Here is a question I have which has been on my mind for a few days now.

 

Why is it that when someone says 'black' or something along the lines of well you will be living with black people, do we think negative connotations?

 

Yet, when the same is said with white, its glossed over.

 

Why is it that we can say white like its nothing, but say black and its akin to the seven sinful words that we cannot say?

 

Furthermore, why is it that blacks can get away with saying n****r, yet no other race are allowed to do this? I mean do you hear whites go around calling themselves whitey? or h****y? or what about hispanics, do they go around calling themselves w******s? spics? yet blacks do this and then get totally offended when someone even utters that word.

 

Why is there a double standard with so many of the things that we do out there? I mean I really just dont get it.

 

Would anyone care to enlighten me on this subject, or just anything when it comes to the issue of race.

I've never understood the whole thing with blacks being able to call each other such a horrible name. Several black celebrities have questioned why this goes on, but no one seems to be able to figure out where it came from. I don't think there is an answer to it.

Most people I know like to poke fun at thier own ethnicity, though I like to surround myself with people who are laid back about stuff like that anyway.

I've never understood the whole thing with blacks being able to call each other such a horrible name. Several black celebrities have questioned why this goes on, but no one seems to be able to figure out where it came from. I don't think there is an answer to it.

 

 

 

Maybe it's a matter of eliteism. I can say that word about my race but I won't allow you to do it. It sets those that do it apart. And, woe be unto those who question this. It's a way of setting yourself apart.

 

I don't agree with it and I think you'll find that most don't either. I believe it's mostly the young or the restless who are trying to be something they're not. I've never heard it used by professionals in my workplace. That doesn't mean that when we're apart, this doesn't go on, but not at my workplace.

Furthermore, why is it that blacks can get away with saying n****r, yet no other race are allowed to do this? I mean do you hear whites go around calling themselves whitey? or h****y? or what about hispanics, do they go around calling themselves w******s? spics? yet blacks do this and then get totally offended when someone even utters that word.

 

 

Other groups do the same, and not all black folks feel the same way about it.

 

What I don't get is why it bothers people so much...like they want a license to say it because they hear other people say it. If you agree that it's a horrible word, simply don't use it.

Thats how it is for everyone. If someone starts making fun of mexicans, then mexicans get upset. If a mexican starts making fun of mexicans, then its funny. You can substitute any ethnicity or race in for mexicans and you will see that to be true.

Furthermore, why is it that blacks can get away with saying n****r, yet no other race are allowed to do this? I mean do you hear whites go around calling themselves whitey? or h****y? or what about hispanics, do they go around calling themselves w******s? spics? yet blacks do this and then get totally offended when someone even utters that word.

 

 

Other groups do the same, and not all black folks feel the same way about it.

 

What I don't get is why it bothers people so much...like they want a license to say it because they hear other people say it. If you agree that it's a horrible word, simply don't use it.

 

I agree.

Well, I've heard it explained that n***a, with an "a", is acceptable, but if one black person calls another n****r, it's more than likely meant in a derogatory sense, and therefore not okay.

well let me add this....

 

 

 

why is every ethnic slur allowed here but the one that is directed at blacks?

 

 

I'm sure I could throw out every other slur and the point would still remain.

 

 

Is this stricly because of the slave issue? Or is there some other reason why that word above all other ethnic slurs directed at a race is the big bad taboo one?

well let me add this....

 

 

 

why is every ethnic slur allowed here but the one that is directed at blacks?

 

 

I'm sure I could throw out every other slur and the point would still remain.

 

 

Is this stricly because of the slave issue? Or is there some other reason why that word above all other ethnic slurs directed at a race is the big bad taboo one?

 

 

I think the other ethnicities are less sensitive about it. That sensitivity may have to do with history.

Red Foxx had an interesting point: "A n****r means a lazy person. Hell, you can turn on Hee-Haw, tonight, and see n*****s." Then he did a Hee-Haw impression about two hillbillies who didn't know the weather and so they sent the dog out to see if he'd come back wet.

 

Also, Lenny Bruce, a Jew did some excellent material using the n-word. He said that keeping a word back, making it un-okay to say, gave it it's power, it's veracity. He usually got in a black guy's face and did his n****r bits and they'd usually be the first one's laughing as the white part of the crowd looked on in horror (keep in mind this guy hung with predominantly black Jazz musicians and so was in on the humor).

 

I don't care at all about n****r. It's used in many different ways, in place of friend, like a brotherly relationship not by birth. It's used to make others feel uncomfortable, like using it in a crowded store. And it's used as a slur, whites against black and black against black. But, personally, I don't care either way. I don't personally use it and it's not really an issue for me.

For all you scholarly folks, I'm surprised no one's pointed this out:

 

There was a book written a few years back entitled "n****r: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word" by Randall Kennedy (an Ivy League anthropologist). Pretty much, the use of the word n****r is intentionally done by the Afro-American community to reduce the impact of the harshness of the word. Simply put, it's a control issue. The black community integrated the word into the culture as a way to show that they'll be damned if they allow the white community to use it offensively towards them. Yes, they still get offended, but using the word "n****r" doesn't come close to carrying the same kind of punch it was originally intended to carry.

 

Case in point, go call a black friend "n****r" and a female friend a "c**t" and see which elicits a more heated response, that's why the word's been integrated so heavily into urban dialect.

For all you scholarly folks, I'm surprised no one's pointed this out:

 

There was a book written a few years back entitled "n****r: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word" by Randall Kennedy (an Ivy League anthropologist). Pretty much, the use of the word n****r is intentionally done by the Afro-American community to reduce the impact of the harshness of the word. Simply put, it's a control issue. The black community integrated the word into the culture as a way to show that they'll be damned if they allow the white community to use it offensively towards them. Yes, they still get offended, but using the word "n****r" doesn't come close to carrying the same kind of punch it was originally intended to carry.

 

Case in point, go call a black friend "n****r" and a female friend a "c**t" and see which elicits a more heated response, that's why the word's been integrated so heavily into urban dialect.

 

 

I think you'll get your ass kicked just as severely for calling a black dude a n****r as you will for calling a girl a c**t (maybe even moreso).