Topic : 09/12 The N-Word Debate

Words are not empty they do have meaning, and this word has great historical meaning behind it, it far out reaches the F word which all races use by far, it was used to degrade those who at one time could not defend themselfs against it.

Your two meaning you give above say the same thing, just one is shorter, and leaves the person it is meant for a wider birth of what you  meant and leads to more then less to the imagination.

Here is a good example of why blacks should not use the 'N' word when referring to one another.

Slaves often pandered to racist assumptions by using the word n****r to their advantage in the self-deprecatory artifice of Tomming(Uncle Tom).   Implicit was an unspoken reminder that a presumably inferior person or subhuman could not reasonably be held responsible for work performed incorrectly, a fire in the kitchen, or any similar offense. It was a means of deflecting responsibility in the hope of escaping the wrath of an overseer or master. Its use as a self-referential term was also a way to avoid suspicion and put whites at ease. A slave who referred to himself or another black as a 'n****r' presumably accepted his subordinate role and posed no threat to white authority.

This word has been around almost as long as America been a country. It's history runs deep. Don't tell me that its meaning and correlation can be wiped away so easily cause it can't and its a dis honor to the ones who did suffer when this word was created. NO one is attempting to give this word power but its word with meaning that includes racist intent. D*** and Fa**** offends me too but these words are unequal for a number of reasons. The N word is a international word. Different continents knows of its meaning and who it is directed to. Other derogatory remarks such as the ones you speak about are not only have different meanings in America but isn't even consistent in other English speaking territory.

I totally agree, and on that note...

I'm outta here.

This is boring already!

Good luck all and PEACE OUT!!

I am a very proud Nana of 7 wonderful Grandkids......2 half Spanish, 2 half black and 3 white...I love all of my Grandkids the same, color means nothing.

My 2 black Grands were using the N word at my home......I told them that that word wasnt allowed at my home anymore. How cold I tell my other Grandkids they couldnt say it but the 2 could...so the rule at my house or in front of me is NO N WORD!!!!!

A friend of my daughters came to our home to visit..( very nice guy) he said the N word, and my Grandson said.." oh Dude thats not allowed at my Nana's house" It made me feel so good because he was sticking up for my beliefs.....( the nice young man said he was sorry...

All I can say is that all of my Grandkids are my life.......color just shouldnt matter...just give them all a big hug and tell them you love them....

 As far back as I can remember ,I have heard the N-word used, almost as a part of daily language. Personally I made the choice long ago to NOT have it in my vocabulary. When my children were small, they never heard the N-word in our home. My parents and my in-laws didn't consider it to be a bad word, it was a word they had used all of THIER lives. I told my parents not to use that word around my children. Believe it or not, my grandmother had no idea that the N-word was considerd to be insulting. She was in the hospital one time and my mother and I were standing by her bed. She had an African-American nurse caring for her. As the nurse was leaving the room, my grandmother said, "Did you see my little N-word nurse?"  She didn't mean it in a negative way. My grandmother was born in 1896, and the N-word had always been a part of her vocabulary. When she said that, we said nothing because my grandmother was hard of hearing and wouldn't have understood if we'd tried to admonish her anyway. But, later, in discussing it, my mother and I had two different views. She said that my grandmother didn't understand not to use that word around black people, and I said that my grandmother didn't understand not to use that word at all. As Penny says, it is just a word. But, where I come from, it is a word that has a negative meaning and carries a lot of weight. Yes, it is all in how you allow yourself to react to words, but it is hard to ignore the past and the history behind this particular word. So, as I said, it is not a part of my vocabulary.