So much for freedom of speech.. did anyone in New York ever hear about that little thing? It's just a simple annoyance of a thing called the 1 st amendment.
In November, you can vote for America's next president or its first dictator.
Feb 28, 2007 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City symbolically banned use of the word hahahahahaha on Wednesday, the latest step in a campaign that hopes to expunge the most vile of racial slurs from hip hop music and television.
The City Council unanimously declared a moratorium that carries no penalty but aims to stop youth from casually using the word, considered by most Americans to be the most offensive in the English language.
The New York City measure follows similar resolutions this month by the New York state assembly and state senate, and supporters of the ban are taking their campaign to The Recording Academy, asking it not to nominate musicians for Grammy awards if they use the word in their lyrics.
Many rap artists and young New Yorkers toss the word around as a term of endearment or as a substitute for black, angering some black leaders who consider those who use it as ignorant of the word's hate-filled history in slavery and segregation.
"This could be the beginning of a movement," councilman Albert Vann said.
Councilman Leroy Comrie, a sponsor of the moratorium, said the campaign against the word has gained strength since comedian Michael Richards spewed it in a racially charged tirade in Los Angeles.
The Laugh Factory club where Richards performed has since banned comedians from using the word there and the former "Seinfeld" television star has apologized.
"The Michael Richards incident really brought it to another level. It has forced people to express their outrage. Many people had been seething quietly," Comrie said.
Comrie also asked TV network Black Entertainment Television to stop using the word in its shows. Representatives of BET did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Grammy spokesman said he doubted the academy's 11,000 voting members would support any measure that might censor artists.
"They are not going to be supportive of something that excludes someone simply because they are using a word that is offensive," said Ron Roecker, vice president of communication for the Recording Academy.
The city resolution calling for the moratorium traces the etymology of the word from the Latin "niger," meaning black, to its first documented written use in 1786 as a term slave masters used to label their African slaves.
Use of the word by blacks exploded with the rise of rap music in recent years, and some black comedians like Chris Rock continue to use it in their routines.
"What, is there a fine? Am I going to get a ticket?" Rock mocked in a Reuters interview when asked about the City Council move. "Do judges say, '10 years, hahahahahaha!"'
Rock said politicians were trying to divert attention from real problems: "Enough real bad things happen in this city to worry about how I am going to use the word."
This will probably backfire... People don't like being told what to do, especially if there's no consequences. It just brings more attention to the word and therefore people are going to say it more.
IE. You're all thinking about the N word right now. Chris Rock said it where he otherwise wouldn't have.
what nigga? them niggaz banned the "n" word nigga? Wait till I tell my niggaz about this shit nigga!
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
Bets on the first song released by a rapper saying - they dont want us using the word now - nigga - and so on and so on
Should be out within a few days
these niggaz better ban spic now or I'm going to get all my Puerto Rican niggaz to go to war on these niggaz, nigga.
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
Ya, I heard about this on a morning radio show this morn, but I didn't realize they actually "banned" use of the word.
Seems the ban's only symbollic. No bite to the law.
The city resolution calling for the moratorium traces the etymology of the word from the Latin "niger," meaning black, to its first documented written use in 1786 as a term slave masters used to label their African slaves.
They can always use the the K word where K is silent!
Alfonsus Kusuma (AK)
ak at madzuma.com
skype me - alfonsus.com
Remember I posted a thread about Vegas using the "gangsta rap" as the type of performers they want to ban in that town? Using violence as the reason.
Now rap gets targeted again for the use of the "n" word.
Pardon me if I'm wrong, but didn't the rap community start using that word as a way to take the negative meaning out of the original word which ends in the letter "r" to a word that ends with "a"?
Of course only a black person has the right to use either word, socially speaking.
I mean, if you're going to ban words, where to you draw the line?
I know many other offensive words like "rape". How about banning that? People use that in a funny way, like the gas station raped them, but isn't that a bad word to associate anything with? How any other words will also be banned if you start with this one?
"We're not against rap... We're not against rappers... But we are against those thugs..."
"N.igger" is so 1930's. Today, it's all about "nigga!" If you are white and have black friends and dont use the word "nigga", then they'll see you as a white person, but if you use the word "nigga", then they'll see you as one of them, a fellow african american.
Of course its a symbolic thing. Its the history of how the word is used against us, not so much the word itself. Any offensive word said in a humorus, friendly, etc. way between friends is on the same plane. I've been around a group of white guys that commonly call each other bitches and no one gets pissed. You aint gonna see some bruthas calling each other bitches too long before the fist start flying.
I dont think black folks care. We say it so much that its lost its meaning AMONG US. Yet, we dont allow other races to say it to us unless they got an official ghetto pass.
they didn't fucking ban it, they "symbolically" banned it, meaning they want people to say it less, but no one will get in trouble for saying it
Exactly .. it was something they were doing for Feb. Black history month and decided to get it on the book but there is no legal action for using the word. they are trying to educate young blacks on the true hatred and meaning behind the word in an effort to stop the use of it ..
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