Topic : 09/12 The N-Word Debate

I am a white woman and it makes me furious anytime I hear someone use the N-Word.  There is no reason or excuse to use this word  whether in public or private.  My dad is extremely prejudiced and I heard that word so much it made me sick.  I am raising my neice who is mixed race. Her father is black and her mother is white, but you know what I see when I look at her? A beautiful intelligent young lady who is a straight a student.  But this country is not just black or white. What about the other races that make up this country.  They are called many different names.  Chinese are called chinks, mexicans are called wetbacks

and the list could go on and on. So no I dont like the N word but neither do I like the other names people are called either.

I thought paul was rather rude to the audience. He seemed full of anger and hatred just in the way he presented himself.  And the woman comedienne who used the comment about the little girl, it was something about a girl being in the yard and you wouldnt look out and say hey little black girl get out of my yard, well neither would you say little n get out of my yard.  Any body would look out their door and say 

hey kid, would you mind getting out of my yard.  There is no reason to call a person a stupid name just because of the color of their skin. All people were created equal and in Gods eyes we are all the same.

God is the creator of all and there is no color in his eyes, just people who are all the same no matter where they are from. 

Why not have a debate on all the stupid name people are called, not just the N word.

Hello Dr. Phil, My name is JaLeesha, I am 20 years old and I am a junior in college. Today by far was the day, I made sure I watched your show. This topic is such a controversy among blacks and whites. I will be candor, I use the word with my friends and when I am making a gesture towards a male who promiscuous and no good. I feel the word only has power if you give it power. My grandmother and I are at different stand points on this word, she feels the word should never be used and thats a pejorative word used towards blacks. For myself it a cultural norm, I hear the word in songs with rappers and in my environment in school. Reluctantly, I was not raised in a home where the word frequent my parents lips. I have become cultured over the years and have grown beyond what people seem to see the surface meaning. I feel as black people we have created negative to a positive. I think what some people fail to realize is that its all about the generation you come from. My grandmother came from an era in time where there was segregation, my mother came from a time where there was segregation to integration, and with me I have been able to experience the Idea of the melting pot. I am from the south, a small town of North Carolina now to hear that word used there I would honestly get offended. White people fail to realize its just something that is uncomfortable. We often can tell when people are trying to be funny and being racist. I will admit, I have had friends throughout middle school and high school who have used the N-word. Consequently they were white, my reaction wasn't so much as hate, but it just did not sound good coming from someone who not of my ethnicity. I agree with Sheryl Underwood completely, she is the perfect example, I feel she was a great representative for black people especially black women.  Paul Mooney and extraordinary actor, I have seen several of his acts and each time I walk away laughing. I feel with time as generations tend to go on the word will become less of an issue.

First off, Thank you Dr Phil for providing a forum for this issue. I hope that there will be a follow up show that will address the underlying issues mentioned in the show.  As a white person I can not get behind the argument I hear from some white folks regarding using the N word publicly.  The world is full of double standards and this is only one of many.  I have been in a long term with a black person for several years and hear the word on a daily basis.  We often become de-sensitized to words and images but this is a word I chose to personally not use. 

Of course we as white folks can relate to black folks on many levels.  We may work the same jobs or live in the same neighborhoods, but I know better.  There are some things I will never be able to relate to.  We need to remember the baggage and history that comes with this word. Doesn't mater if you say the word with the modern ending of ***ga or the old fashioned version ending in ***ger they both have the same roots.  The issue is not about censorship, its about common sense.  If some black folks choose to use the word in their daily life which my lover does, its their business. But unless you are black you have no business using the word, whatever your tone.

Also BET was brought up.  BET is nothing more than a marketing tool owned by a huge corporation which was meant to bring a traditionally urban art form from the inner cities to the masses .  The folks who run BET should be ashamed of themselves.  They need to step up and say that they will no longer promote artists who degrade women and promote violence.  It's one thing to talk about the struggles you face and another to promote violence.

Since I am not black in America I can not fully relate but I will give you an example that is common for me as a gay man.  If I see another gay person I know I may greet them by saying something to the effect of "Hey fagot". However if someone who is not gay were to greet me in that manner it would have a much different impact. 

So to the white folks who wonder why they can't use that word I say leave it alone, it is not for everybody.  But thank you Dr Phil, It was a good show.  I respect and admire all of the panelist on this show.

I personally do not agree with me, my friends or my family using this term. But also, who am I to say what other people not in my circle can or cannot say? I think with this particular topic it's easy for people to jump on their soap box, just like any subject individuals are passionate about. All I have to say is that I feel that Paul Mooney has some anger! I think this is a topic he may be passionate about, but I saw anger in him when he was yelling and being very disrespectful in my opinion to the two women that chose to address him.

I am an Asian American, Japanese American to be specific. I know that my country men living in America (and not) were discriminated against during WWII. But I don't chose to dwell in that negative past, nor do I ever want to embrace any negative term that may have come from that part of history. I understand that people have their own opinions that they have full rights to. But I think that some people tend to define themselves by what happened in our history. Yes, it's part of how we got to where we are today but it does not by any means define individuals and determine their destinies. So I chose to not carry the hurt and pain I felt when my ex-boyfriend told me I would never be able to meet his grandfather because "he hated Koreans and he may mistake me for one."

I live my life for myself and who I am today. And I work on educating people about diversity and acceptance of all races, cultures, and creeds. And I express as being a past speech professor, that the words you use have negative and positive impacts on people, and tells people a lot about you as a person as well. I would not get so angry at someone that I disrespect him/her on national television by yelling  "shut up!" and "you don't understand! NO YOU DON'T!" Throw up my hands and look to the sky in annoyance. Just as explained in the show that the N-word shows ignorance, I think actions show ignorance and intolerance as well. And I think Paul Mooney gave the public that impression today. Not that I knew who he was before the show, but I surely won't get to know him now.

I myself have issues with the show.I feel for being a debate there were not enough White people up on the panel to speak out  for our views and how we perceive the N word. One white man is no equality of any sort,to equally  balance the debate at hand.

I feel that The back race uneducated their own, to were media and culture  praises the N word and uses it as they see fit. Regardless if it  is right or wrong.  I myself am WHITE born and raised in America. I do not refer to myself as a WHITE AMERICAN. The blacks  in this day an age use the status title of African American to status themselves, their not from Africa.They were born here. Their American. Just like myself. They have equal if not more rights.Their not treated as slaves in our society! I have also seen great use of the N word with their own people. They except the term and use. why can't we?

      I as a white woman have no problem with the N word. I don't feel the N word should be abolished or illegal. We have  freedom of speech in this country. Just like we have the right to bare arms. So when the Blacks stop using the word ,we will.