The N-Word is a Low IQ, clown word that you hold an existential L if you use it

[DatBoiHawk]

Oh....ok

 

[murksiderock]

thing is black people BEEN using the n word amongst each other waaaaaay before hip hop was even thought of, the shyt ain't going anywhere. Ideally it would be good to at least not let other groups use it and for us to stop using it in front of other groups.

I get what you’re saying...

But learning how meanings change and develop, how slang grows, how identity is formed, mixed with societal images and words associated with power/weakness etc. making a claim that “nikka” means one thing and one thing only because that’s how it started is kind of silly (if you look at things from a purely cultural and anthropological standpoint)


Words change. In 50 years girls might be using “bytch” how black men use “nikka” because society changes. Good or bad, it won’t have the same sting as the word “bytch” used in a movie from the 1960s


Claiming “nikka” ONLY means the negative is short sighted. Though I agree it’s weird to embrace a word used against us, if you look at how the word has become first a term of endearment to now (and unfortunately out of our culture ) just a word meaning “anyone”, it’s really hard to put reigns on the word now.


To me, my “nikka” is my friend, my close friend, someone I’ve been through something with, someone with some history etc. my connotation is mine and there’s really no need to justify. I understand the other side of what the word means, I understand how we want to reclaim it for our race only, I understand the vitriol when someone outside of the race uses it with an “a” or an “er”. Words are only sounds meant to evoke feelings. So context is always important.

Nothing more lame than a dude repeatedly saying it when he’s the only black person around a bunch of white dudes like these lame ass rappers be doing on interviews and stuff

All excellent posts I'm with 100%...

 

[Toe Jay Simpson]

“It is absolutely silly and unproductive to have a funeral for the word nikka, when the actions continue”

 

[murksiderock]

It’s a lost cause, breh. Unfortunately, the damage is already done on our generation. Our grandparents are the only ones who stay on code when it comes to that word. They despise that word, and if they ever call someone a nikka it ain’t gonna be in a nice way.

This has already been debunked on and offline, I'm not sure why people say this. Some people's grandparents didn't/don't use it, many others do. This myth that our grandparents didn't use it has to come from people who don't understand social history of Black Americans...

Guess what? Many of your grandparent's grandparents used it, too...

Latinos use the n word with reckless abandoned. Every third word is nikka

They do, and it's disgusting. But I think it's because of the commercialization of the word. I don't think we're solely at fault here, clearly there has to be white money behind ant ideology that goes mainstream...

But if there was a mass movement for us to reclaim the word, simply if our biggest stars (actors, comedians, rappers, authors, etc) toned down the usage in their art and also within their art condemn the usage amongst nonblacks, it'll go a long way. My only apprehension is I don't think white owned companies will allow black people to be stars who tone it down and speak out against the popularity of the word. What it will take is more people on that Tyler Perry time, black owned rights to our art, disassociating ourselves from enslavement to white money and approval...

Didn't mean to get too deep but only when that happens can I see the usage amongst Latinos and other nonblacks stop...

The n-word use exploded with the emergence of NWA, period.

The exhausting use of the n-word correlates with the emergence of a generation born after
1985, with fetal brains damaged by maternal crack drug use and environmental destruction.

Just Listen to rap records prior to 1988. Virtually NO use of the n-word.

Listen to Earth, Wind and Fire, the Commodores, Donna Summer, Roberta Flack.

How much does the n-word appear in the works of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison?

How many times did Dr. King use the n-word during the "I Have A Dream" speech.

You guys gotta stop saying this. The generation born post-85 popularized it even though by your own admission, the generation popularizing it was born pre-85? Really? Lmao...

When hip hop was becoming the "music of the youth", on it's way to becoming the most popular genre if music globally, it spread the popularity of usage, sure. But hip hop didn't create the popularity, and white people have always used it, so hip hop didn't give them a license to use a word they created and always said anyway...

Yall gotta stop blaming everything on hip hop, and even if your beef is with hip hop it should be on the controlling powers...

 

[murksiderock]

The N-word was created by White America to quell their guilty conscience of committing atrocities against their fellow human beings, Black people have created their own culture. Black people didn't start to use the word until the late 60s early 70s. Why is that important? Because of the rise of the n-word coincided with the Black conscious movement. A movement where Black people realized that if they going to embrace this Blackness they had to, on a certain level, reject a culture that was fundamentally built on their dehumanization.

Now, many Black people that use the n-word actually might not know this consciously but on a certain level, they know it subconsciously. The generation that started using the N-word was the generation of Black people who had seen Emmett Till murdered, black kids being bitten by dogs, and black churches being bombed. They had watched to watch news reports of Medgar Evers and MLK getting assassinations and much much more. In that context, the only thing that a Black person can do to create an unshakable sense of their own self-worth is to completely disavow and reject the society in which they live. You understand that the country thinks we are "nikkas." But it goes much deeper than that doesn't? You talk about the n-word in isolation, like it's the only part of the dominant culture's language that contributes to the belief that Black people are inferior.



The Black power movement of the late 60s marked the start of Black America's separation from the dominant culture. You are going to say Black hair is ugly, I'm going to grow an afro. You are going to oppress me with White Power, I'm going to call for Black power. You are going to call me n*****r, I'm going to take your word and change its definition to reflect our resilience and toughness. But at the end of the day, Black people are still Americans. So now we are both part of the dominant and separated from it. And depending on the context of the N-word, it can have two completely different meanings. Every Black person has to decide how to balance that for themselves. But for me, I have absolutely no problem using the word. I don't value the dominant culture's view on the n-word just like I don't value the dominant culture's view on my Blackness. And I understand why the word is used. My question for how do you go about embracing and loving your Blackness while partly accepting a culture that is built on the fundamental premise that Blackness

I recommend listening to this. This is one of the greatest Black thinkers of the 20th century. If you can't listen to the whole thing at least listen to it starting at 18:20. "The American idea of progress is how fast I can become white. That is a trickbag because they know perfectly well I can never become white...So I decided I might as well act like a nikka..."

I've mentioned this before, the popularization of the word was in the Civil Rights era, 1940s-1960s. 100%. Cats never have anything real to respond with when I say that, though...

Even still, I'm having trouble remembering titles so forgive me, but there are period pieces of literature you can read that highlight black folk before then referring to ourselves as "nikkas". I read several of these works years ago when I was in prison. Django was an accurate depiction in one sense, of black folk commonly using the word amongst each other. Because it was commonly used towards black folk for many generations, you can even read white literature like Uncle Tom's Cabin and Mark Twain shyt and see black folk comfortable with the usage of the word and using it amongst themselves...

The only difference is that prior to the Civil Rights era, black culture was neither mainstream nor something seen as positive culture in any light. So there was a negative connotation to any facet of blackness in this nation...that began changing in the Civil Rights era and ultimately to today, where as 13% of the population, we have the dominant social culture. Not the dominant political or financial culture, but socially, black culture is dominant in America and we influence all these other cultures on a social level...

But the uncomfortable truth that can be revealed with just a little digging is, the word itself? Over here in America, we've always called each other that. The word isn't foreign to any generation of blacks and as a generality, the offense to the word didn't become mainstream either until the Civil Rights era. We were used to being referred to as such and referred to each other as such in public and private, this idea some have that the word being acceptable is a new thing is unfounded and easily disproved...

Excellent post...

That said, I'm human, which means I'm flawed. I struggle with my own usage. Some days I use it more, some days less. Never in the company of nonblacks. Never in public settings which tend to be mixed (grocery, mall, trains, schools, etc). But I do struggle with my own usage and will do my best to teach my daughters a full-bodied history of the word, allowing them to make their own choice on it but hoping it's a responsible choice, even better than my own, hopefully...

I don't look down on brothers or sisters who use it, nor do I look down on those who don't. But like others have mentioned, I do have hesitation with those who use it without filter, in any setting, to anybody, at any time. I do have an issue with that and just make sure I don't associate with people like that...

 

[Wild self]

The n-word use exploded with the emergence of NWA, period.

The exhausting use of the n-word correlates with the emergence of a generation born after
1985, with fetal brains damaged by maternal crack drug use and environmental destruction.

Just Listen to rap records prior to 1988. Virtually NO use of the n-word.

Listen to Earth, Wind and Fire, the Commodores, Donna Summer, Roberta Flack.

How much does the n-word appear in the works of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison?

How many times did Dr. King use the n-word during the "I Have A Dream" speech.

Keep preaching

 

[LEEeveryday]

I've grown into the following perspective:

I can use it and re-purpose the meaning, which gives it a positive energy if I want to. It is the people of my cultures right.

With that being said I rarely use it, but I can.

When others that aren't of my culture use it, or fight to use it, they show who they are to me. They show how they were raised. They show that their family did a bad job of child rearing. I instantly see them as disrespectful children devoid of intelligence that don't deserve my attention.

If the word hasn't been used to disparage or disrespect you in your life, then you should not be using it. You're being disrespectful using it. It's weird when people that don't look like me or get called another racial slur use it. A lot of those times, they come from family with older members that would use the racial slur against me to disrespect or mock me. So that whole paradigm is ridiculous to me.

However, do what you want. I just don't have to fukk with you. I'm never gonna get sucked into the puppet string pulling that comes with it's use. When it comes to that type of control. I've released those knots.

I have bigger fish to fry.

That's my ever-evolving perspective today.

 

[African Peasant]

Do you guys hold the same energy for people who use words like "c00n" "wench" etc?



If not then y'all just as much clowns as those who say nikka

c00ns or wench maybe misuse but they mean traitors. They are used as an insult.

How can we compare them to the N-Word? It would be comparable if black people start to dap themselves by using c00ns or wench.

 

[Max Power]

I personally try my hardest not to use that word these days. Soemtimes I may slip up when singing along to some shyt. Of all the words... Why couldn't it be brother? Or king? Or African? Damn shame.

 

[3rdWorld]

Ever wonder why dont the mods ban it here?
This forum is mainly non Black.

 

[3rdWorld]

Latinos use the n word with reckless abandoned. Every third word is nikka

You just know they get a thrill rush being able to say it in front of supposedly scary Black men whilst getting away with it..they give each other the wink and chuckle amongst themselves when Black guy isn't looking.
Black people are straight fools for allowing this to fester to this point of no return.

 

[Wear My Dawg's Hat]

Keep preaching

By the mid 80s, many considered Eddie Murphy to be the most profane, dirtiest comedian of all time.

Yet, his use of the n-word during his routines was minimal. I think he said it just one time on his album "Comedian."

Eddie was in his early 20s at the height of his stand-up career. How come his comedy wasn't saturated with the n-word back then? Because its overall use wasn't prominent like that in the culture.

Sadly, most of the posters here aren't aware of how black folks lived our everyday lives prior to the release of "Reasonable Doubt," so these details are beyond their comprehension.

 

[Wear My Dawg's Hat]

You guys gotta stop saying this. The generation born post-85 popularized it even though by your own admission, the generation popularizing it was born pre-85? Really? Lmao...

When hip hop was becoming the "music of the youth", on it's way to becoming the most popular genre if music globally, it spread the popularity of usage, sure. But hip hop didn't create the popularity, and white people have always used it, so hip hop didn't give them a license to use a word they created and always said anyway...

Yall gotta stop blaming everything on hip hop, and even if your beef is with hip hop it should be on the controlling powers...

Nobody said Hip Hop. I said specifically NWA.

The wonderful artists that came from the Stop The Violence Movement era were not throwing the n-word around in the culture like that. Which is why an anthem such as "Self-Destruction" carried so much weight and meaning with us. The integrity was still crucial.

That was abandoned as time went on and the self-destruction was glamorized for profit and shiny things.

 

[Wild self]

By the mid 80s, many considered Eddie Murphy to be the most profane, dirtiest comedian of all time.

Yet, his use of the n-word during his routines was minimal. I think he said it just one time on his album "Comedian."

Eddie was in his early 20s at the height of his stand-up career. How come his comedy wasn't saturated with the n-word back then? Because its overall use wasn't prominent like that in the culture.

Sadly, most of the posters here aren't aware of how black folks lived our everyday lives prior to the release of "Reasonable Doubt," so these details are beyond their comprehension.

Life before, and the early years of, the crack era was monumentally different than now, in terms of demeanor. Even criminals had some type of code and back in the 70s before crack, it was mutually understood that no one did dirt where the elderly black people and kids were present. When cats cursed, they said "muthafukka" a million times, but hardly "nikka".

N W A changed all of that. Now you see kids saying that in front of their parents and elderly people.

The morale decayed when the arts programs were cut and the family structure was exchanged for fast money.

 

[Wear My Dawg's Hat]

Life before, and the early years of, the crack era was monumentally different than now, in terms of demeanor. Even criminals had some type of code and back in the 70s before crack, it was mutually understood that no one did dirt where the elderly black people and kids were present. When cats cursed, they said "muthafukka" a million times, but hardly "nikka".

N W A changed all of that. Now you see kids saying that in front of their parents and elderly people.

The morale decayed when the arts programs were cut and the family structure was exchanged for fast money.

On-point at maximum level. They just don't know.