N-Word. No place in today's society.

I'll preface this by saying I'm a middle aged white guy. I grew up with the movement for equality. I am appalled by the use of this racist word being used by ANYONE but moreso for the young Blacks today. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's "gangsta". Whatever.

It is a word that it's time has come and gone. Let it go in peace. Don't propagate the stereotype that your elders fought against. Ask any Black person that fought for Black rights what they think of that word. They'll tell you. It was their will, their blood and tears(sometimes lives) that fought against this crap. Ask Mom and Dad. Ask Gram and Grandpa. Do you know what they actually had to go through just so that you could call each other "'n-word'"? You have NO idea. Neither do I but I can empathize.

Maybe one thinks that by using that word you're getting back to your roots. BS. What have you done for Black rights? Listened to Snoop Dogg? Got gangsta on the Man? Talk to your elders. They will tell you what REAL action is about. They will tell you about struggle and pain. Just so that you can diss what they fought for.

I'm not talking to all Blacks here. I'm talking to the pups that have NO clue as to what their past is. Read about it. Read about the insane past. Read about the movements that your predecessors did. Fought for. DIED for. And do us all a favor. Ditch the n-word. It's time is well past.

words are just words. combinations of letters. words meaning change over time. what is offensive now didnt use to be. im not black but if they want to call each other n---- why shouldnt they be able to? its their culture they can make it what they want and describe it as they want. i just dont understand why people get so worked up over words.

Originally posted by TheRepublic
words are just words. combinations of letters. words meaning change over time. what is offensive now didnt use to be. im not black but if they want to call each other n---- why shouldnt they be able to? its their culture they can make it what they want and describe it as they want. i just dont understand why people get so worked up over words.

What about older Blacks that were stung by these "words" and more so? What about those that put their lives on the line to get rid of these "words". It's not just the youngs culture. It's ALL Blacks and I'm sure that the majority don't appreciate this usage of letters.

you know, as i got older i came to find that my own parents and grandparents were racists. i had no idea growing up.

when i was in my late 20's i realized that my mom named our black rooster "sammy davis" and a little black dog of ours "jigger". i was floored that i never put 2 and 2 together till i was an adult...

my grandparents used to have me do a trick in front of house guests where you take a glass of water, dash some pepper on the top and then put your finger in the middle of the glass (which had been dipped in bleach) and say something about what happens when white people moved into the neighborhood. (the pepper flakes scatter around the finger)

the world of yesteryear was a totally different place than it is today - at least in a lot of places.

social consciousness has bloomed in the past 20 years and i'm very happy to see the change. though as we are humans, "it" will always be in our societies. apparently science has proved that we are racists by nature.

[edit on 8/21/2010 by zooplancton]

do you mean the word nigga? i really don't care as i live in Indonesia, and several billion asians would not care either. Funny though that blacks get angry if whites call them nigga, but each other they call "nigga" ...well that is what i know from hollywood movies and hip hop songs





[edit on 21-8-2010 by nagabonar]

The word "'n-word'" originaly meant black, thats it. So it bugs me that just because your grandfathers grandfathers grandfather was a slave doesnt mean you need to walk around with all that anger on your shoulders. Society saw its flaws and changed, be thankful it did so and the world isnt the same as it used to be. Yes I said the dreaded "N-word" oh well I am not going to strike a word down because it has been used as a form of hate. Does this mean I use it instead of black? No, but if the conversation calls upon it I am not going to feel bad for saying it. ITS JUST A WORD!

Anyways, Thanks for listening! And learn to love one another rather than looking for reasons like this to hate each other.

Edit: Also while we are on this subject lets talk about equality real quick. all races want to be treated equally yet IF someone calls a black person a 'n-word' the black person usually will get mad and think that person is a racist(which they probably are) but IF a black person calls me a cracker its ok and if I get mad then they will think im a racist.

just something more to think about when you say equality.

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Sumdumguy]

Mod Note: Do Not Evade the Automatic Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on Sat Aug 21 2010 by DontTreadOnMe]

I know what you mean

I don't like the "N" word

But to be serious, I think the word
carries too much weight.

If my neighbor says it's offensive to him, I won't use it.
I'll respect him. Why provoke him ?

I'd rather be his friend.


[edit on 21-8-2010 by samsamm9]

[edit on 21-8-2010 by samsamm9]

reply to post by intrepid


good topic intrepid. i have a fetish for words, etymology, linguistical evolution, and related magneloquences, ... i'm always a student.

it is my understanding that thousands of years ago, in dozens of languages.... two syllables meant something different....

ni = "keeper of" and/or "guardian of", and we still take a knee when we pray for and seek....

gur = "sacred knowledge" and/or "secrets", like guru

so, previously, before the rules changed on us, those two little nasty syllables meant something like:

guardian of secrets
keeper of sacred knowledge
___________________________________

there are still similar sounding words.

according to the definition of, anyone who is on a budget, stingy, or "cheap" when spending money, or haggles can be considered niggardly.

but don't use that word in context if you are a politician. it will get you fired, and has gotten at least one politician fired that i can recall, unless it was just a planned cover story for something else.

Main Entry: nig·gard·ly
Pronunciation: \-lē\
Function: adjective
Date: 1571
1 : grudgingly mean about spending or granting : begrudging
2 : provided in meanly limited supply

synonyms see stingy

— nig·gard·li·ness noun

— niggardly adverb
source: www.merriam-webster.com...

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

I never use it... I see no reason to use it.

Although all my black friends that use Facebook, well, there status updates every-time include the N-word.

Words have whatever meaning we give to them.

When I was growing up in Wisconsin, this "N" word was the only descriptive word for these people that I knew. It is simply a corruption of the word "Negro" which means a black. It started out as descriptive and only became offensive when it was later used in a demeaning way to or about a black person.

reply to post by Esoteric Teacher


Thanks for bringing that up i didnt think of dirrect translation of syllables so theres another thing xD if someone ever calls me 'n-word' ill thank them as i am the Guardian of Secrets. (and yes a black police officer actually called me that once when he pulled me over when i was a kid xD)

woah auto edit from mods? i didnt say 'n-word' O_o good job mods now go hunt down the advertisers on this site like you hunted me down =D

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Sumdumguy]

While idealistically it would be nice for a word with no positive connotation to simply vanish, I don't think it's plausible.

I'd bet even money that it would sooner remain in today's society and lose its power through use and repetition than be removed via omission through an ethical consensus.

I agree we shouldn't use it.

But anyone who wants to make it illegal is far more dangerous than the person saying the word.

Let's use peer pressure to change society, quietly prodding people towards more civil interactions with one another. Laws won't change the world for the better, only people can do that.

Originally posted by OhZone
Words have whatever meaning we give to them.

that is not entirely true.

there are words that are defined in the dictionaries by those who decide how to socially engineer those who need social engineering, according to those who determine the legitimate definition of the words.

for thousands of years there were those who were literate, nobles and religious, and those who were not (the vast majority).

i'll leave it at that.

-et



[edit on 21-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

reply to post by intrepid


Oh, gosh, have you ever visited the south?

Not only do black kids refer to each other this way, there are still many whites who use the term in a very derogitory way. Having lived in the north burbs of Chicago most my life, and in other parts of the country, I was appalled when I moved down south, to see that racism is quite alive and well!

So after yelling at my husband, from Kentwood, LA about a million times, probably more, that I find the word offensive, he has now switched to using, colored! I always have to ask, well, what color were they?

While sitting at a restaurant just this afternoon, a white fellow at the table next to me actually made a comment that it was time to leave, because ( using the "N" word) he was incensed that they were coming in by "the droves." This he said to his, I'm guessing, late 80's mother.

I had to bite my tongue that I would rather sit with the lot of them anyday, rather than him, a racist......another word that ends with hole!

C'mon people, it's more than half way through 2010, for God's sake!

Originally posted by intrepid
I'll preface this by saying I'm a middle aged white guy.

honky / honkey / 'n-word'

which word got censored?

type them out for yourself, see what gets posted, and which word is automatically censored and re-written as: 'n-word'

'h-word' ... "H-word"

don't here that phrase all too often in the msm.

sorry, just talking points to demonstrate some ethnic slurs do not get treated equally, not just here on our ATS, but throughout society as a whole.

thanks again for this thread intrepid,
john paul

edited to remove a comment.

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher

Originally posted by intrepid
I'll preface this by saying I'm a middle aged white guy.

honky honkey 'n-word'

which word got censored?

The one that should have been. I don't even know what a "honkey" is. I know what it's supposed to mean but not the true meaning. I don't use that either.

Edit: Honkey came to the fore in 1946. I think the other one was thrown around for a lot longer and with more stigma.

[edit on 21-8-2010 by intrepid]

reply to post by Sumdumguy


believe it brother, i wasn't lying.

and that edit of that word is automatic here on ATS.

you and me still share more than 99.7% of the same dna you primate you!

reply to post by intrepid


good points. i don't know the origin of honky/honkey. they sure through it around alot on the Jeffersons though.

i'm a movin on up .... great... now i got that song stuck in my head..

www.youtube.com...

OBAMA 2012

what?

too soon?

[edit on 21-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]