Spring Break
Abolish the 'N'- word
Every black person that was ever lynched was called the n-word right before they died. So why do we use it to greet each other?
Brianne Sanford
Issue date: 9/6/06 Section: Opinions
As the influence of the Hip Hop/Rap culture grows, more debate grows as to whether or not it's okay to use the n-word in any of its derived forms. Whether it is with an -a or an -er I say no to it all, because no one can give me one good reason why it's crucial to our vocabulary.
As entertaining as it is to say, I think we are displaying complacency with the current position of blacks in society, and undoing the work of the civil rights movement, which we somehow seem to forget is still going on today. The word should be abolished strictly on the fact that it was born out of racism.
Firstly, regardless of what variations you make of the word or the more you say it, the history of the word cannot be forgotten. To erase the history of the word is to let the oppressors and their descendants off easy. We can't forget that the original word was screamed at our ancestors before they would rape our women, beat our men, and sell our children. Then it was yelled at us to deny us an education and deny us the right to vote. We can't and shouldn't want to change our history.
Secondly, there is always a debate as to who can use it (can Hispanic people use it?), when it can be used (should it be used around white people?), or just whether it should be used it all.
Just look at the music industry, folks were upset when J.Lo used the word in her duet with the now defunct JaRule. Everybody is trying to figure out whether Justin Timberlake says the word in the unedited version of "Sexy Back". If we could truly lessen the power of the word we wouldn't care. But we do, and I feel we always will. Why? .
The truth is the more we use the word the less power it has. Let's be real. In our general usage we don't even use the world in a positive light. It's usually in terms of: "That's niggerish", "niggas (with a head shake)", "nigga please," etc. Or in the words of Chris Rock, "There is difference between black people and niggas." Regardless of the growth of the insignificance of the word, if a white person approaches a black person talking about "nigga anything", the black person would be offended. That will never change.
As entertaining as it is to say, I think we are displaying complacency with the current position of blacks in society, and undoing the work of the civil rights movement, which we somehow seem to forget is still going on today. The word should be abolished strictly on the fact that it was born out of racism.
Firstly, regardless of what variations you make of the word or the more you say it, the history of the word cannot be forgotten. To erase the history of the word is to let the oppressors and their descendants off easy. We can't forget that the original word was screamed at our ancestors before they would rape our women, beat our men, and sell our children. Then it was yelled at us to deny us an education and deny us the right to vote. We can't and shouldn't want to change our history.
Secondly, there is always a debate as to who can use it (can Hispanic people use it?), when it can be used (should it be used around white people?), or just whether it should be used it all.
Just look at the music industry, folks were upset when J.Lo used the word in her duet with the now defunct JaRule. Everybody is trying to figure out whether Justin Timberlake says the word in the unedited version of "Sexy Back". If we could truly lessen the power of the word we wouldn't care. But we do, and I feel we always will. Why? .
The truth is the more we use the word the less power it has. Let's be real. In our general usage we don't even use the world in a positive light. It's usually in terms of: "That's niggerish", "niggas (with a head shake)", "nigga please," etc. Or in the words of Chris Rock, "There is difference between black people and niggas." Regardless of the growth of the insignificance of the word, if a white person approaches a black person talking about "nigga anything", the black person would be offended. That will never change.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
dani
posted 7/13/09 @ 4:59 PM PST
My name is Dani Atkins and I am one of 4 surviving children of Ronald Edward Atkins and Clancyna Marie Atkins. On January 26, 2008 my father was killed in a tragic car accident that took place only 2 minutes away from my home. (Continued…)
cv writing service
posted 11/26/09 @ 1:34 AM PST
It is very interesting article.
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