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

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher

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.

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

Those "legitiamate" definitions change with use.
The ever popular "F" word was originally a respectable word that simply meant to Plant seeds into the ground.

That often used "B" word was and still is a correct word used to refer to a female dog.

There are many others.

My son chewed me out for using the word "Whatever" when the bank teller told me that didn't use Money Orders only Teller's Checks. I'm not sure exactly what the new definition for this word is in the minds of the current generation. To me it meant, "I'll take whatever you are currently issuing."

Originally posted by intrepid

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]

So how does that make it more socially acceptable? Don't give in to the double standard. I'm so SICK of the double standard.

Star and flag.

Totally agree with you, I said it before on here, words such as this should not be in your go to volcabulary. I do feel they only have as much meaning as you choose to attach to them though. But as it is a sensitive word with years of negative conotations, why not just earadicate it?

Here is a song by Saul Williams which aims to knock the stereotype, and I will use any excuse to plug his music

reply to post by havenvideo


No double standard here. I said I don't use honkey either, even if there is no clear meaning to it.

reply to post by OhZone


yes, words do change and evolve with use.

we are active participants in the process, but as individuals we do not have our hands on the steering wheel.

the evolution of accepted meanings of words is alot like wikipedia.

but i can not edit websters.

Originally posted by TheRepublic
words are just words. combinations of letters.

That is true enough, or at least it is how is should be ... but until we evolve beyond them:

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny." - Unknown

reply to post by intrepid


I think there's more than enough clear meaning to the word 'honky'. It doesn't matter how far the word dates back, it is what it is. It's a racial slur targeted towards whites. There's no mistaking that. I can name a few racial slurs towards blacks that came into use within the past decade or two whose meaning are also debatable but that doesn't make them any more socially acceptable does it?

reply to post by intrepid


but, we can type it unedited on ATS. there is no automatic edit for it.

not fueling a fire here, just making an observation.

lightening the mood with an appropriate song...

Kermit the Frogs "It's not easy being green"
www.youtube.com...

Some words simply (or not so simply) evolve into something much greater than the sum of it's parts, over time.

Other words:

Slavery
Holocaust
Concentration Camps
Hitler

and now this:

911.

If those words are just regular words to you, then you really should study more. Simple words call up so much more, than ever should have been.

There are grave reasons behind it. Pain, Humiliation, Death and Blood.

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher
reply to post by intrepid

 

but, we can type it unedited on ATS. there is no automatic edit for it.

That's what the Complaints/Suggestions button is for. Maybe the staff just hasn't discussed this in the past. I'm all for getting rid of that term too.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog

Originally posted by TheRepublic
words are just words. combinations of letters.

...

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny." - Unknown

we sure can learn a lot from that Unkown character.

Unknown sure gets around, i've seen their quotes a lot.

reply to post by intrepid


Another thing that bothers me is that people from the continent of Africa who have dark skin (who originate from many different nations and tongues from the African continent) are the only people on the planet who are referred to by their skin color (which is actually brown in most cases) and not by their nation or at least their continent of origin. All other peoples (Chinese from China, Greeks from Greece, Spanish from Spain, Italians from Italy, Russians from Russia etc…) are referred to according to their nation of origin. There is no nation that people with dark skin come from called “Blackia”.

Another thing to note for those of you who believe the Bible was Divinely inspired: not a single person or group of people in the bible are referred to by the color of their skin but by their nation of origin.

reply to post by intrepid


good point. but banning words can be a lot like burning books.

words offended people sometimes.

i forget who said it, maybe it was the Unknown character....

"Words are meant to offend. they are assaults upon the unthinking"

(i may be paraphrasing there)

personally i haven't used either of those words in longer than i can remember (this thread being an exception). i certainly do not utilize either when adressing people face to face. If a word offends, don't use it.

only people who are usually wanting to offend use those words anyways, imo.

like the "Kramer" incident not too long ago. he just went ballistic with that word, and it was not very funny at all.

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

reply to post by Esoteric Teacher


That we do and thats what im saying. blacks women and all them dont want equality at all otherwise they wouldnt say "'n-word',nigga, honkey, honky" yada yada this and women who scream equality annoy me because of 2 things.... 1. ladies night at bars and 2. if a woman hits me they are brave and standing up for themselves but if i hit a woman id be considered a monster in most scenarios. I just dont get all this talk about equality if you want equality and its like it is now where we are trying to give it to you then you should treat us the same way you want to be treated. Am I right?

reply to post by soleprobe


ive heard asians called bananas,yellows(dont get how thats really bad but ohwell) and slant eyes based on physical features. Itas for the rest i dont know any color/physical based racial slurs.

reply to post by intrepid


Well lets not make this so simple, because it is not. I agree with the OP, that the word carries too much weight and shouldn't be used. I agree that Black people should have enough self respect not to call each other it just as a common reference. That, in my eyes, is more sad than anything. But for a White male to propagate that Blacks should not use that word, seems ignorant at best. Whites should enforce their own community not to say that word, and not worry about how Blacks use it. That word was created by Whites as a derogatory slang for the word Negroid, and is attributed with lynching, KKK, slaves, social exclusion... so how does it sound to now have White people telling them not to use it after hundreds of years of engraining it into their culture and minds. Sounds ridiculous to me.

Right now many minority groups use that word, and what that shows more than anything, is how the White race has secluded itself with this false sense of superiority for the passed thousand or more years, and how all other races are seeing a commonality between each other of being oppressed by us. Yes it is ignorant of them. But again, the best thing the White race can do, is not try and police Blacks from using that word, but police their own White community not to use that word. Soon there will be another Black social movement like we seen in the 60's and they will police themselves, and rise above this level of ignorance.

BTW, I am a White male who grew up inside of Black culture and almost all my friends are Black, and I now work in the oldest Black social organization in America working to help them and their community become empowered. One thing I have noticed that will mend Black/White relations, more than anything, is not what the White community can do for the Black community, but what the White community can do for the White community. That means being honest with themselves about history and understanding of how the Black community got to this point.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


It was not created by whites as a derogatory term it was just used as one the meaning of it is black and it was created and originally used as that, a term for the word black. But it was adopted by whites as a derogatory name towards black people.

reply to post by Sumdumguy


No, you are sadly mistaken. The word Negroid was the term that was already used to describe their heritage, and the word 'n-word' was created and used by slave owners in the 1800's as a derogatory slang for the word Negroid. Do your research before you comment brother.


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[edit on Sat Aug 21 2010 by DontTreadOnMe]

Originally posted by havenvideo
I think there's more than enough clear meaning to the word 'honky'. It doesn't matter how far the word dates back, it is what it is. It's a racial slur targeted towards whites.

When white people have been owned, ruled over, at the mercy of and imprisoned by another race that calls us honky every day, rapes our women, beats us, uses us, buys and sells us, hangs us, makes us work for him, so he can have an easier life... THEN we can talk about the weight of the word "honky" as compared to the weight of the N-word.

You have to remember our history when talking about racial slurs.

I don't use the word, and in my mind, it no longer has any particular weight, but I understand its use. The reason black people started using it was to take the power away from it. And when black people are being friendly and using it, I don't think it holds any weight for them either. I've even seen white kids use it with their black friends and all was cool. But you can tell when someone says it and they mean something different than 'buddy'... Unfortunately, then it holds a lot of weight for some people.

I think we're looking at a rough patch along the road to true equality. A snapshot in time. It won't last forever.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


research it further "brother" you will find you are mistaken