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[MIMIC]

I don't understand why people still don't know that "Nigger" and "Nigga" are considered two completely different words.

And black people don't say "nigger".

I was rewatching "12 Years A Slave" last night and was thinking about this very same thing. Back then, southerners pronounced it "nigga" (which, for all intents and purposes, meant "nigger").

So maybe that's where the confusion comes from; depending on who's saying it, "nigga" may very well be "nigger"....just with an accent. If an uninformed person hears a racist white person says "nigga", then that person would probably associate ALL variations of the word as equally offensive.

--------------------

As for today's usage: well....I'm pretty sure that that horse has been beaten already in this thread. But as for me, I use it to refer generally to other black people (not just as "pal" or "friend" that I read when skimming the thread). Like when I'm talking to my brother: "Hey nigga, mom said call her." Or "you dumb nigga." I'm not using it as a substitute for "pal" or "friend"...I'm using it to reference the fact that he's black and I'm addressing him.

But sometimes I'll even refer to a WHITE person as "nigga" (which obviously doesn't make any sense), but....whatever. lol And I know other black people do it, too. I guess it just evolved to the point where black people use it as a way to refer to ANY person.

"Have you seen 'Powder'? That nigga was so pale"

But I typically avoid saying it in front non-black people though (because I don't want that to imply that I'm giving anyone the green light to say it in front of me).

 

[Mesousa]

Piers is not wrong here.

Blaming Crap slave music is stupidity though because any person who knows any older Brown person in America, or even bothered to look at blaxploitation era flms or listen to old comedy albums knows the word has always been used.

You have to, at one point, decide you don't want any of that shit being a part of your culture or identity. A brown person in America embracing and trying to claim 'ga' variation of the word is just like a rape victim trying to claim sexual freedom by embracing the rapist. You are a proud African who helped build this nation. You are not what they tried to take from you, nor are you a label they forced on to you.

Make no mistake of it either. You may think its positive when your boy says "You my nigga" but it isn't, and we all know it isn't. Because look at what language does. You see a crackhead on the street? "Look at that nigga". You late? "Niggas can't never be on time". The negative connotation is always there no matter how much people "Embrace" it.

Reminds me of a scene from Skool Daze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zv7Js0HK7s

 

[Bobby Roberts]

But don't you think that different context is enough to make the words themselves different? I think that's our fundamental disagreement here.

Again, I dont' think we're really disagreeing here. In my first post I'm talking about how the context absolutely matters, and should be the point of focus as opposed to the pronunciation or the spelling. Focusing on the spelling is simply playing into the confusion that largely ONLY exists because there are white people who would love to loophole their way into getting that word back into their mouth without feeling shitty about it.

I mean, there's a reason why black people don't say "nigger" and it's not because we're too lazy to pronounce the "er".

I know, I specifically pointed out the societal constructs we've been operating in for centuries now regarding "black people talk like this" and "white people talk like this," and it has nothing to do with laziness, at all. If a guy uses that word and pronounces it that way, that doesn't mean the word suddenly has a different meaning/definition. It means that guy wants to remind someone of the decades of hurtful, angry, demeaning intention white people spit it with. Not only is that guy "talking white" he's using THE word white people historically used to make black people feel low.

None of this changes the definition of the word. It changes the context behind using it, definitely. But it's still the same word.

 

[<+)O Robido O(+>]

I think stand-up comic Anthony Griffith's use of the n-word here was very powerful and effective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdBJ1X33rXM

Well, shit!

 

[Spoo]

A brown person in America embracing and trying to claim 'ga' variation of the word is just like a rape victim trying to claim sexual freedom by embracing the rapist.

Not even.

 

[Kopite]

I wonder what people think of a sizeable and growing number of young Malaysians who call each other 'nigga' as an affectionate term and because of it's cool factor. Hip hop culture yo'.

 

[Wynnebeck]

Actually got into an argument with a white acquaintance of mine over this. He couldn't understand why when he said the word jokingly to a black friend of mine that a random black guy in the room got upset and almost wanted to fight him. "Why is it that if he (random black guy) said 'nigga' to you, everything would be ok, but if I said it, you would get upset!?"

All I could do was shake my head.

 

[Mesousa]

Not even.

It is what it is Spoo.

 

[I Stalk Alone]

Actually got into an argument with a white acquaintance of mine over this. He couldn't understand why when he said the word jokingly to a black friend of mine that a random black guy in the room got upset and almost wanted to fight him. "Why is it that if he (random black guy) said 'nigga' to you, everything would be ok, but if I said it, you would get upset!?"

All I could do was shake my head.

So did you tell him that there is a racial privilege in the usage of the word?

 

[Raven Prime]

It's Morgan, but ad hominem aside he's saying precisely what black professors of mine said in school. They argued against the idea that the word was subverted and stripped of it's power when used in African American communities. That, in fact, it is just as often used to denigrate and assert authority and such was closer to a victim of child abuse adopting his abusers habits later in life. Shit stuck with me, though I'm white so who cares, but I often hear blacks use the word in ways that make me cringe, not from guilt or shame either.

Internalised racism.

What keeps bothering me about this, is that the idea of race is still going strong. Apparently Piers shouldn't 'lecture' people because he has a pale complexion. The human species isn't diverse enough for us to employ the concept of race, at least not in a biological context. That people have strong socio-historical identities and share history in correlation with the concept of race is another matter. More and more I'm viewing the exploitation of the past and the current inequalities between different groups as a form of classism. My point basically is, why can't one human discuss another 'group' of humans. We won't be liberated nor emancipated as a species as long as we think different groups should have different rights or privileges.

 

[Valhelm]

I notice a lot of kids now of all colours use "Nigga" when talking to their friends, possibly mimicking hip-hop culture, but here In Australia the accents have no hard R so both nigger and nigga sound the same.

Good plausible deniability for racists.

 

[Slayven]

"Nobody ordered me to 'stay in your lane' when I fought so vocally on CNN for Trayvon Martin's right to justice.?"

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/531981023014187008

Fuck him.

Now he jsut needs to say how disappointed Martin Luther King would be of us.

 

[Desi]

we don't even use that word. He need to kill it.

 

[.GqueB.]

He's not wrong. People within the community say this sort of thing all the time. Am I supposed to disagree because it's coming from a white man? The word is stupid and I hate hearing it. I'm baffled that people choose to use it.

 

[Valhelm]

Actually got into an argument with a white acquaintance of mine over this. He couldn't understand why when he said the word jokingly to a black friend of mine that a random black guy in the room got upset and almost wanted to fight him. "Why is it that if he (random black guy) said 'nigga' to you, everything would be ok, but if I said it, you would get upset!?"

All I could do was shake my head.

I don't think he's just being obtuse.

As far as I know, it's the only word in the English language that only a single group of people are allowed to use. White people are really not used to ever being told that they can't do something, especially when it's seen as a fun word with a lot of cultural meaning.

 

[Mesousa]

He's not wrong. People within the community say this sort of thing all the time. Am I supposed to disagree because it's coming from a white man? The word is stupid and I hate hearing it. I'm baffled that people choose to use it.

Its really just self hate.

If you believe that you are a nigger, you will try to make it a positive and try your damnest to make it a positive.

We out here trying to teach brothers and sisters that they are not it, and an entire segment is trying to legitimize it.

 

[Slayven]

He's not wrong. People within the community say this sort of thing all the time. Am I supposed to disagree because it's coming from a white man? The word is stupid and I hate hearing it. I'm baffled that people choose to use it.

And they are on some bullshit too. Cops aren't going to stop killing black people if we stop using one word.

 

[royalan]

Again, I dont' think we're really disagreeing here. In my first post I'm talking about how the context absolutely matters, and should be the point of focus as opposed to the pronunciation or the spelling. Focusing on the spelling is simply playing into the confusion that largely ONLY exists because there are white people who would love to loophole their way into getting that word back into their mouth without feeling shitty about it.

Now this I definitely understand and agree with.

Lets never argue again, Bobby.

I don't think he's just being obtuse.

As far as I know, it's the only word in the English language that only a single group of people are allowed to use. White people are really not used to ever being told that they can't do something, especially when it's seen as a fun word with a lot of cultural meaning.

This isn't exactly true.

Nigga definitely is one off the big ones, but the concept of minority groups taking derogatory words and repurposing them into positive words to use within their own community is absolutely nothing new.

 

[FartOfWar]

I don't think he's just being obtuse.

As far as I know, it's the only word in the English language that only a single group of people are allowed to use. White people are really not used to ever being told that they can't do something, especially when it's seen as a fun word with a lot of cultural meaning.

Perhaps, the problem is that anyone sees it as a "fun" word. But this is on that "friend." The slightest familiarity with history should make someone who isn't black never think to say it in any context ever.

 

[Trey]

Its really just self hate.

It's not.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I think stand-up comic Anthony Griffith's use of the n-word here was very powerful and effective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdBJ1X33rXM

That was rough to watch. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Mesousa]

It's not.

If you don't hate having melanin in your skin then why would you use the word?

 

[.GqueB.]

And they are on some bullshit too. Cops aren't going to stop killing black people if we stop using one word.

What does that have to do with anything?

 

[Brofist]

Piers, please think about the rappers whose livelihood counts on being able to shoehorn the word nigga in at the end of every line to be able to complete a rhyme.

 

[Capitan]

it's usually clear when someone has malicious intent when they say it. honestly, though, it's just a word. I think everyone should just stop being offended by any word.
that said, i'm not black, and and i don't really get demeaning/offensive terms thrown at me, so maybe i don't have the right perspective.

 

[Trey]

If you don't hate having melanin in your skin then why would you use the word?

It has a different utility and a different context in my upbringing and day to day life.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Lets never argue again, Bobby.

Heh, no doubt.

 

[Valhelm]

This isn't exactly true.

Nigga definitely is one off the big ones, but the concept of minority groups taking derogatory words and repurposing them into positive words to use within their own community is absolutely nothing new.

What are the others? I can't think of any.

A ton of kids see the n-word as literally just something Black people say in music. I've heard a handful white and Hispanic kids say that "if you say it with an A it's never offensive" and use the word to describe each other all the time when joking around. For a lot of them, it's fun because it's such a taboo.

 

[Slayven]

What does that have to do with anything?

Everything. Piers is the newest in a long line of folks telling black people to do this and racism will disappear. Like black people are the root cause of all racism and we are keeping it going. If only we were more respectable the system wouldn't hold us in such contempt and punish us for it.

 

[Mesousa]

It has a different utility and a different context in my upbringing and day to day life.

Or have you been conditioned to think clearly anti African terms are ok based on an upbringing in a western society?

 

[Malyse]

I think stand-up comic Anthony Griffith's use of the n-word here was very powerful and effective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdBJ1X33rXM

So I'm crying now.

 

[CLEEK]

A 6-letter noun in the English language which the dictionary defines as ‘a contemptuous term for Piers Morgan’.

Spoiler

Nitwit

 

[Trey]

Or have you been conditioned to think clearly anti African terms are ok based on an upbringing in a western society?

I don't see the term as anti black in the contexts I encounter it in. I don't think myself to be more enlightened for not using the word.

 

[royalan]

What are the others? I can't think of any.

A ton of kids see the n-word as literally just something Black people say in music. I've heard a handful white and Hispanic kids say that "if you say it with an A it's never offensive" and use the word to describe each other all the time when joking around. For a lot of them, it's fun because it's such a taboo.

Gays and fag/queer/queen, for starters.

 

[ISOM]

Everything. Piers is the newest in a long line of folks telling black people to do this and racism will disappear. Like black people are the root cause of all racism and we are keeping it going. If only we were more respectable the system wouldn't hold us in such contempt and punish us for it.

I don't know if that is piers's message but I agree that black people need to stop using such a word colliquially

The word was used to mentally enslave african americans, now we are enslaving each other's mind by using such a word colloquially. It's a word that disrespects African American heritage and no amount of changing the spelling will change that.

 

[Mesousa]

I don't see the term as anti black in the contexts I encounter it in. I don't think myself to be more enlightened for not using the word.

Would you use it to describe yourself?

 

[FartOfWar]

Everything. Piers is the newest in a long line of folks telling black people to do this and racism will disappear. Like black people are the root cause of all racism and we are keeping it going. If only we were more respectable the system wouldn't hold us in such contempt and punish us for it.

Piers is a fucking gross idiot and this is still an ad hominem. Nothing near a logical argument.

 

[Vermillion]

I don't really care if it dies or not. I don't really care if white people use it either. It's only the disrespect/racism that's highlighted when certain people use the word that even slightly bothers me.

 

[.GqueB.]

Everything. Piers is the newest in a long line of folks telling black people to do this and racism will disappear. Like black people are the root cause of all racism and we are keeping it going. If only we were more respectable the system wouldn't hold us in such contempt and punish us for it.

I don't think he said it would end racism. Us not using that word basically says "it isn't ok". Us using that word has me witnessing two Asian men referring to each other by it which is insane.

It's not gonna lead to some sweeping change but I think we can do without it. And to be quite honest, anything we do to make ourselves look less ignorant will help our cause. Because using it is very ignorant.

 

[Trey]

Would you use it to describe yourself?

I would use culturally neutral terms for clarity's sake.

 

[ishibear]

It will be a beautiful day when white folks stop trying to tell minorities (in this case, blacks) what to do.

I personally don't care for use of the word and don't use it, but I am not speaking for everyone. For many of us, using it is somewhat empowering. For others it can be used as a term of endearment. And for some of us, the word is something we want to leave behind.

At the end of the day, the black community deserves to have some fucking control of what we do and say. It's always some douchebag trying to tell us what to do. Fuck that noise.

 

[Mesousa]

Everything. Piers is the newest in a long line of folks telling black people to do this and racism will disappear. Like black people are the root cause of all racism and we are keeping it going. If only we were more respectable the system wouldn't hold us in such contempt and punish us for it.

This sounds awfully close to what crabs at the bottom of the barrel say to keep another brown person down.

Just because EVERY positive action will not directly end with liberation does not mean we can not take ANY positive action in the interim.

Getting college educated does not stop from police from harassing you....so why waste time on college?

Getting a well paying job won't stop white people from being racist....so why work at all?

That is a defeatist way of thinking. We should aim for excellence because that is what it will take to make us the best we can be, not just because of what some other group will or will not do for us at that point. Lets get real nobody is going to hand you anything, revolution will have to be grasped from the hands of the power structure in due time. During that period brothers and sisters are going to have to go through an awakening, and stopping that referring to each other by labels of the oppressor is one way we today can become better.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

it's usually clear when someone has malicious intent when they say it. honestly, though, it's just a word. I think everyone should just stop being offended by any word.
that said, i'm not black, and and i don't really get demeaning/offensive terms thrown at me, so maybe i don't have the right perspective.

I grew up in an almost exclusively white town. I went to Dairy Queen one day with my friends just just get ice cream. As I was eating it a bunch of people screamed "fuck you nigger" from there van at me. I'm not a sensitive person but even though they were cowardly strangers, it didn't make me feel good. It wasn't meh w/e just words. Words have context and words have meaning, that's the basis for language. To say, don't get offended by any work ever when language and culture dictates that certain things are meant to offend by nature is backward. Not trying to make this a thing but with all the history behind the N word, do you think that 15 year old me at Dairy Queen should of just been like, "well words and things, no need to be offended?"

 

[GameGuru59]

I use the n-word around my friends, and give 0 fucks about what people think about it. If you don't want to use it, then don't use it. Its as simple as that, really.

Spoiler

Ok, well I usually don't really use it around white people unless I know them pretty well (and the sum of black people is greater than the sum of white people in my group), and I don't use it when dating women that don't seem like they like the n-word. But other than that...

 

[Imperial Bishop]

He's not wrong. People within the community say this sort of thing all the time. Am I supposed to disagree because it's coming from a white man? The word is stupid and I hate hearing it. I'm baffled that people choose to use it.

The word's not going anywhere, whether we choose to use it or not. It's too ingrained in racist culture.

 

[.GqueB.]

The word's not going anywhere, whether we choose to use it or not. It's too ingrained in racist culture.

Coon went away. I don't hear the word faggot being thrown around as flippantly as I used to. Why not this in time? Too hard? Too ingrained?

 

[royalan]

Coon went away. I don't hear the word faggot being thrown around as flippantly as I used to. Why not this in time? Too hard? Too ingrained?

But "coon" just sort of went away. Language evolves and some words die, and it's hard to pinpoint why some words die and others don't.

But Coon didn't die because black people collectively decided to stop using it.

 

[Mesousa]

The word's not going anywhere, whether we choose to use it or not. It's too ingrained in racist culture.

There was a time in the history of this very country when the exact same thing was thought about the institution of slavery. It went away, and so will this word when people start putting their money where their mouth is. It is only around now because people tolerate it.

Last time I was called the N word was playing Call of Duty ~2 years ago. You know what I did, laughed in that kids face because I didn't care what he called me, then complained to Xbox Live. When they didn't give a shit they lost my business, have not used it since then. Now imagine what would happen if every other person did that? Microsoft would have that shit solved in a second.

Companies didn't just want to start treating brown people just like whites, but they were forced to economically. Money talks in this country. When anybody who feels the need to use that word, in person, on the streets, or anywhere else gets hit hard it will change.

 

[Vermillion]

But "coon" just sort of went away. Language evolves and some words die, and it's hard to pinpoint why some words die and others don't.

But Coon didn't die because black people collectively decided to stop using it.

And "coonery" is most certainly not dead, lol

 

[GameGuru59]

Coon went away. I don't hear the word faggot being thrown around as flippantly as I used to. Why not this in time? Too hard? Too ingrained?

I used to say f*ggot fairly often. Once, a girl chastised me for using it. I might still use it around friends who get that I'm using it to describe a person I really don't like, but I can't really remember saying it after this fairly attractive lady told me not to. If women begin to think its unacceptable to use the word, most men will stop using the word. In short, make it in my interest to stop using it. Otherwise, I don't really think there's any harm in using any word as long as you're not intending to hurt somebody (I didn't use f*ggot in the presence of the person I was referring to).