So, after 200 years of legal discrimination against black persons - from slavery to voting laws to laws against miscegenation – to the societal views of inferiority that underpinned those laws that still exist today, black persons must atone for the sin of it being socially unacceptable for white people to freely use a word they invented that signifies their supremacy over the black race before black persons can ever be truly equal in our society? That seems very backward to me.

 

And why on earth would a white person want to use that word in its original meaning and why on earth should they not be scorned for doing so? The problem with the “double standard” argument is that there is a double standard built into the meaning and history that word embodies. There’s a good argument to be made that black people should discourage its use, but it simply carries a different meaning when said by a white person, inherently.

 

The masses are not going to put near as much thought into as you Habib and I am not saying anything is right, I am saying this is reality.

 

Put me with everyone that would like to see the word wiped out of our language completely.

 

Whenever I ponder this subject I think of Rodney King, "Why can't we all just get along?"

I think it carries different connotation for different age groups. Yet, I still snap my head around every time I hear it. Conditioned response I suppose.

 

This is very true. I see it more than I hear it so the opportunity to read it as it is written offers a true perspective on how it is being used. When I am not in my comfort zone I'll probably snap my neck to see where it is coming from but it's funny how when I know I am going to say it I'll look around and then whisper it or say it subtly so no one who doesn't need to hear me can hear me. At this point in my life there are less than 5 people(two of them are white) I'll say it in front of.(twitter variations not included) Now that I think about it there are really on 3 people I'll say it front of and my sense of humor is so ornery that I'll admit that I am versatile in the use of the N word. I admittedly love using it in comedic situations that not everyone would find funny. :lol:

 

Yeah, I know. I know. I am from the Dave Chappelle generation. I love dark humor. No pun intended. :lol:

 

 

Too much?

I've heard it a hundred times but I'll ask you, PP. Does the suffix of "ger" or "ga" make a difference to you? Assuming it's being used in non-malicious ways.

 

To answer I'll echo what was said earlier. I've never heard it used with "ger" that didn't have malicious intent or for comedy. The kid who I threw a piece of ice at and hit in the head for calling my sister the "ger" version on a snow day was way different than my buddies who knew every verse from Wu Tang's first album by heart. I don't think the "ger" version can be used without malicious intent or for comedic effect.

 

I guess not so much the enunciation but how it is used is most important. If I bump into a white person accidentally and he addresses me with, "watch out nigga" there's going to be a problem and I won't be trying to figure out if he used the "ger" version or the "ga" version. :lol:

My roommate in college was black. I often said he was so black he was navy blue. We are still very close, and every time I'd say something stupid, he's simply say "Nigga Please". To this day, when he sends me an email, he signs it "Nigga Please".

 

I am guilty of said behavior. :lol:

So if a white person is joking around and says to you, "Damn, ni**er, that's funny!" rather than "Damn, nigga, that's funny!" what's your reaction. And I don't mean to put you on the spot, I'm honestly curious.

So if a white person is joking around and says to you, "Damn, ni**er, that's funny!" rather than "Damn, nigga, that's funny!" what's your reaction. And I don't mean to put you on the spot, I'm honestly curious.

 

It's all good. This is a great discussion.

 

True story.

 

A buddy of mine from work was having a party and drinks are flowing, people are dancing and having a good time. He invited our whole shift and a guy who was fairly new at the time came to the party and he and I enjoyed some good conversation, laughs and beers. Now, as some of you know I love a good argument on sports and can get spirited at times and he was on the end of my spirit sometimes. I never take sports arguments personal but I don't always take into account that I may rub people the wrong way. Apparently at work I had rubbed him the wrong way and he didn't have a favorable opinion of me until we got to bond at my buddy's party. Well....after we bonded he decided he was going to say, out loud....."that PP92, that n****r is all right." :lol: Now my buddy hosting the party is black and 25% of the party was black. It was clear he used the "ger" version. I swear it was like on tv....the music abruptly stopped and the whole party was staring at him(did he just say what I think he said was heard from two rooms away) I immediately felt bad for him(he meant no harm) and started laughing and calmed the situation quickly. He left shortly after that. :lol: Some of the black people there were mad but my buddy and I let them know it wasn't what it seemed. Me and that guy are still friends and co workers to this day.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that while the "ger" may catch me off guard it's easy to see when malicious intent is meant. In the situation you described I'd remain non violent but I'd say that's not cool. I'd treat that like I did my Wu Tang loving college buddies.

Put me with everyone that would like to see the word wiped out of our language completely.

 

Bingo

I've heard it a hundred times but I'll ask you, PP. Does the suffix of "ger" or "ga" make a difference to you? Assuming it's being used in non-malicious ways.

 

Interesting & good question. One that I've never considered until right now.

It's all good. This is a great discussion.

 

True story.

 

A buddy of mine from work was having a party and drinks are flowing, people are dancing and having a good time. He invited our whole shift and a guy who was fairly new at the time came to the party and he and I enjoyed some good conversation, laughs and beers. Now, as some of you know I love a good argument on sports and can get spirited at times and he was on the end of my spirit sometimes. I never take sports arguments personal but I don't always take into account that I may rub people the wrong way. Apparently at work I had rubbed him the wrong way and he didn't have a favorable opinion of me until we got to bond at my buddy's party. Well....after we bonded he decided he was going to say, out loud....."that PP92, that n****r is all right." :lol: Now my buddy hosting the party is black and 25% of the party was black. It was clear he used the "ger" version. I swear it was like on tv....the music abruptly stopped and the whole party was staring at him(did he just say what I think he said was heard from two rooms away) I immediately felt bad for him(he meant no harm) and started laughing and calmed the situation quickly. He left shortly after that. :lol: Some of the black people there were mad but my buddy and I let them know it wasn't what it seemed. Me and that guy are still friends and co workers to this day.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that while the "ger" may catch me off guard it's easy to see when malicious intent is meant. In the situation you described I'd remain non violent but I'd say that's not cool. I'd treat that like I did my Wu Tang loving college buddies.

 

On the bolded...I can see how your friends would have taken that the wrong way, even if it wasn't intended to have any wrongness to it. That's another reason why I think everyone should stop using the word, but that's just me.

 

My whole point is this, and I'd like for you to answer this question for me specifically, if you wouldn't mind. Say you & I finally get the chance to meet in person, and let's say it's at that football game you guys were talking about that's happening in August. So we meet in the parking lot & we shake hands/do the guy hug, or whatever. And I say to you (I would never say this, by the way), "What's up my nigga?"

 

#1- Are you offended by that?

#2- If I was black, would you be offended by that?

On the bolded...I can see how your friends would have taken that the wrong way, even if it wasn't intended to have any wrongness to it. That's another reason why I think everyone should stop using the word, but that's just me.

 

My whole point is this, and I'd like for you to answer this question for me specifically, if you wouldn't mind. Say you & I finally get the chance to meet in person, and let's say it's at that football game you guys were talking about that's happening in August. So we meet in the parking lot & we shake hands/do the guy hug, or whatever. And I say to you (I would never say this, by the way), "What's up my nigga?"

 

#1- Are you offended by that?

#2- If I was black, would you be offended by that?

 

#1. No. I personally wouldn't be offended. I'd probably laugh and then look around to make sure no one heard you so we both don't get whipped. :lol: And then say, "Randy, don't say that too loud in public. I can't guarantee our safety if someone hears you." I'd also let you know like I did my college buddies that it makes me cringe and to please not say it in front of me but I wouldn't think less of you. I wouldn't be offended and I wouldn't be mad. I know there is no ill intent there. Then I would crack jokes all night probably calling you my nigga over and over. :lol: My wife is white so I'd really get a kick out introducing you to her as my nigga Randy Parker. :lol: :lol:

 

She just doesn't appreciate my sense of humor sometimes. Working on that. :lol:

 

 

#2. No. If you were black I wouldn't be offended and I also wouldn't be as concerned with who heard you say it if you were black. I'd glance around most likely(I do that when people I am talking with cuss loudly) but I wouldn't fear our safety like I would if you were white. Definitely a different dynamic going on there. Definitely can see double standard as well. I've gotten to the age where hearing people cuss and using questionable vocabulary words in public make me cringe if it is in the wrong setting so I know I'd be ashamed if too many people overheard me and a black friend greeting each other in that manner. I'm at the age where when I have to cuss in public I lean in to my friend and mutter it where only he and I can hear it. I'm getting old.

#1. No. I personally wouldn't be offended. I'd probably laugh and then look around to make sure no one heard you so we both don't get whipped. :lol: And then say, "Randy, don't say that too loud in public. I can't guarantee our safety if someone hears you." I'd also let you know like I did my college buddies that it makes me cringe and to please not say it in front of me but I wouldn't think less of you. I wouldn't be offended and I wouldn't be mad. I know there is no ill intent there. Then I would crack jokes all night probably calling you my nigga over and over. :lol: My wife is white so I'd really get a kick out introducing you to her as my nigga Randy Parker. :lol: :lol:

 

She just doesn't appreciate my sense of humor sometimes. Working on that. :lol:

 

 

#2. No. If you were black I wouldn't be offended and I also wouldn't be as concerned with who heard you say it if you were black. I'd glance around most likely(I do that when people I am talking with cuss loudly) but I wouldn't fear our safety like I would if you were white. Definitely a different dynamic going on there. Definitely can see double standard as well. I've gotten to the age where hearing people cuss and using questionable vocabulary words in public make me cringe if it is in the wrong setting so I know I'd be ashamed if too many people overheard me and a black friend greeting each other in that manner. I'm at the age where when I have to cuss in public I lean in to my friend and mutter it where only he and I can hear it. I'm getting old.

 

The bolded is what I don't understand. Although you don't have a problem with me saying it, others might. That's what I struggle to understand.

 

Thanks for the answer! :thumb:

my nigga Randy Parker. :lol: :lol:

 

There have been a lot of things that have made me laugh during my 3 1/2 years on BGP. That has to rank in the top 3. :lol:

Agree with spindoc that this is very well-said & perhaps you're right. But the word that jumps out at me is the final word you use here: "inherently." If the word is inherently negative, then it's inherently wrong for everyone.

 

If a 16-year-old white kid has a black best friend and he greets him with "what's up my nigga" I don't see how that is different from a 16-year-old black kid saying it to his black best friend. The intent in both instances is the same. The white & black kids that are best friends have obviously not considered race in their friendship, so why would it be a factor with the use of one word that, from their perspective, has an endearing intent?

 

I mean that the meaning easily changes when said by members of different races. In other words it's always been used unidirectionally by white people to denigrate black people as inferior. That meaning doesn't really make much sense when said between black people (unless Clayton Bigsby is in the picture :lol:). I know that its usage has been fiercely debated since probably the civil rights movement when many began using it satirically as a way to challenge it while others thought it should be abolished all together. Being white I really can't speak to that or to which side of the argument makes the most sense, but I do think the meanings and intentions vary depending on who is saying it.

 

In your example it may not be much different, but it would take a close enough friendship between the two people to establish that the white guy isn't using it the way white people have always used it. That's probably why it's best for white people to not use it at all.

The bolded is what I don't understand. Although you don't have a problem with me saying it, others might. That's what I struggle to understand.

 

Thanks for the answer! :thumb:

 

 

No problem.

 

I think it is a generational thing. Those older than me(blacks that are 40+) have more negative racial experiences in their lives that define their thoughts and actions. They are more likely to fly off the handle than those my age or younger. They are more likely to be more unforgiving regardless of the situation or intent whereas folks in my generation(25-40) seem to be more likely to take in the entire scope of the situation before flying off the handle. And please note I am not speaking for all black people. 85Bears may have an entirely different take on the situation. In my situations and with the black people I currently hang around everybody has a different take on it. It's one of things that is dealt with on a case by case basis.