The 'N Word'

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/how-should-we-use-the-n-word-8521510.html



Given how often it's used in popular culture (Django and N.W.A are cited as examples), can the 'n word' ever be reclaimed from its connotations of racial hatred? Should it be used in films, music and literature, or avoided? Will its use erode the original meaning, or promote it?

I always thought that the problem with paki was that it is applied indiscriminately to asian people, not just pakistanis.

NUTELLA

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/how-should-we-use-the-n-word-8521510.html



Given how often it's used in popular culture (Django and N.W.A are cited as examples), can the 'n word' ever be reclaimed from its connotations of racial hatred? Should it be used in films, music and literature, or avoided? Will its use erode the original meaning, or promote it?

what is happened to freedom of speech? people in west is going on about how is a western virtue but then not telling people they are aloud to saying some words?

A possible example of such a reclaiming that is given in the article is 'queer', and I can kind of see where they're coming from; it does seem to have lost its negative connotations to an extent. I agree with your second point as well, as do the interestingly named Black Institute, apparently.

Just saying but its use in Django was meant to be offensive and all wasnt it?
Either way ive never seen a problem with negro, paki etc. the first being simply a colour description like calling me white the fact people get offended by it is quite amusing, especially given that the continentals seem to use it quite happily as a descriptive whilst if you say it back here god help you... paki same sort of thing its simply a shortened version of pakistani like calling a british person - brit, australian - aussie, american - yank etc. none of these people get offended do they?

I'm black and I think the word is hideously vile and crude. I understand that in American culture it is used for rapping - even then I find it base.

While I hate the word, hate all that use it, I think that some white people who try to deny/reason their use of it misunderstand the meaning of it WHEN it ever is used within the African american community.

It's supposed to refer to a other black people in some sort of brotherhood of fellow black people. Whether this concept of grouping together racially is considered "right" or not is another issue, but I don't think it's surprising that a black person overhearing a white person using the word is going to be offended or at the very least pretty confused. Unless that white person is massively into urban culture and socialises A LOT with the urban black community or something.

I have heard of a few south asians who use the P word to describe themselves, but I'm not part of that brotherhood, it doesnt feel right for me to use it and I think they would be right for being offended if I used it. I don't see how I could use it it non offensively and in the manner in which it is used by the community involved. It's naive and childish to deny that it's emotionally loaded and a racist slur by other races.

Calling someone a "Negro" is not the same as calling someone a "Paki" or a "Brit" or a "Chink".

Is an Asian called a "Mongo" or is a White European called a "Cauco"? No, I don't think so.

You hate a word that simply describes colour? Thats strange, you must get very riled up if someone uses something like yellow or blue near you...

Aside from the issue mongo is aimed squarely at the mongolians not asians those terms are just stupid. Seeing as negro is a perfectly good word to denote a colour.
Yes i didnt say it was the same as calling someone paki, brit etc. namely because those are simply shortening a word negro is a word in its own right.
Since when has chink ever been anything but offensive?

You hate a word that simply describes colour? Thats strange, you must get very riled up if someone uses something like yellow or blue near you...

No, chap.

"Negro" stems from the word "Negroid", just as "Mongo" would stem from "Mongoloid" (Mongolians, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese etc), hence why I said "Mongo", because not only Mongolians are "Mongoloid"

"Negro" is simply the term for "Post ******". It doesn't describe skin colour. Even more so, most of the time it was/is used to describe Black Americans (or that stupid term - African Americans) not actual Sub-Saharan Africans.

When you're describing a black guy to the police, you don't say - "He was a Negro, 6 foot 7". The police would smirk at you and probably look twice at you. What you would say is "He was black etc etc".

It's describes more than just colour though. It describes race with heavily negative historical connotations of a time where there was little racial equality. And to a lot of black people, that's what the word connotes when people of other races use it.

However, I think the word in general lacks style and is a horrible word even if in some American communities that are trying to reframe it to mean "brother"

It either means "fellow black brother" or makes reference to black people being inferior. Both of which don't sound right coming from someone outside the community with no genuinely racist intent.

The term "******" was used to describe Black African slaves.

In effect, the term "******" means "Little black slave".

The term "Black" or "White" is to describe skin colour.

Two very different things.

My mistake, then again its not often you hear the term mongoloid being used bar reffering to handicapped people these days.
errr no its not? Negro has been around for centuries as a term note old Spanish latin etc. where various forms of it were and are used to mean black. Negroid is from racial study and came about a long time after the aforementioned word.
Once again negro means black nothing more nothing less if you use it to describe black americans then have fun with that but seeing as it has been and is still used to refer to black people im curious what your point is?




I guess it depends who you speak to, some people find ****** offensive [with good cause], some find black offensive, coloured etc. etc. i and many people i know simply use negro as in its basic form it does simply relate to colour and is/was a perfectly acceptable turn of phrase... if i remember rightly the US census has it on there aswell now. im confused though are you reffering to the word negro or ****** in the rest of your post? if the latter please see bellow.


for a start we're talking about different words, negro is somewhat different from ****** and im talking about the former not the latter. And once again Negro is used to denote colour, although as with any word context is key and if you load it or not.

My mistake, then again its not often you hear the term mongoloid being used bar reffering to handicapped people these days.
errr no its not? Negro has been around for centuries as a term note old Spanish latin etc. where various forms of it were and are used to mean black. Negroid is from racial study and came about a long time after the aforementioned word.
Once again negro means black nothing more nothing less if you use it to describe black americans then have fun with that but seeing as it has been and is still used to refer to black people im curious what your point is?



for a start we're talking about different words, negro is somewhat different from ****** and im talking about the former not the latter. And once again Negro is used to denote colour, although as with any word context is key and if you load it or not.

No. "Mongoloid" is used to people from Asia, Articas, the Americas and the Pacific Islands - search it up. It is the same as "Negroid" in terms of racial study.

"Negro" is the Spanish word for black. So, if a Spanish person speaks good English, they're clearly not going to say "negro" because they're speaking English - so they'll speak the english word and the English for "negro" is black.

It doesn't matter how long the word "Negro" has been around - its modern usage stems from the post-Slave-Trade era and "Civil rights movement" where "Negro" was used. Such a term still had an element of inferiority to it - "let the little Negro sit wherever he likes then".

Again, you describe the guy you saw as "Black, 6 foot 7" not "A Negro, 6 foot 7" - the officer would look at you twice and say "Where have you just stepped out from - the 1960s?"