act + another stupid act will never = a smart act or successful outcome

I understand you disagree that this word is not just a word


I do not

racism wasn't about words, but attitudes,, it wasn't words that created attitudes towards blacks,, it was attitudes towards blacks that overtook and redefined a word


the use of the word or non use will not change a racists attitude toward blacks or do anything, in my opinion, to therefore 'eradicate' racism

It may not make you a racist, but the people around you that hear you use it may very well judge you to be a racist, and if you're with friends who disagree with you, you may find them re-assessing their opinion of you. That could have a profound ripple effect in your life, and that's a risk you don't need.

If everyone stopped using the N-word maybe future generations would forget what the N-word was.

Words and the images they evoke are very influential in subliminally shaping and re-shaping attitudes, culture and ethos .

As you said earlier, we will agree to disagree , Cheers Ms H.

I don't think it should ever be forgotten,,, we should remember the good AND the bad

Welcome to the forum geezer

They wont forget that word , but at least a precedence would have been set that it is an ugly word that should not be condoned.

I grew up in the Bronx back in the 70s and 80s, and that word was used by everybody. White people called other whites that name. I'm not a racist and never could be. You are either a good or bad person. That's my 2 cents.

context gives words power

I have used it a handful of times with close friends who use it amongst themselves,,,as an emphasis of a shared past and community and current unity


but though racists use the word, I don't believe the word ALONE makes one racist