the N word is "Cool"-but only in correct context

[yoMAMA]

'N' word heard more often, but context crucial
Neal Justin, Star Tribune
November 10, 2005


In the past, a kid who blurted out the "N" word got a scolding, maybe even a punch in the mouth. Today, it may be a casual part of his world, from singing along to hip-hop hits to laughing at it on TV.

In tonight's premiere of "The Boondocks" -- the most expensive series in Cartoon Network history -- the word spews from the mouths of grade-school kids more than a dozen times. Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West shouts out the term on his current No. 1 hit, "Gold Digger."

During a recent session with about a dozen black teens, almost all said they use the word regularly.

Some use it as much as 50 times a day.

"For me, it's just another word for 'dude,' " said 15-year-old Niesha Jones, who was part of the group gathered recently at St. Paul Summit University Teen Center.

How a racist slur became a hot word provides an object lesson in the transformative power of popular culture.

"It's like you were pointing a gun at me, then we wrestled, and now the gun is in my hand," said Shaka Mkali, a nationally prominent Minneapolis rapper known as I Self Devine. He often includes the word in his work, and wrote a song about it on his latest album.

For him and others, using the term is empowering -- an act of liberation, in effect.

Others see the issue more simply.

"It's used so commonly, not only by myself, but a lot of people that I know," said Aaron McGruder, who created the "Boondocks" comic strip and the new series. "It feels fake to write around it."

Another new series, "Everybody Hates Chris" -- which quickly has become UPN's most popular sitcom ever -- used the slur in its premiere episode.

Comedian Chris Rock, whose childhood serves as the model for the show, said he doesn't see anything wrong with the word being heard on prime-time network TV.

"I don't really think about it that much," he said. "I do whatever the network lets me do."

The rules of engagement

The word first appeared in the 1600s as a fairly neutral term derived from the Latin word niger ("black"), according to the 2002 bestseller "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word," by Harvard professor and civil-rights activist Randall Kennedy. But by the early 1800s it had evolved into an epithet, and eventually a symbol of white supremacy.

Today's change in attitude has much to do with how many in the black community have come to embrace the word.

For those who use it, there are informal rules, however.

An "a" ending is more acceptable than an "r." Non-blacks may use the word only if they're around black people they know extremely well. Even then, it could be met with disapproval.

Mkali was suspended from grade school for knocking out the teeth of a white student who called him the name. He said he only has one white friend who can get away with using the word, and that's only because he was raised around black people.

"I was on a bus recently and I heard a white lady on her cell phone saying, 'Nigga this, nigga that,'" said Mkali. "I didn't say anything to her, but it really let me know how the game is really backwards."

Princetta Marshall, 13, said that while she uses the word all the time, it sounds wrong coming from a white person, "It's our word," she said.

Context can make a difference, too. After Kanye West commented on national TV that President Bush doesn't like black people, the University of Florida student newspaper ran an editorial cartoon in which West was holding up a placard marked "The Race Card" and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was scolding him with the words, "Nigga Please!"

The cartoon triggered protests and accusations of racism.

Knowing the history is key

Some believe that the word should rarely, if ever, be used.

Mkali said his mom hates when he uses it. One black friend is so bothered by it that he asked for a "clean" version of Mkali's album.

Summit University Teen Center's assistant executive director, Michael Bridgeford, said he doesn't think the word should be used in public, and that includes hip-hop songs.

"White kids start singing along and then you start thinking, 'Are they talking about me?'" he said. "It's a real thin line."

Harvard professor Kennedy said much needs to be considered before judging whether the word is being used appropriately.

"A lot of younger people of all racial backgrounds don't have a good enough sense of the historical baggage associated with this term," he recently told FrontPage magazine. "I'm not a person who says no one can ever use this word. But I do think people should know why people get so anxious about this word."

At age 14, Ebony Woody of St. Paul already has figured that out.

"When I was younger, I used it all the time," she said. "I thought it was cool. Then I started studying black history and that word stuck in my head. It's not cool anymore. It's stupid."


Neal Justin • 612-673-7431



Copyright 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved

http://www.startribune.com/images/ne2/170305.l.jpg

[LaiSteve66]

An "a" ending is more acceptable than an "r." Non-blacks may use the word only if they're around black people they know extremely well. Even then, it could be met with disapproval.

I know alot of Asians that use it, and it goes something like this. End with 'a' when talking about any arbitrary person, end it with 'r' when you want to be racist.

[Flow to Live]

yeah asians use is it too much and its funny when they do. But i notice alot of african american don't seem to care when asians do it.

[thaite]

I don't use it at all.

Boondocks was hilarious.

[draconisz]

I have heard every culture/ethnic group under the sun use the word. But normally they use it in reference to members of their own grouping.

It's a weird situation. Some "Blacks" love to use the term, but hate to see some people outside of the culture use it. Others only dislike it when "Whites" use the term. And still others dislike the term when used by anyone.

What can you say?

[TB4000]

Probably the most touchy word in our dialect right now. You see how Sarah Silverman got off the hook for using chink a few years back on Conan, now it's pretty much forgotten. Nigger would've gotten her skinny arse lambasted for good.

[Hiroshi2]

I hear "nigga" all day, every day. Big deal.


I've heard "nigger" like maybe three times in my life. Not counting TV, movies, etc. where they get white people to say it for the sake of having them play a role in a movie (for example, something like "Mississippi Burning", "Rosewood", "Malcolm X", etc).



And best believe when somebody says "nigger", my head turns ALL the way around...........like "who the fuck said THAT?"

[Hanuman]

I don't ever use that word, but I do think that either it be ok for everyone to use it, or it should be accepted that NO one use it. It's not right to have an expression that's only ok for one group to use. Note: I don't call my friends chink and my friends who call me that get their teef knocked in.

[TB4000]

http://www.startribune.com/images/ne2/170305.l.jpg

I need a framed picture of this on my wall, man.

[abc!]

Me and my friends use it but very sparingly. We're all Asian, but every once in a while it gets thrown into the mix of conversation. Usually along the lines of "Damn, that nigga's crazy!" or "My nigga here says..." We grew up with all sorts of people around us using that word and grew up listening to hiphop so it's kind of normal and I've never seen black people take offense to non-black people using the word. Yet I still can't bring myself around to using it as casually as the word "dude" because deep down inside it still feels wrong to me. But even gay people call each other queer or fag so I don't know anymore, it's just too damn confusing.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

End with 'a' when talking about any arbitrary person, end it with 'r' when you want to be racist
Damn, I guess New Englanduhs must be the least racist people in the country.

[Irezumi Kiss]

I was on another Black-oriented site discussing the Boondocks episode and we were all pretty much of the mind that McGruder was being delusional in using the n-word the way he did.

I only personally accept this word when used in a literary context, like say, in a contemporary Harlem-based noir novel...and I overlook it if you're a hip-hop artist who's got impeccable command of the art of storytelling and don't have to fall back on it cuz you have NOTHING TO SPIT (which insults the intelligence of the listener even more). Otherwise, I consider its usage to be the final refuge of boorish idiots and LAZY people...which is...(insert crashing cymbal effect) EXACTLY what being a "nigger" is all about! I am still amazed when I hear Whites, Asians and totally anglo-looking Latins use it to refer to themselves. I still bug out about the time when I heard it being said in this Korean rap song playing at this dosirak joint in Koreatown...

For me, I've never been able to understand the widespread conceding of its use or the claims that people are "reverse-engineering" it. The roots and genesis of the word will NEVER go away. If only a certain KIND of person can use it in a certain KIND of context with a certain TYPE of company, what is that honestly saying? What, the word is like wearing white after Labor Day and only no-assed skinny people can get away with wearing certain low-rise jeans? The hate that created the word is still there no matter how much we slice n' dice it.

Just what is it about "nigger" (I don't give it the delusional grace to spell it any other way in order to diffuse its power - if you use it, then be straight up in using it, then I'll give you a grudging respect) that makes other races feel it's so "cool" to use? To permit this means also not getting angry when a Sarah Silverman uses "chink" in "context" as well and then can't understand why everyone's getting so riled up over it. Maybe we're all evolving together to a racially blended point where we can laugh at the stuff that was meant to hurt and keep us in mentally and socially in check. I can halfway feel that, and maybe agree with it.

Then the other half will continue to feel totally depressed whenever the group of Black teenagers that's been yelling their asses off at the other end of the subway train keep repeating "nigger" in place of "you" or "me" or "that guy/gal" while sharing the ride in the mixed company of stonefaced, don't-upset-the-natives-stupefied Whites and other assorted non-Black races. When someone can show me how I can be proud of this instead of feeling myself being slowly sucked down into the collective tar pit of stupidity and diminishing redeeming-quality social relevance, I'll be EVER so happy.

I dunno...this was, is and always will be bigger than myself, so the only thing I can do is live my life to my own standards and be happy if I'm unconsciously spreading around any non-niggerish gospel as a side effect. I hope that the community here at Yellowworld can continue to be my online nigg...err...I mean, my FRIENDS in this regard, thank yew.

[mr. x]

Probably the most touchy word in our dialect right now. You see how Sarah Silverman got off the hook for using chink a few years back on Conan, now it's pretty much forgotten. Nigger would've gotten her skinny arse lambasted for good.
I saw the trailer for her new movie and I shit you not her song (where she goes through a laundry list of stereotypes, asians love math, jews love money)

"I love you more than black guys like saying 'nigger'" and these black "brothas" are standing not a few feet from her and its all awkward.

and im thinking to myself, this is how every interacial porno starts (what the hell is wrong with me?)

I honestly wonder about her, saw her in The Aristocrats but didn't think she was that funny, just people say she is cuz she's cute as a button or some shit like that

[Chad]

Silverman isn't funny, she sucks.
My flatmate watches Comedy Central sometimes and I guess I've become sheltered because I've been shocked by some of the jokes I've heard on there from some white female comedians. If they told some jokes like that around me they'd probably get punched in the face. My brother once sent a guy to the hospital for calling him a gook.

[Shogun Empress]

I was on another Black-oriented site discussing the Boondocks episode and we were all pretty much of the mind that McGruder was being delusional in using the n-word the way he did...He's not being delusional. Go to a black ghetto and watch the little children play. You'll hear it alot.

[Hiroshi2]

I only personally accept this word when used in a literary context, like say, in a contemporary Harlem-based noir novel...and I overlook it if you're a hip-hop artist who's got impeccable command of the art of storytelling and don't have to fall back on it cuz you have NOTHING TO SPIT (which insults the intelligence of the listener even more). Otherwise, I consider its usage to be the final refuge of boorish idiots and LAZY people...which is...(insert crashing cymbal effect) EXACTLY what being a "nigger" is all about! I am still amazed when I hear Whites, Asians and totally anglo-looking Latins use it to refer to themselves. I still bug out about the time when I heard it being said in this Korean rap song playing at this dosirak joint in Koreatown...



The fuck??????????? I've never heard asian people use the word, I'm sorry...................if I did, I wouldn't know whether to be upset or laugh. Prolly just be dazed and confused.



I have used it, and do use it..........................just out of habit I guess (I know what you're gonna say Irezumi..................."I grew up in the inner city too")....................but still. I don't call all black people niggas anyway. I wouldn't call somebody grown that. But just a regular nig.................black dude on the street, yep, it probably will slip out my mouth. *shrugs*



Silverman isn't funny, she sucks.
My flatmate watches Comedy Central sometimes and I guess I've become sheltered because I've been shocked by some of the jokes I've heard on there from some white female comedians. If they told some jokes like that around me they'd probably get punched in the face. My brother once sent a guy to the hospital for calling him a gook.



She realllllllllly isn't........................it seems like the only reason people pay attention to her is because she's so "shocking", which is lame.


I read the article in Rolling Stone about her today though......................seems like she was raised in a pretty fucked up household, and her head was fucked up from jump street, so maybe it's not her fault. People like her irritate me too. They think they're all that, but they really just lame as fuck. URRRGHHH.............sorry. I've met some folks like that before, so I feel like I personally know her.



And then to top it all off she ain't that good looking! Really, the article talked about her like she's a dimepiece. I'm usually not attracted to white women, but I've seen some fine ones. I've seen some cute ones, seen some I just wanna fuck. But she ain't. She looks..........................in a way, just as fucked up on the outside as she is on the inside.


That comment about black teenagers though was pretty tasteless..........................sure it's a problem, but who are you to make jokes about it? Bitch, you ain't cool like that.

[Irezumi Kiss]

He's not being delusional. Go to a black ghetto and watch the little children play. You'll hear it alot.
That's definitely for real (a sad realness, don't get me started), but for the purposes of "Boondocks," which is, or at least used to be about social critiquing, especially for Black folk...it makes no sense at all. The strip never needed to use it, even in the early days when it wasn't syndicated and REALLY "ghetto," so why use it in the animation? I'm amazed that he of all people would go that route when he's the same person who slammed BET for becoming a video booty show network.

Most of the gripes over this I read on other sites, is there is something especially inherent of the timeliness nature in the strip itself that just doesn't translate over to an animation that has to be pre-planned miles in advance. Using the n-bomb in this case was a weak, unnecessary crutch, maybe trying to gloss over some shortcomings in the name of being "shock funny." If you take out the n's, is it still funny? If he was trying to be satirical in its usage, I don't think it was working. That's why my mind was comparing it to rappers who can't spit lyrics and pepper their speech with n's while trying to front like it's being "real."

[Shogun Empress]

That's definitely for real (a sad realness, don't get me started), but for the purposes of "Boondocks," which is, or at least used to be about social critiquing, especially for Black folk...it makes no sense at all. The strip never needed to use it, even in the early days when it wasn't syndicated and REALLY "ghetto," so why use it in the animation? I'm amazed that he of all people would go that route when he's the same person who slammed BET for becoming a video booty show network.

Most of the gripes over this I read on other sites, is there is something especially inherent of the timeliness nature in the strip itself that just doesn't translate over to an animation that has to be pre-planned miles in advance. Using the n-bomb in this case was a weak, unnecessary crutch, maybe trying to gloss over some shortcomings in the name of being "shock funny." If you take out the n's, is it still funny? If he was trying to be satirical in its usage, I don't think it was working. That's why my mind was comparing it to rappers who can't spit lyrics and pepper their speech with n's while trying to front like it's being "real."Wow. That guy is a hypocrite. I haven't seen the Boondocks cartoon yet nor do I care but I will check it out just to see what your talking about. Maybe he is looking to appeal to ignorant African-Americans like South Park appealed to white trash? That might have something to do with it. He's sacrificing his integrity for money.

'...the place of money cannot be ignored. Yet one should be careful never to become attached to it.' - Mas Oyama.

[TB4000]

The same reason no one else is allowed to use nigger is the same reason guys aren't allowed to use the word bitch while other women can call each other the name freely in a joking manner.

[mr. x]

The fuck??????????? I've never heard asian people use the word, I'm sorry...................if I did, I wouldn't know whether to be upset or laugh. Prolly just be dazed and confused.

You've obviously never lived on the west coast

[deez nuts]

i use the n word and tell n jokes all the time in front of black people i know. they gave me the green light. the alpha black guy amongst them pats me on the back one day and said, "you can use the n word" and i said, "sweeet. thanks my <n word>." we then did that thing where you clasp hands like you're gonna arm wrestle and then bump shoulders. a very touching moment for me.

what really cracks me up to no end is when they start referring to me as the n word.

[kusojiji]

i use the n word and tell n jokes all the time in front of black people i know. they gave me the green light. the alpha black guy amongst them pats me on the back one day and said, "you can use the n word" and i said, "sweeet. thanks my <n word>." we then did that thing where you clasp hands like you're gonna arm wrestle and then bump shoulders. a very touching moment for me.


Pay no attention to that ticking sound you hear each time you say it.




:rolleyes:

[deez nuts]

Pay no attention to that ticking sound you hear each time you say it.




:rolleyes:


lol. why is that your pacemaker going nuts cuz you're getting pissed off?

[kusojiji]

lol. why is that your pacemaker going nuts cuz you're getting pissed off?


No, its the countdown to you figuring out the joke is on you.

[deez nuts]

No, its the countdown to you figuring out the joke is on you.

lol. no way, dude. i got the pass...the ghetto pass.

[kusojiji]

lol. no way, dude. i got the pass...the ghetto pass.


Did they give you the shoes with the curly toes and the hat with the bell on it? 'Cause that's what's really happening.





And sooner or later...

[deez nuts]

Did they give you the shoes with the curly toes and the hat with the bell on it? 'Cause that's what's really happening.





And sooner or later...

bwahahahaa. no.

contrary to what carlos mencia says on the mind of mencia, asian people can use the n word if given the ghetto pass by the black people around them.

[kusojiji]

bwahahahaa. no.

contrary to what carlos mencia says on the mind of mencia, asian people can use the n word if given the ghetto pass by the black people around them.


You don't get it. You aren't 'given permission' 'cause you are super-cool. Its a way of showing that you are unthreatening enough to be used as a little performance. They feel empowered enough over you to 'allow' it, and everytime you do they are having a little chuckle inside at your expense. And some day (and this is the whole point), someone is gonna be in a mood and snap at you for it, and all this will become clear.

[deez nuts]

You don't get it. You aren't 'given permission' 'cause you are super-cool. Its a way of showing that you are unthreatening enough to be used as a little performance. They feel empowered enough over you to 'allow' it, and everytime you do they are having a little chuckle inside at your expense. And some day (and this is the whole point), someone is gonna be in a mood and snap at you for it, and all this will become clear.

i can't help it if i'm a lovable guy and not threatening. if someone does snap the alpha black male that gave me permission and other blacks around me has my back. i'm down with my homies.

i felt a little left out previously cuz the latin guys that roll with us use the "n word" in front of them. i didn't feel like i was part of the group. i didn't feel complete. you know what i'm sayin?

[kusojiji]

i can't help it if i'm a lovable guy and not threatening. if someone does snap the alpha black male that gave me permission and other blacks around me has my back. i'm down with my homies.


Well, I tried. You'll figure it out for yourself sooner or later.

[deez nuts]

Well, I tried. You'll figure it out for yourself sooner or later.


thanks for lookin out, buddy. but, i only use it around black people i'm close with since they're the ones that gave me the green light.

kusojiji, you seem to be in the know. are you black?

The fuck??????????? I've never heard asian people use the word, I'm sorry...................if I did, I wouldn't know whether to be upset or laugh. Prolly just be dazed and confused.


you use it and you're a halfie. i guess it's cuz your other half is black.

i wonder if other half blacks that use the "n word" have gotten slack for it from pure blacks. i guess it's that whole one drop of black makes you black rule thing?

[Shogun Empress]

You don't get it. You aren't 'given permission' 'cause you are super-cool. Its a way of showing that you are unthreatening enough to be used as a little performance. They feel empowered enough over you to 'allow' it, and everytime you do they are having a little chuckle inside at your expense. And some day (and this is the whole point), someone is gonna be in a mood and snap at you for it, and all this will become clear.LMFAO!

[Irezumi Kiss]

thanks for lookin out, buddy. but, i only use it around black people i'm close with since they're the ones that gave me the green light.
i wonder if other half blacks that use the "n word" have gotten slack for it from pure blacks. i guess it's that whole one drop of black makes you black rule thing?
It's really hard to describe...I suppose this will be one of those "you have to be XXX to understand" kinda things...and even if you WERE Black, you probably still wouldn't totally understand it. The word itself is so entrenched inside a specific image and if you don't "fit" that image, it sounds weird to hear it being spoken. Yet some non-Black people can use it and have it "fit," just as certain Black people who don't "fit" the image could use it and sounds equally as weird despite their "natural" ghetto pass.

Although intimacy and familiarity can give you a sort of unspoken pass and using it during the "right moment" with the "right people" brings it into an understandable context, I really wouldn't recommend using it, even if it seems the heads around you don't care. It may sound like a cop-out, but if it doesn't "fit" you, then it feels like you're trying too hard. It's like when a non-Asian uses specific Asian words all the time or trendy slang learned from a magazine or TV show.

Knew this one Korean-Japanese cat named Dee, who used to do yatai-style food at this joint in the East Village. He was a total hip-hop ruffneck skateboard head and since most of the heads who came around that way late nights were of the same style, from time to time he'd be saying, "that nigga that," or "that nigga this." It wasn't overly done or loud or anything, it was just said point blank. Now, when he used it, it didn't feel "off" to me, even though deep down I couldn't completely get rid of that funny feeling I get when I hear it coming out of another race's mouth. But he wasn't saying it to show off, or over emphasize a point. He was what he was. I am pretty sure he's not saying it back in Korea, though.

[deez nuts]

I really wouldn't recommend using it, even if it seems the heads around you don't care. It may sound like a cop-out, but if it doesn't "fit" you, then it feels like you're trying too hard. It's like when a non-Asian uses specific Asian words all the time or trendy slang learned from a magazine or TV show.


HA! oh please, so says the guy named irezumi kiss with the character love as his avatar.

no way dude, i got the ghetto pass from my black homies.

[Flow to Live]

Well the way i see it is with all the asian getting pick on in schools and rappers rapping mad shit about asians. Were the niggas in american.

[Irezumi Kiss]

HA! oh please, so says the guy named irezumi kiss with the character love as his avatar.

no way dude, i got the ghetto pass from my black homies.
Well my very own "asian ghetto pass" only works in certain locations, as I've learned the HARD way over time, but the love defined by my avatar is true to my character and I extend it to all peoples in the universe regardless of creed...especially if you're buying the first round.

I'm not challenging your g-pass, it's your word over mine. I'm hardly a representative of a "typical" Black American Male even though I claim from the old school Detroit set and them boys would act a leeeetle different than New York heads if you ever tried n-bombing with them.

Of course, a TRUE ghetto pass is one that's never needed to be "given" in the first place. :wink:

[deez nuts]

I'm not challenging your g-pass, it's your word over mine. I'm hardly a representative of a "typical" Black American Male even though I claim from the old school Detroit set and them boys would act a leeeetle different than New York heads if you ever tried n-bombing with them.

definitely. if i get jumped like how i saw this one dark southeastern asian dude get jumped for using the n word by his supposed black friends, i got nobody to blame but me. but, i'm gonna go swinging and try and take at least two sons of bitches down with me! lol.

Of course, a TRUE ghetto pass is one that's never needed to be "given" in the first place. :wink:

actually i take it back. i shouldn't associate ghetto with the n word. i have the n word pass.