A discussion on the "n" word

[Typhoid]

This thread has the chance to be extremely offensive. That is not my intention at all. If you will be offended by reading, please stop - but know I am not talking in an offensive way when doing so, just sharing my thoughts, and if even the SIGHT of the word scares you, also stop reading, since I will not be starring it out, as it is only a word, an offensive word if used in the right context, but still a word. I am not trying to push the envelope, or other's buttons, just trying to get peoples thoughts on it, since white North America is afraid to talk about it.

Now let's start this off. I'm White, and my dad is - in my eyes - a pretty racist guy, which is why I started thinking about this.


Used derrogatorily, yes - it is extremely offensive. Just as any other racial remark is when aimed at that group of people. But other than that, it's just a word.

Now, to move forward in society, we have to come to a decision. To progress, would the complete and utter destruction of the word nigger push us forward, or would just lessening the "bad-ness" of it work? I'm not talking sheer and utter desensitization to the youth, so they over-use it as they do "gay". I have a group of friends - white friends - who often say "Nigger" often. Never aimed at anyone, but just sort of shouting it out, as one would the word "fuck."

However, personally - and I know I am not the eyes and the ears of the world - see it as just a word, when said alone. Let's face it, that's all it is. I'm not going to bring in the "Slavery was long ago" bullshit. That doesn't mean it was less atrocious. The crusades still sucked, the plague blew, enslaving jews in Egypt was wrong, and always will be.

I can see how "You nigger" would be offensive to a black person who you're displeased with, just as I can see "motherfucker" is offensive when walking in on someone engaged in sexual intercourse with their own mother. But pull those words from a situation, and all you have are bad words. Some words are worse than others, yes. But they're just words. Take the word "cunt." Possibly said less often by white north-america than nigger is. Both are offensive words when used in context, aimed at the sex/race they pertain to. But take them out of that, and you just have the equivalent of someone shouting "fuck".


Now, maybe I don't find the word offensive in it's entirety, even when said alone, not towards or near a black person, just as I don't know what childbirth will ever be like, considering I'm not a woman.

If this thread offended you, it was purely accidental. However, you should stop and wonder why it is you're offended by it. I'm not saying the word is on par with things you bring up in daily chats with grade-school kids, nor am I saying it's proper table-talk. But neither are a lot of words. Fuck, Shit, Piss, Balls, Cunt, Twat, Tits, Dick, Asshole, Shitfucker, Motherfucker, Nigger, Chink, Spik, Nip, Cocksucker.

There are a lot of bad words. A ton. I'm not saying use them all on a constant daily basis. You don't tell your 3 year old to fuck off, and I wouldn't expect you to interchange "black people" with "niggers", just as I don't expect you to swap "chinese" with "chink". Offensive words are only offensive when used offensively.

That's my two cents. I await the backlash of white people.