SoulAlive said:

I was in a Starbucks one day,and these two young Asian girls were in back of me.They looked like they were about 17 or 18 years old.One of them mentioned some dude,and the other girl started saying "Oh yeah...that's my nigga! He's hella cool!!" It goes back to what I said earlier.The word "nigga" means nothing.It's not even offensive anymore.Young kids of all races use that word so freely now,it's not even worth getting upset about.That word is powerless.

I've heard it used by white kids in public. Usually kids like that use it like 20 times in a row and they know that they are being insensitive. It's the same if someone uses cuss words like F%ck, ahole constantly. It just makes them sound silly. I've been known to drop an F-bomb sometimes but I have a friend that I never heard use a cuss word once. I have to give his mom credit for drilling it in his head, even using cuss word once in a convo really makes people sound dumbed down.

Madonna knew better its just getting her some attention but I know she is not a racist. Just craves attention at any cost.

SoulAlive said:

That word is powerless.

Perhaps I'm just culturally inept because I can't help but to find it offensive.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Thebigpill said:

Really?? So, if someone were to call your mother, father, sister, nephew or niece that word you won't be offend?? If you say no, I'm gonna say your lying. your just a Madonna apologist.

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga, I don't like either the 2nd one for the blurry lines

But Black people call each other Nigga all the times, sometimes as a 'term of endearment' other times in a nasty way.

So I still don't get it, because many a black person has been assaulted with Nigga by another black person before or during a violent act or crime. Or used in a verbal assault.

So which one is it people?

There is no difference between Nigger and Nigga The reason for the difference in spelling is a simple case of trying to capture the African American Vernacular through speech and writing it is like saying Suga instead of Suger like some people with southern accents do. I do not understand why anyone not of African American Descent would even want to use the word.

As an African American I have used the word Nigger/Nigga. I use it more like an alternative for the word fool. I also only use the word around people who share the same cultural background as me. Nigger/Nigga is a word that predates hip hop culture. My Slave ancestors were refered to by their Whit slave masters with that word and they also refered to themselves with that word.

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga

Not really a difference. The second is just a hip hop era spelling, like 'boyz', 'gangsta' and 'def'. The first has long been used by some black people, before hip hop, so people blaming rap makes no sense. It didn't just come out of nowhere to all of a sudden be accepted as "cool" by the hip hop generation. It was always cool by some black people in the US to say to each other, but not coming from white people or other races. Like some black people call each other "cuz", "fam" or "kinfolk" without being related to each other. Look at old books by Iceberg Slim & Donald Goines or party records by Blowfly & Rudy Ray Moore and Blaxploitation movies. Richard Pryor had mainstream popularity (not just popularity primarily with black people like the others) and he said it in his act. If you watch Wattstax, there are sections where people in the neighborhood are filmed, and they use it. I heard people saying it to each other the whole time I went to school and I went to schools that were 99% black until about the 11th grade.

Gemini688 said:

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

If someone does not know the history behind something, why would they think it's offensive? It's in rap music and current black movies (and not just "hood" ones), and not used in a derogatory manner. You don't hear black people saying words like "coon" or "spook" to each other today. Those are not cool, so those are not popularized in entertainment and neither are terms used for other races/ethnicities. Remember the complaints about Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us, and in further printings, the word was bleeped out.

.

It's like a swastika meant something else pre-nazi, but if someone today see a picture of someone with it that was before the nazis got a hold of it, they're just going to assume they're a nazi or bigots. The average person today is not going to think that "gay" means "happy" or "faggot" is a 'bundle of sticks', but "homosexual". I think "fag" is also "cigarettes" in some places. I don't understand the black people who use the n-word, but get mad when other races say it as a greeting. It's a "do as I say, and not as I do" kind of thing.

MickyDolenz said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga

Not really a difference. The second is just a hip hop era spelling, like 'boyz', 'gangsta' and 'def'. The first has long been used by some black people, before hip hop, so people blaming rap makes no sense. It didn't just come out of nowhere to all of a sudden be accepted as "cool" by the hip hop generation. It was always cool by some black people in the US to say to each other, but not coming from white people or other races. Like some black people call each other "cuz", "fam" or "kinfolk" without being related to each other. Look at old books by Iceberg Slim & Donald Goines or party records by Blowfly & Rudy Ray Moore and Blaxploitation movies. Richard Pryor had mainstream popularity (not just popularity primarily with black people like the others) and he said it in his act. If you watch Wattstax, there are sections where people in the neighborhood are filmed, and they use it. I heard people saying it to each other the whole time I went to school and I went to schools that were 99% black until about the 11th grade.

I mean in the reference the person i responded to...

that if a 'non-black person' said it to 'your' mother how would you respond. I could be wrong. But I thought they person meant a 'white' person calling a 'black' mother 'Ni&&er'

MickyDolenz said:

Gemini688 said:

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

If someone does not know the history behind something, why would they think it's offensive? It's in rap music and current black movies (and not just "hood" ones), and not used in a derogatory manner. You don't hear black people saying words like "coon" or "spook" to each other today. Those are not cool, so those are not popularized in entertainment and neither are terms used for other races/ethnicities. Remember the complaints about Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us, and in further printings, the word was bleeped out.

.

It's like a swastika meant something else pre-nazi, but if someone today see a picture of someone with it that was before the nazis got a hold of it, they're just going to assume they're a nazi or bigots. The average person today is not going to think that "gay" means "happy" or "faggot" is a 'bundle of sticks', but "homosexual". I think "fag" is also "cigarettes" in some places. I don't understand the black people who use the n-word, but get mad when other races say it as a greeting. It's a "do as I say, and not as I do" kind of thing.

I can understand people who are not from the U.S.A not being totally clear on the origins of the Word Nigger/Nigga. Even though we live in the information age and can pretty much google anything we want or need to know about any specific topic. I was mostly adressing the people who are from the States. I know they teach black history in the U.S school systems and I know they have been doing it for quite some time. We even have a black history month so people like Madonna should know better. She is the same age as my parents so I know that she has lived long enough to know where that word originated.

Gemini688 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga, I don't like either the 2nd one for the blurry lines

But Black people call each other Nigga all the times, sometimes as a 'term of endearment' other times in a nasty way.

So I still don't get it, because many a black person has been assaulted with Nigga by another black person before or during a violent act or crime. Or used in a verbal assault.

So which one is it people?

There is no difference between Nigger and Nigga The reason for the difference in spelling is a simple case of trying to capture the African American Vernacular through speech and writing it is like saying Suga instead of Suger like some people with southern accents do. I do not understand why anyone not of African American Descent would even want to use the word.

As an African American I have used the word Nigger/Nigga. I use it more like an alternative for the word fool. I also only use the word around people who share the same cultural background as me. Nigger/Nigga is a word that predates hip hop culture. My Slave ancestors were refered to by their Whit slave masters with that word and they also refered to themselves with that word.

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't work.

People know how to say 'N I G G E R'. I suspect white southerners never pronounced it Nigga.

With the complicated history of the word, I don't understand African-Americans wanting to use it, especially when many use it negatively. It's disrespectfully used, because many Black-Americans especially from older times probably don't use the term Nigga as a term of endearment.

.

So if a Black person commits a crime/an assault on another AA using the word Nigga, is that now a crime to be prosecuted because of race ie (self)Hate Crime. Similarly if a white person assualts a black person using the N word, they would be probably be prosecutes as a Hate Crime?

.

The history of the word nigger is often traced to the Latin word niger, meaning Black. This word became the noun, Negro (Black person) in English, and simply the color Black in Spanish and Portuguese. In early modern French, niger became negre and, later, negress (Black woman) was unmistakably a part of language history. One can compare to negre the derogatory nigger and earlier English substitutes such as negar, neegar, neger, and niggor that developed into its lexico-semantic true version in English. It is probable that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the White Southern mispronunciation of Negro.

.

No matter what its origins, by the early 1800s, it was firmly established as a derogative name. In the 21st century, it remains a principal term of White racism, regardless of who is using it. Social scientists agree that words like nigger, kike, spic, and wetback come from three categories: disparaging nicknames (chink, dago, nigger); explicit group devaluations ("Jew him down" or "niggering the land"); and irrelevant ethnic names used as a mild disparagement

http://www.aaregistry.org...ef-history

This piece uses adjective upon adjective attached to the word nigger.

.

The reality is that many of these uses can be heard in present-day African-American society. Herein lies part of the difficulty: The word, nigger, endures because it is used over and over again, even by the people it insults. Writer Devorah Major said, "It's hard for me to say what someone can or can't say, because I work with language all the time, and I don't want to be limited." Poet and professor Opal Palmer Adisa claims that the use of nigger or nigga is "the same as young people's obsession with swearing. A lot of their use of such language is an internalization of negativity about themselves." Rappers, themselves poets, rap about niggers before mostly White audiences, some of whom see themselves as wiggers (White niggers) and refer to one another as "my niggah." Snoop Doggy Dogg’s single, "You Thought," raps, "Wanna grab a skinny nigga like Snoop Dogg/Cause you like it tall/and work it baby doll." Tupac Shakur’s "Crooked Ass Nigga" lyrics included, "Now I could be a crooked nigga too/When I'm rollin' with my crew." Also rap lyrics that degrade women and glamorize violence reinforce the historical Brute Caricature.

.

Erdman Palmore researched lexicons and said, The number of offensive words used correlates positively with the amount of out-group prejudice; and these express and support negative stereotypes about the most visible racial and cultural differences. When used by Blacks, nigger refers to, among other things, all Blacks ("A nigger can't even get a break."); Black men ("Sisters want niggers to work all day long."); Blacks who behave in a stereotypical, and sometimes legendary, manner ("He's a lazy, good-for-nothing nigger."); things ("This piece-of-shit car is such a nigger."); enemies ("I'm sick and tired of those niggers bothering me!"); and friends ("Me and my niggers are tight."). This final habit, as a kind word, is particularly challenging. "Zup Niggah" has become an almost universal greeting among young urban Blacks. When asked, Blacks who use nigger or its variants argue that it has to be understood in its situation; repeated use of the word by Blacks will make it less offensive. It’s not really the same word because Whites are saying nigger (and niggers) but Blacks are saying niggah (and niggaz). Also it is just a word and Blacks should not be prisoners of the past or the ugly words that originated in the past.

.

These arguments may not be true to the real world. Brother (Brotha) and Sister (Sistha or Sista) are terms of endearment. Nigger was and still is a word of disrespect. More to the point, the artificial dichotomy between Blacks or African Americans (respectable and middle-class) and niggers (disrespectable and lower class) ought to be challenged. Black is a nigger, regardless of behavior, earnings, goals, clothing, skills, ethics, or skin color. Finally, if continued use of the word lessened its damage, then nigger would not hurt or cause pain now. Blacks, from slavery until today, have internalized many negative images that White society cultivated and broadcast about Black skin and Black people. This is mirrored in cycles of self- and same-race hatred. The use of the word,nigger by Blacks reflects this hatred, even when the user is unaware of the psychological forces involved. Nigger is the ultimate expression of White racism and White superiority no matter how it is pronounced. It is linguistic corruption, an attack on civility.

Gemini688 said:

MickyDolenz said:

If someone does not know the history behind something, why would they think it's offensive? It's in rap music and current black movies (and not just "hood" ones), and not used in a derogatory manner. You don't hear black people saying words like "coon" or "spook" to each other today. Those are not cool, so those are not popularized in entertainment and neither are terms used for other races/ethnicities. Remember the complaints about Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us, and in further printings, the word was bleeped out.

.

It's like a swastika meant something else pre-nazi, but if someone today see a picture of someone with it that was before the nazis got a hold of it, they're just going to assume they're a nazi or bigots. The average person today is not going to think that "gay" means "happy" or "faggot" is a 'bundle of sticks', but "homosexual". I think "fag" is also "cigarettes" in some places. I don't understand the black people who use the n-word, but get mad when other races say it as a greeting. It's a "do as I say, and not as I do" kind of thing.

I can understand people who are not from the U.S.A not being totally clear on the origins of the Word Nigger/Nigga. Even though we live in the information age and can pretty much google anything we want or need to know about any specific topic. I was mostly adressing the people who are from the States. I know they teach black history in the U.S school systems and I know they have been doing it for quite some time. We even have a black history month so people like Madonna should know better. She is the same age as my parents so I know that she has lived long enough to know where that word originated.

I don't think the full effect and understanding of the use of 'Nigga' can so easily be found on the internet.

.

By condemning Madonna for a word because of it's origins, Blacks who use are condemned as well.

Or else that is hypocracy of the highest order.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Gemini688 said:

I can understand people who are not from the U.S.A not being totally clear on the origins of the Word Nigger/Nigga. Even though we live in the information age and can pretty much google anything we want or need to know about any specific topic. I was mostly adressing the people who are from the States. I know they teach black history in the U.S school systems and I know they have been doing it for quite some time. We even have a black history month so people like Madonna should know better. She is the same age as my parents so I know that she has lived long enough to know where that word originated.

I don't think the full effect and understanding of the use of 'Nigga' can so easily be found on the internet.

.

By condemning Madonna for a word because of it's origins, Blacks who use are condemned as well.

Or else that is hypocracy of the highest order.

When I say to my brother, who likes to stand in front of the television while channel Surfing, "move Nigga you are not transparent."He laughs it off and tells me to "shut my bitch ass up and wait until he is done."

Now if someone who was not family and not black had said these things to my brother he would have probably three fingered blitzed them.

Call it hypocracy I guess but I do not think anybody who is not African American should use that word.

Gemini688 said:

I can understand people who are not from the U.S.A not being totally clear on the origins of the Word Nigger/Nigga. Even though we live in the information age and can pretty much google anything we want or need to know about any specific topic. I was mostly adressing the people who are from the States. I know they teach black history in the U.S school systems and I know they have been doing it for quite some time. We even have a black history month so people like Madonna should know better. She is the same age as my parents so I know that she has lived long enough to know where that word originated.

I wasn't really talking about Madonna, but people saying that hip hop made the n-word ok, when black people used it before. Stevie Wonder says it in Sweet Little Girl. That's why I posted those videos and movie posters. But, you're assuming that people just go around researching things on their own, without it being part of school. I don't think the average person is looking up where words came from. People also assume that everyone has a computer or has access to one. Even if someone does know the origin, if black people are saying it to each other, and whites are largest purchasers of hip hop, then maybe it lost the old meaning to them, just like the swastika and "gay" don't really have their original meaning today and slang can also change meanings of words. Some people are fine with "hispanic" or "latino/latina", but others consider it an insult and offensive.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Gemini688 said:

There is no difference between Nigger and Nigga The reason for the difference in spelling is a simple case of trying to capture the African American Vernacular through speech and writing it is like saying Suga instead of Suger like some people with southern accents do. I do not understand why anyone not of African American Descent would even want to use the word.

As an African American I have used the word Nigger/Nigga. I use it more like an alternative for the word fool. I also only use the word around people who share the same cultural background as me. Nigger/Nigga is a word that predates hip hop culture. My Slave ancestors were refered to by their Whit slave masters with that word and they also refered to themselves with that word.

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't work.

People know how to say 'N I G G E R'. I suspect white southerners never pronounced it Nigga.

With the complicated history of the word, I don't understand African-Americans wanting to use it, especially when many use it negatively. It's disrespectfully used, because many Black-Americans especially from older times probably don't use the term Nigga as a term of endearment.

.

So if a Black person commits a crime/an assault on another AA using the word Nigga, is that now a crime to be prosecuted because of race ie (self)Hate Crime. Similarly if a white person assualts a black person using the N word, they would be probably be prosecutes as a Hate Crime?

.

The older African american generation did and still does use it I know my grandmother does LOL!! some things are just exclusive to those in a particular culture whether it be good or bad it depends on how you look at it. It's a Black Thang im pretty sure you have things you do or say that is unique to your culture or heritage right?

Some people consider the "stars and bars" offensive. But in the south, for some it just means "southern pride" and has nothing to do with the Confederacy or racism. I've seen black people & Mexicans who have it on their trucks and/or belt buckles. My all time favorite TV show is The Dukes Of Hazzard and I know lots of black people who like it as well. There's been black people on the show too, like Sherriff Little.

Gemini688 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't work.

People know how to say 'N I G G E R'. I suspect white southerners never pronounced it Nigga.

With the complicated history of the word, I don't understand African-Americans wanting to use it, especially when many use it negatively. It's disrespectfully used, because many Black-Americans especially from older times probably don't use the term Nigga as a term of endearment.

.

So if a Black person commits a crime/an assault on another AA using the word Nigga, is that now a crime to be prosecuted because of race ie (self)Hate Crime. Similarly if a white person assualts a black person using the N word, they would be probably be prosecutes as a Hate Crime?

.

The older African american generation did and still does use it I know my grandmother does LOL!! some things are just exclusive to those in a particular culture whether it be good or bad it depends on how you look at it. It's a Black Thang im pretty sure you have things you do or say that is unique to your culture or heritage right?

My parents are mixed race, I'm mixed race, My black grandparents never used the word.

My parents don't use the word, I did for a short time in the 1980s (I'm a 41 year old man) I dont use the word.

I hate to be cynical, but it's interesting that Madge trotted out one of her black kids for the Grammys tonight, in light of the recent controversy.

MickyDolenz said:

Some people consider the "stars and bars" offensive. But in the south, for some it just means "southern pride" and has nothing to do with the Confederacy or racism. I've seen black people & Mexicans who have it on their trucks and/or belt buckles. My all time favorite TV show is The Dukes Of Hazzard and I know lots of black people who like it as well. There's been black people on the show too, like Sherriff Little.

That's just lack of education.

.

The stars and bars is the symbol/flag of the Confederacy (vs Union states) we no longer have a Confederacy and Union, We are the United States of America

Gemini688 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga, I don't like either the 2nd one for the blurry lines

But Black people call each other Nigga all the times, sometimes as a 'term of endearment' other times in a nasty way.

So I still don't get it, because many a black person has been assaulted with Nigga by another black person before or during a violent act or crime. Or used in a verbal assault.

So which one is it people?

There is no difference between Nigger and Nigga The reason for the difference in spelling is a simple case of trying to capture the African American Vernacular through speech and writing it is like saying Suga instead of Suger like some people with southern accents do. I do not understand why anyone not of African American Descent would even want to use the word.

As an African American I have used the word Nigger/Nigga. I use it more like an alternative for the word fool. I also only use the word around people who share the same cultural background as me. Nigger/Nigga is a word that predates hip hop culture. My Slave ancestors were refered to by their Whit slave masters with that word and they also refered to themselves with that word.

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

There is a difference between both n-words. The one with 6 letters (n****er) is code for "black trash", hence why it's definitely a racial slur.

The one with 5 letters (n***a) is a term of endearment among friends AND allies on the streets, in the hood, or where ever. Even Ice-T, the late Tupac Shakur, and Eddie Griffin helped expand the meaning as code for Never Ignorant (and) Getting Goals Accomplish.

TonyVanDam said:

Gemini688 said:

There is no difference between Nigger and Nigga The reason for the difference in spelling is a simple case of trying to capture the African American Vernacular through speech and writing it is like saying Suga instead of Suger like some people with southern accents do. I do not understand why anyone not of African American Descent would even want to use the word.

As an African American I have used the word Nigger/Nigga. I use it more like an alternative for the word fool. I also only use the word around people who share the same cultural background as me. Nigger/Nigga is a word that predates hip hop culture. My Slave ancestors were refered to by their Whit slave masters with that word and they also refered to themselves with that word.

I understand why I and other Africans Americans would want to reclaim that word and use it but knowing the complicated history behind the word why would anyone who is not African American want to use it?

There is a difference between both n-words. The one with 6 letters (n****er) is code for "black trash", hence why it's definitely a racial slur.

The one with 5 letters (n***a) is a term of endearment among friends AND allies on the streets, in the hood, or where ever. Even Ice-T, the late Tupac Shakur, and Eddie Griffin helped expand the meaning as code for Never Ignorant (and) Getting Goals Accomplish.

Like I explained earlier The word Nigger/Nigga predates the Gangster/Gangsta rap culture and it predates Ice T, Tupac and Eddie Griffin. Nigger/Nigga is the same word one is just spelled with black Flavor/Flava. Tupacs Acronym is an example of an African American reclaiming the word and making something positive out of it.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I hate to be cynical, but it's interesting that Madge trotted out one of her black kids for the Grammys tonight, in light of the recent controversy.

She must think we're all stupid or something

I'm not a hater of Madonna, but I have to say she looked bloody awful the other night. That grill is disgusting.

Gemini688 said:

TonyVanDam said:

There is a difference between both n-words. The one with 6 letters (n****er) is code for "black trash", hence why it's definitely a racial slur.

The one with 5 letters (n***a) is a term of endearment among friends AND allies on the streets, in the hood, or where ever. Even Ice-T, the late Tupac Shakur, and Eddie Griffin helped expand the meaning as code for Never Ignorant (and) Getting Goals Accomplish.

Like I explained earlier The word Nigger/Nigga predates the Gangster/Gangsta rap culture and it predates Ice T, Tupac and Eddie Griffin. Nigger/Nigga is the same word one is just spelled with black Flavor/Flava. Tupacs Acronym is an example of an African American reclaiming the word and making something positive out of it.

You can only 'Reclaim' it as positive IF it started out as positive. There is no reclaiming a negative word. Tupac's lifestyle did not show he made something positive out of it. I hear a whole of of em using the word, and there is nothing positive about their lives...

starbelly said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like someone else said, your mixing Nigger and Nigga, I don't like either the 2nd one for the blurry lines

But Black people call each other Nigga all the times, sometimes as a 'term of endearment' other times in a nasty way.

So I still don't get it, because many a black person has been assaulted with Nigga by another black person before or during a violent act or crime. Or used in a verbal assault.

So which one is it people?

i think it's because "nigga" is a way some black people refer to a male. not even just a male friend but any male.

i can't stand when I hear women use it, and especially at each other ... disgusting

I think that's backwards like Negro(male/female) Negra(female)

it should be Niggo(male) Nigga(female)

OldFriends4Sale said:

Gemini688 said:

Like I explained earlier The word Nigger/Nigga predates the Gangster/Gangsta rap culture and it predates Ice T, Tupac and Eddie Griffin. Nigger/Nigga is the same word one is just spelled with black Flavor/Flava. Tupacs Acronym is an example of an African American reclaiming the word and making something positive out of it.

You can only 'Reclaim' it as positive IF it started out as positive. There is no reclaiming a negative word. Tupac's lifestyle did not show he made something positive out of it. I hear a whole of of em using the word, and there is nothing positive about their lives...

I was refering to the Acronym that Tupac made with the letters of the word Nigga. Never ignorant getting goals accomplished. That was His way of reclaiming the word Nigger/Nigga. He also had Thuglife. The Hate U give little infants fucks everyone.

Yes Tupac did live a troubled and contradicting life but most of the greats do. Some live it out loud some live it in closet but everybody has flaws.