About the "Nigger" word
 

Theres a post thats already locked - TheSpaceBulldog got
offended at the N word.

So, I wonder why ?
There's actually a country (or city - not sure) called Niger - on Africa continent. And there's a county called Nigeria. And there's where black people live or came from. So I guess this word comes from there ? Plus black people call each other ******s all the time, so whats wrong with it ?


(Note: no sarcasm intended - just trying to figure it out, cause I'm a foreingner and dont get why everybody get pissed with the N word)

they are not pronounced the same...

could be, but thats where they originated - so there aint nothing wrong with it. BTW, only Americans get offended with the N word - all other countries think its normal.

So like - ******, Niger, Negro - its all the same meaning black. So seems like black people are ashamed of their color or something ? They are black, but dont want to be called black ?

niger is a country in africa

****** is a derogitory term
along with
cracker peckerwood honkey and redneck

you could also say something like
jungle bunny

or maybee even
spik

or
kike

does it really matter?
Let me tell you a story.

When I was in HS I had a job working in the fields. We all got on a bus every morning and worked all day and came back and so on so forth. there was a group of black kids that were very loud and annoying and they liked to say "******." Now there was this nerdy white kid that was trying to fit in and he thought that they would like him if he would say "******" also. Low and behold he got the shit beaten out of him.

What the fuck IS the deal with this? I am wondering if it is a poor people thing kinda like I call my buddies podunk or ghost mother fucker. but if a person from another race calls me anything racist I can't kick their ass because as a white person it is not socially acceptable.

P.S. I am living in the currently fucked USA

******:

"Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people"

Whitey:

"Used as a disparaging term for a white person or white people. "

We got an offending/insulting word for everything, I don't really care if someone calls me "whitey".

ok, here's a little history lesson for you... that word was used by people who enslaved a whole race of people a couple centuries back in colonial America, the word empowers a meaning of white supremacy over Africans, it does not describe the color of ones skin, it's a racist slur in the most extreme form because of it's history... it wouldn't suggest tossing it around so lightly

SO WHY DO SO MANY AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK IT IS PART OF EVERY DAY LANGUAGE!

Because when it comes out of the mouth of a black person it doesn't empower the meaning of white supremacy, in a way it's taking the word away from the people who use it in a racist form. I agree that it probably shouldn't be said at all, but that probably won't happen for a while...

That doesn't explain why they keep calling eachother "******", have you seen those rap clips on MTV? If black people find it offensive, why is it being used so much?

This most offensive of words in American speech dates back to the late 16th century, although the modern spelling doesn't appear until two centuries later. The OED2's earliest cite of the modern spelling is from 1786 in Burns's Ordination. (The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, however, claims that this is an editorial error and Burns's original manuscript uses the older niger.) The obsolete spelling niger dates to 1574. It derives from the Latin niger meaning black. It shares this common root with negro.

http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorn.htm

the moral of this story is say it to the wrong person and you're gonna catch an ass whoop'n ...i'm not going to argue this point any more...

Yes thats what I'm saying - if black people think its a terrebly offensive word, why scream it left and right ?


Like, fuckhead is an offensive word, but I dont go around calling people I know "hey fuckhead !" (not even friends, cause it's just not right)

ok, maybe i'll argue the point for one more second... say you were part of a race called "DarkJedis" and for 100s of years the "LightJedis" made you work slave labor for them, and on top of that gave you regular beatings, raped your sisters, aunts, mother, etc.. and occasionally hung members of your family for acting 'out of line' and all this time they referred to you as 'assmunches' ...so for generations assmunches meant your sorry oppressed ass was being talked down upon, and basically you are worthless except for manual labor... then a couple generations later the slavery was over and people were still walking around calling you assmunches, now this word holds a certain meaning to you that certainly isn't a playful one... you figure out the rest...

I get your point pornJester - but I wouldn't be calling my friends assmunches after all.

actually niger is a river in africa, nigeria is a country.:321GFY

Niger is a country in Africa

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/af.htm

Q.

It's just a word.

the quickest way to desensitize any word is by taking ownership

if repeated enough then the word loses its ability to empower

but this can only happen when the person/people that are offended by the word begin the desensitizing process

in time the word becomes part of our general slang and can be used by anyone without having any adverse effect

hmm, ok... show how come we dont hear the jews reffering to their friends as "yo hey you nazi"... .. in my book that would be the same...

Either its just a word and everyone can use it or everyone should shut the fuck up and and stop using it... the way it is now is total BS

btw i am new here :D so hi everyone and a merry GFY to you all

because Jews have never been referred to as Nazi's

Fucking <s>Mormons</s>. I Mean Morons

shame on a nigga who tried to get game on a nigga

when u refer to a black person (if you arent black its offensive bc you are looking down upon them) as ****** but if another black person says "nigga" then its ok thing that gets the me is the have been slaved for 180 years... so they say wasnt slavery abolition so long ago. GROW UP AND MOVE ON

my :2 cents:

bunky

it is when I say it. :1orglaugh

Oh yeah. My bad. Niger is also a river in africa.

God damn the level of ignorance in this world just amazes me.

Now to be called ignorant is one thing...that's at least giving you the benefit of the doubt that you just have not had the opportunity to learn...if you had and you still feel this way then you're just plain fucking stupid.

Nazi would not be the same as callling a black person ******.

For a Jew it would be calling them a heeb.
Which is what a lot of older Jews are offended by and a lot of younger Jews call each other.

Much like the black youth have adopted the word ****** and according to them are taking the power of that word back, so have the younger Jews.

They even have a magazine targetted at younger Jews called Heeb which has offended the older Jews and the group of 20 and 30 somethings who started the magazine were on CNN a few weeks back defending their choice of title.

And their explanation...it's a word that has been used to demean them and they are taking back conrtol...they feel they now own the power to that word.

And for those who think that we should forget hundreds of years of slavery and oppresion all because Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation need to understand something about our history.

Sure African-Americans were given their freedom back then...but not until the civil rights movement of the 60's were they even afforded the opportunity to move about freely in this country....and even then it wasn't safe to do so...and still really isn't to this day.

So it's not like it's actually been over 140 years since any of this shit mattered.

In fact racism is still a prevalent issue. And the need for diligence on everyone's part to stamp it out is far more important than you probably realize.

For instance in the early 1990's the Dallas housing authority was still segregating people based upon color. No that's not the 1890's that's, that's the 1990's.

A local lawyer actually had to go in and sue them to get this straightened out...and this was a government agency doing the segregating.

Poor black citizens were being sent to the "slums" in south and east Dallas, while poor white citizens were given housing in the fancier parts of north Dallas. Their kids were able to go to nicer schools, while black children were having to settle for the more troubled schools in the rougher parts of town.

That's just one small case and there are so many more.

Chris Rock made an excellent point during his concert
I'm paraphrasing here:
"there is not a single white guy in this audience who would trade places with me...and I'm rich"
He went on to say that there was probably a one legged white busboy who would say..."No thanks...I'm gonna ride this white thing out and see where it might take me."

And you know what...I'm man enough to say he's fucking right.

I don't think I could have the guts to swap skin color with him even for his wealth...not because I don't want to be black...but for the simple fact that irregardless of wealth he still has trouble getting a cab to pick him up in New York City, he still catches a weary look from middle class white women in the suburbs his life while alot easier now due to that wealth could have been a hell of a lot harder if he just didn't have the talent to obtain that wealth.

And I doubt anyone else here would have the guts to do it too.

****** is a word that (originally) means a 'stupid person'.

It has nothing to do with the name of the Country.

Just as 'bitch' means 'female dog' and starting to be used as a derogatory term against women, so was '******' for black people. Both of these terms slowly changed their meaning (their MAIN meaning) to become the derogatory term. So much so, that most people don't even know the true meaning of the words.

The english language, as most languages, I imagine, is constantly changing. Some words change more than others. Most words have a meaning that is well known, but even that can change (like the word 'gay', for example). But another thing to realize, is that some words can mean different things to different people - and as someone here already mentioned, the more you use a term, the less 'power' it has. Simple example - have you ever explained something, and somebody replies ' exactly' - do you think they really mean they understand/agree with you *exactly*? Maybe you'd think that the first time they said it - but how about if you realize they say this 10x a day, all the time. It loses meaning - from that particular person. Now, if someone you work with *never* says this, and one day they do - the word (as it comes from that person's mouth) has a closing meaning to the dictionary definition than it does from the 1st person I was talking about.

Something to think about...

American = Hypocrit

You all should have watched the episode of Boston Public that touched the subject of the N word.

but I call everyone a bitch.... and what about "man-bitch"?

Tedster=fuckwad....so? LOL

Slavery is a horrible issue...but there isn't a civilization in the history of the world that has not oppressed, or enslaved another at one point in time...we all have our dirty little secrets to hide in our collective closets.

And if you're trying to bring up the "free speech" issue.

With freedom comes greater responsibility. I learned that as a 16 year old when i got my drivers license.

And if you haven't figured that out yet...you're lost for good.

Yo!
Bow to the power of ebony conversions! :thumbsup

So where can I buy the Gay magazine, entitled Faggot.

Or the Lesbian magazine, entitled Dyke.

Or the Woman magazine, entitled Bitches.

And what about the Disabled Persons magazine, entitled Cripple.

Now who's the ignorant one?

have you ever noticed how Quentin Terintino manages to have a white person say ****** in almost every movie he does? Regardless of where the word came from it only matters where the word is at. Fact: Most black people dont like it when non-blacks use the word to refer to blacks. So why try and rationalize the word by pointing at other instances in which it is used. If you dont want to offend people dont use it. If you could care less then use it and take you chances.

What's the difference between a ****** and a snow tire?
A snow tire doesn't sing when you put chains on it.

What do you call a ****** in a tree with a briefcase?
Branch manager.

What do ****** kids get for Christmas?
Your bike

What's long and black and smells like shit?
The welfare line.

What's the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead ****** in the road?
The dead dog has skid marks in front of it.

You are you dim witted poster boy for abortion.

Don't you know gays and lesbians call each other dykes and faggots all the time...just like blacks call each other ******?

God damn...the level of ignorance keeps rising on this board...actually I'm starting to believe based on this last post that it is just plain fucking stupidity.

What's the difference between Labret's mother and a $5 crack whore?

The whore actually charges the $5.00

Here is a related article:
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2.../22/kennedy/?x

This black author was also a guest on the tv show "Politically Incorrect" if any of you caught that.

Agreed.

Yeah, good one....


What do you say when you see your T.V. floating around at night?
"Drop it ******."

Why are there trees in Harlem?
Public transportation.

What do you have if you've got a ****** up to his neck in cement?
Not enough cement.

What's black and tan and looks good on a ******?
A Doberman Pinscher.

It all depends how you say it. A black guy can call another black guy a nigga. But, if they don't know eachother one sometimes gets offended. This proves that it's not just white people who do this. It's all races. I'm mexican and I have black friend. Sometimes it just comes out of me and I say "Dam niggi, you see that girl"

Besides white people don't say right anyway, you gotta feel it as a homie not just to fit in. Like "I got five on it niggi" that means I'm for real and I pitch in 5 dollars on the sack.:thumbsup

right, and *since* the 60's it hasn't been safe for white people to move about freely.

Glad you enjoyed it :Graucho

****** was used to insult slaves as they were being beaten and killed. Using that word in an insulting context is about on par with making jokes about how many jews can fit in an ash-tray.. and about as offensive.

Some black people are not offended by the word "******". Some are not offended under some circumstances. Some jews might not take offense to an ash-tray joke, but it's still in poor taste and it's fucking disgusting.

I hope that answers your question.

****** is a derivative of the french Neger wich means black..

over the years, this terms pronunciation has changed & evolved to ******, which still means black, though with negative connotation & insult intent....


Hey.. it's not nice & it's wrong..
Hate is wrong.. racism's wrong.. but, some people just dont get it..

I'm getting the idea that most of you are *very* young (probably under 16 or so?)..

****** was invented as an insulting term for black slaves, and the dictionary contains no derivations. It is an american word, not an african word. It is an intentional mis-prounounciation of the spanish word "negro" meaning black.

---

nig·ger Pronunciation Key (ngr)
n. Offensive Slang

Used as a disparaging term for a Black person: ?You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a ******? (James Baldwin).
Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people.
Used as a disparaging term for a member of any socially, economically, or politically deprived group of people: ?Gun owners are the new ******s... of society? (John Aquilino).


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[Alteration of dialectal neger, black person, from French nègre, from Spanish negro. See Negro.]

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


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******

\Nig"ger\, n. A negro; -- in vulgar derision or depreciation.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


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******

n : ethnic slur; offensive name for Black person [syn: spade, coon, jigaboo, nigra]
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

"I hate ******s". These chilling words were spit out by one of the two mass killers as he pumped bullets into the head of a black student in the second floor library at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. According to an eyewitness the killer then stepped back and laughed about his murderous handiwork. The slain black student was one of 15 killed by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in the worst high school massacre in U.S. history. To explain their rampage much of the media and public officials quickly drug out the standard ?bad kids, bad homes? line. But this is far to easy. The murders were hate crimes driven by hatred of blacks, Latinos, and Jews.

It's fine and well to pretend these times have passed, but I got the shit kicked out of me every day, got stabbed, hospitalized and nearly bled to death in the street on a regular routine when I was a kid, RIGHT HERE IN TORONTO, as kids laughed an called me a ******. Ancient history for you maybe.. this was less than 15 years ago for me.

They only stopped when I outgrew them.