"But black people are allowed to say the n-word..."

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I always look at the rappers that go to SXSW and just perform ignorant trap songs to a crowd of UT college kids mostly white. I'm like all this for a damn check? Are y'all not conscious enough to think about what you doing?

I love 'ignorant trap songs' and have never felt compelled to use a racial slur. Those who do it are just looking for any excuse to use it and they're not actually acting out of respect.
 
It depends on the context and intention I suppose. Here in the Netherlands it's pretty social acceptable to say "neger" when talking about a black guy. There are tons of other more derogatory words if you want to insult black people.
 
Can't understand people who think anyone who thinks such things has automatically bad intentions. The rest of the world doesn't have the same racial tensions as in the US, especially in today's world in which countless teenagers and young adults were raised on the Internet where no one knows you're a dog (or black). Believe it or not, being "colorblind" (or rather relatively unaware/uncaring of race) actually is a thing, even if making such claims in the US (where you're likely to be surrounded by racial problems in the first place) is rather suspicious.

I know some European people who really need to understand the gravity of the racial situation in America though. Why "nigga" (oops) is used by the black community at all, why the era of serious racial oppression has consequences still felt today (when was Jim Crow abolished? like 60 years ago?) and why racism is still a serious and sensitive issue in the US.
 
It depends on the context and intention I suppose. Here in the Netherlands it's pretty social acceptable to say "neger" when talking about a black guy. There are tons of other more derogatory words if you want to insult black people.

You do realize the bolded is bullshit right?
Can't understand people who think anyone who thinks such things has bad intentions. The rest of the world doesn't have the same racial tensions as in the US, especially in today's world in which countless teenagers and young adults were raised on the Internet where no one knows you're a dog (or black).

I know some European people who really need to understand the gravity of the racial situation in America though. Why "nigga" (oops) is used by the black community at all, why the era of serious racial oppression has consequences still felt today (when was Jim Crow abolished? like 60 years ago?) and why racism is still a serious and sensitive issue in the US.

Don't understand this post at all, especially the bolded.
 
So does Eminem.
And I'm sure at a point in his life, Emimen said the word around his black friends pretty often too.
That's what makes the rules and use of the word so convoluted. Who gets to decide for everyone when it is right or wrong? And it's not just white people/non-black people saying it. David Banner's got an issue with the word being used at all.
And David Banner doesn't speak for all black people in this manner. I could make a list of black people who oppose every meaning of the word. Their aren't any hard rules with the N-Word just nuances and consequences. If I were a white rapper and I was writing a song. I could write a line that had nigga with no intentions to disparage anyone or I could just not write that line. The consequences for the former is that some people may not care about it and others could take offense to it and could refuse to work with me or write an article judging my character. There aren't any consequences for the latter. For white rappers, their best bet is just to not say it all.
 
Neighbors wanna try, neighbors wanna lie
Then neighbors wonder why neighbors wanna die
All I know is pain, all I feel is rain
How can I maintain with mad shit on my brain
I resort to violence, my neighbors move in silence
Like you don't know what our style is, New York neighbors the wildest
My neighbors is with it, you want it come and get it
Took it then we split it, you fucking right we did it
What the fuck you gonna do when we run up on you
Fucking with the wrong crew
Don't know what we're going through
I'ma have to show neighbors how easily we blow neighbors
When you find out there's some more neighbors that's running with your neighbors
Nothing we can't handle, break it up and dismantle
Light it up like a candle
Just cause I can't stand you
Put my shit on tapes like you busting grapes
Think you holdin' weight
Then you haven't met the apes

Ehh...

That's comedy gold
 
If you read both of my posts in which I responded to you I answered all of your questions but you keep bringing these points back up. Let me explain for the third time.
I went back to read your first post and you said sometimes you recognize other minorities being relatable and thus allowed to say it, but not always. I asked why it's not always recognized and you flipped out.

WHITE PEOPLE:


You don't get to say it ever, unless you have a group of black friends that give you a pass to use it around them. That pass does not extend to the public at large and if you get into shit while out with said friends it's on them to bail you out for allowing you usage of the word. Why did they allow you to use it in the first place? Well, how the fuck should I know I'm not your black friend? But, I would suspect it has to do with the fact that they consider you pretty close to family and thus consider it okay for you to use the word around them. They are comfortable that you aren't secretly a racist and will use the word appropriately. Or maybe they caved in because you're an ass who really wants to say the word and they finally relent knowing at some point it will bite you in the ass. Again, the fuck should I know.
I already told you I agree with you there. You didn't have to explain that again.

NON-BLACK MINORITIES:

Sometimes depending on the circumstances and your race/skin color. Other minorities are sometime given a pass to use the world similar to white folks within a group of close black friends and sometimes even given an open pass to use it, which is rarer. The open pass usually only applies to minorities with a similar shared experience and history to black folks so basically Hispanics and Arab/Muslims, brown skinned people if you will. They tend to deal with the same racist sit we do and so sometimes we allow them to say it. However, that's not to say there is open consensus as to whether everyone agrees they should be allowed to say it.
That's what I'm asking. You say sometimes it is allowed, which means sometimes it is not. Why is that fair? Either commit to letting us be allowed to say it or restrict it the same way it is should be for white people. I can't speak for everyone but this middle ground definitely makes it complicated for me.

And, finally this shared "culture" has fuck all to do with Hip-Hop, rap music, or growing up poor. Eminem had a lot of life experiences that many black people face in America but doesn't give him a pass to use the n-word. No matter what the dude is white and as a result he does not have a history of slavery, oppression and racism nor has he ever had to encounter such racism in his daily life. He is not black.
I don't know why you're telling me this. I never tried saying anyone with a poor upbringing and rough childhood has a right to say the word.

Does that clear things up for you?
Not really. Can you explain why it's only sometimes for colored people who aren't black?
 
Wow, just wow. No one says the hard R. Ever. Black, White, or Other. I have the privilage of being able to say nigga and have no repprecussions, why? I'm black and it's one of few privilages I get as a black person.

I look at it like this, I don't allow people who aren't black to say nigga around me. Just don't, white people just get annoyed they can say just about every word created except nigga. That seems to be all there is to it.
 
Nah, you know they would find a way. Lets not forget that people used that term before it was co-opted anyway so.... we know that if black people stopped using it nothing would change.
Find a way? They were calling us nigger before the "a" came around..they'd call us nigger without it. It's a stupid argument, and everyone that brings up this "You stop first" bullshit knows it..straight honkey-tonk bullshit.
 
It really does have to start with us though. Chamillionaire best said it and he doesn't use it in his raps anymore because he would perform songs at events and the crowd would be a bunch of white college kids reciting every line in a song. The N word would be one of them.

I always look at the rappers that go to SXSW and just perform ignorant trap songs to a crowd of UT college kids mostly white. I'm like all this for a damn check? Are y'all not conscious enough to think about what you doing?

So damn OP, I mean they exist. Some just want to be 'friends' to have that friend of color. Keep your circle small and only with people that keep it real.

I dont really understand why being a white college kid at a rap show means you can now say nigger. Like where is the logic in that?

If you cant enjoy music without using the N word them dont enjoy it. Thats not ny problem. Its not some divine right to use it because my quality of musical entertainment drops if I dont say it.
 
I love 'ignorant trap songs' and have never felt compelled to use a racial slur. Those who do it are just looking for any excuse to use it and they're not actually acting out of respect.

I put the responsibility on the performers to be socially conscious.

50 Cent said "America is in love with this gansta shit". We are.
 
The word will disappear if people attempt not to use it. It will be quicker if both black people and white people do that, but either way It's gonna take a damn long time. I mean Old english did turn into what we use now.

Right now, I think what people mean is it's giving them the impression that black people using it makes them a hypocrite. Because it technically does."It's a terrible word, don't use it, but we still will."

I think that pierces peoples' pride, because it is a clear cut privilege of being black. Whereas the privileges of being white are less clear cut and out in the open written in bold as "You can't, but we can". If you can accept that there are privileges for being white, you should accept that not being able to say the N word is completely fine. There's a lot of inequality. Not being able to say a word is the least of it.
 
I love 'ignorant trap songs' and have never felt compelled to use a racial slur. Those who do it are just looking for any excuse to use it and they're not actually acting out of respect.
I have a white friend from Memphis, one of the founding locations of ignorant-ass rap, who loves said ignorant-ass raps and has no problem editing out nigga when he's rapping along with a song. There really is no excuse.
 
I look at it like this, I don't allow people who aren't black to say nigga around me. Just don't, white people just get annoyed they can say just about every word created except nigga. That seems to be all there is to it.

This annoys me so much. It's even worse when they just start doing this and are like "But (insert black person) allowed me to say it!"

What do I look like? Like some kind of office? I don't like the word being used around me, so stop it! It's not gonna kill you!
 
Sure it will..

It absolutely will. Saying it won't is a nearsighted statement considering time is big. And there's a lot more of it in front of us than behind us.

Instead of saying "Sure it will" can you counter argue? It's a discussion forum.
 
Also I don't give two fucks if you have a black friend who allows you to say nigga, THAT DOESN'T MEAN SAY IT AROUND ALL BLACK PEOPLE. AT ALL.

It also pisses me off when I see videos of live performances of rap songs and it's just a sea of white folks saying nigga. Down in the DM? White folk saying nigga. M.A.A.D. City? White folk saying nigga. Just accept you can't say one god damn word white people.
 
It absolutely will. Saying it won't is a nearsighted statement considering time is big. And there's a lot more of it in front of us than behind us.

Instead of saying "Sure it will" can you counter argue? It's a discussion forum.

Black people damn sure don't call each other apes and monkeys. And that shit ain't disappeared

Black people don't make nooses, but we get stories of them being hung around black people every year
 
That's what I'm asking. You say sometimes it is allowed, which means sometimes it is not. Why is that fair? Either commit to letting us be allowed to say it or restrict it the same way it is should be for white people. I can't speak for everyone but this middle ground definitely makes it complicated for me.

I don't know why you're telling me this. I never tried saying anyone with a poor upbringing and rough childhood has a right to say the word.

Not really. Can you explain why it's only sometimes for colored people who aren't black?

Nigga, who is this "we" you are speaking of? Did we collectively as black people come down and slap you in your face for using the n-word? For non-black minorities it's up to you to feel out the situation and use the word within your discretion. It's that fucking simple. Honestly, if you are having problems understanding this then maybe you shouldn't be using the word in the first place. Like, why do you even want to use it so badly anyway?

Again, non-black minorities ain't black so they by definition ain't been through the same shit we have and continue to go through. So that is why you do not get an unqualified right to use the word. What you get is a revocable pass which can be revoked and given back to you by any black person around you. It's not rocket science.
 
Do people who think both whites and blacks should stop using the word also think certain words commonly used within some gay communities should also be dropped within those communities?
 
Black people damn sure don't call each other apes and monkeys. And that shit ain't disappeared

Black people don't make nooses, but we get stories of them being hung around black people every year

If they did, it would be more common. I guess you skipped the part where it says "Either way it's going to take a long time"
 
I personally try to never say it, I don't like even saying the "N Word" because it just seems like a cop out people use to say an ugly word without actually saying it. Even with my black friends who are close to me and I don't drop it, they even made fun of me for it but I legit told them I respect them too much to want to use it, even if it was a part of a song lyric and they were "oking" my use of it.
 
The word will disappear if people attempt not to use it. It will be quicker if both black people and white people do that, but either way It's gonna take a damn long time. I mean Old english did turn into what we use now.

Right now, I think what people mean is it's giving them the impression that black people using it makes them a hypocrite. Because it technically does."It's a terrible word, don't use it, but we still will."

I think that pierces peoples' pride, because it is a clear cut privilege of being black. Whereas the privileges of being white are less clear cut and out in the open written in bold as "You can't, but we can". If you can accept that there are privileges for being white, you should accept that not being able to say the N word is completely fine. There's a lot of inequality. Not being able to say a word is the least of it.
"You get to say nigga around strangers without people thinking you might be racist and we'll get to benefit from police not automatically assuming we're threats, won't get shut out from renting or buying homes, won't have our local governments stop providing the services that we pay taxes for, and can add whatever else onto this list whenever we feel like it. Deal?"
 
Nigga, who is this "we" you are speaking of? Did we collectively as black people come down and slap you in your face for using the n-word? For non-black minorities it's up to you to feel out the situation and use the word within your discretion. It's that fucking simple. Honestly, if you are having problems understanding this then maybe you shouldn't be using the word in the first place. Like, why do you even want to use it so badly anyway?

Again, non-black minorities ain't black so they by definition ain't been through the same shit we have and continue to go through. So that is why you do not get an unqualified right to use the word. What you get is a revocable pass which can be revoked and given back to you by any black person around you. It's not rocket science.
Word. Even black folks can't use the word with impunity. Old heads and other black folks admonish eachother over the words use all the time.
 
"You get to say nigga around strangers without people thinking you might be racist and we'll get to benefit from police not automatically assuming we're threats, won't get shut out from renting or buying homes, won't have our local governments stop providing the services that we pay taxes for, and can add whatever else onto this list whenever we feel like it. Deal?"

Damn
 
"You get to say nigga around strangers without people thinking you might be racist and we'll get to benefit from police not automatically assuming we're threats, won't get shut out from renting or buying homes, won't have our local governments stop providing the services that we pay taxes for, and can add whatever else onto this list whenever we feel like it. Deal?"

Not equating them. Like I said, the N word is the least. I'm saying if you are able to acknowledge that there is white privilege, you should have 0 problem with not saying the N word. It's simple.
 
"You get to say nigga around strangers without people thinking you might be racist and we'll get to benefit from police not automatically assuming we're threats, won't get shut out from renting or buying homes, won't have our local governments stop providing the services that we pay taxes for, and can add whatever else onto this list whenever we feel like it. Deal?"

Hit them with the true, hmmph
 
This reminds me of something that happened a several years ago. I was visiting my mom and little brother in New Zealand. My brother was in the equivalent of Junior High I believe. I had brought over my Wii from the States, and my brother invited a bunch of his school friends over.

We're playing SSB Brawl and one of the boys selected Link and chose his Dark Link palette and then said, all excitedly, "WHOA LOOK GUYS! I GET TO PLAY AS A NIGGER!"

I was completely stunned and flabbergasted and had no idea what to say.

I know I probably should've said "Whoa now, don't say that especially if you're in the US." But part of it was being so speechless and part of it was me thinking "I'm white, would it be weird or inappropriate for me to criticize him?"

Sadly, I wasn't on GAF at the time otherwise I would've come straight here.
 
This really is a gray area. My rule is to never actually say the word "nigger" no matter what. But at the same time I like listening hip hop and most of the people I listen to say "nigga" a lot and whenever I sing along with the song I say it casually too. My brother actually caught me in the act when we were both visiting from college and he was pretty adamant about not saying that word. Since we have similar music tastes and he sings along a lot too I asked him what he replaced the word with. His reply was the word "fucker" and I literally laughed out loud because that isn't exactly better
 
It really does have to start with us though. Chamillionaire best said it and he doesn't use it in his raps anymore because he would perform songs at events and the crowd would be a bunch of white college kids reciting every line in a song. The N word would be one of them.

I always look at the rappers that go to SXSW and just perform ignorant trap songs to a crowd of UT college kids mostly white. I'm like all this for a damn check? Are y'all not conscious enough to think about what you doing?

So damn OP, I mean they exist. Some just want to be 'friends' to have that friend of color. Keep your circle small and only with people that keep it real.

Man, that's how I feel. I don't use the word at all anymore, and it bothers me how it's used as a crutch in conversation (for lack of a better term to describe someone) and in music (because "you're supposed to"). I see two white/hispanic kids using it ("yo did you see what this nigga did") and it's not being used in a racist way, but I wonder why they think it's okay, then it hits me...it's the media they consume. They're being fed it. By whom? By black celebrities who don't really give a single shit what influence they have (and/or associated responsibilities) as long as they are getting paid. It's such a challenge to find a hiphop song that doesn't use the word that isn't by Will Smith. We do nobody a favor by perpetuating the use of the word in any non historically educational capacity. But music is a me-too business, and it's probably the biggest external influence on people, as far as media.
 
I was sitting with a couple of friends drinking beer, when one girl asks a guy "So you're pretty dark, are you half-nigger or something".

The setting was very lax and un-pc so no one really took offense. But I said "Yeah you shouldn't really use that word".

We got into a really hot debate about it and I just got completely off it, I didn't know how to respond to so many arguments because I didn't know where to start.

Then she said "But if black people can say it, why shouldn't I be able to do it? My intentions aren't bad".

Like, what are you supposed to retort with that's a valid argument? I got so surprised I didn't know what to say.

Edit. I personally have a lot of opinions about why you shouldn't say it, but it was more expressing them in a objective way that was hard.

Edit 2. I live in Bulgaria.

HI VOAT! :D

i dont think bulgarians understand that it is a wrong word to use, so good of you to educate your friends, I do it every time i hear something remotely xenophobic or racial.

When I was little kid in port town in Croatia, we had US cargo ship stop and sailors had free time to walk around... so we met one nice older black guy and we talked to him (me and my girl friend). So she kept saying "n-this" "n-that" when talking to him, all in great spirits and no bad meaning around it but I could see the guy wincing slightly each time she said it (she was maybe 15)... so later on I talked to her and told her that people dont like when you call them n-word and she was really surprised since she listened to rap music a lot and she thought it was cool word you use to call someone in friendly manner.

So yeah, good to point it out, always good to point it out no matter what is the issue (for instance now it is refugees).
 
Don't put words in my mouth guys. You're building a narrative that I'm not even close to endorsing.



I'm saying technically that's what it is. Why is that hard to admit? It's not a bad thing.



Society takes a long time to change, what can I say?
You can say what you want..it's your world, homie. Am I allowed to disagree with certain things? Let me know..
 
Yall have jokes. Make arguments if you don't agree. All yall have been doing is repeating what I'm saying with snarky remarks in there that change what I'm saying with "..." after it like I'm stupid and you're obviously the most correct ever recorded.

You can say what you want..it's your world, homie. Am I allowed to disagree with certain things? Let me know..

That's fine. Please don't take jabs at me if you're not willing to make your point known then. It's frustrating to look at. Just disagreeing is good.
 
Yall have jokes. Make arguments if you don't agree. All yall have been doing is repeating what I'm saying with snarky remarks in there that change what I'm saying with "..." after it like I'm stupid and you're obviously the most correct ever recorded.
You don't know what you're talking about.
 
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