Where did these white people get that idea about "nigga" being a term of endearment?
Black people.
This is what you get for fostering a double standard. Telling a black child to hit white children if they use a word, but not hit a black child if they do....who's the racist?
When the black child says nigga, expel them, then maybe you'll get somewhere.

This dude probably thinks he's fighting against racism by being pretty damn racist. All he said was "white"..."black"....."black"...."white"...."white". I get his anger, but you cannot fight injustice by suggesting injustice, you cannot fight racism by dividing people by race for separate treatment.

Rule of thumb, if those you find to be disgusting sub humans would be wrong to use your words with black and white reversed, you're being a racist.
If you become what you despise in your fight, you lost.
Those who fight monsters must be ever vigilant against becoming one.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by MrFisk.

In all seriousness though, here's my thoughts on the matter: I believe the n-word is used by most black people ironically. It's an attempt to reclaim power over the word that was used for so long--including today--to oppress them.

The thing is, there is precedent for this ironic use. Many in the gay community use the word "bitch" in an affection and jesting way to other members, but it takes on a completely different tone when a heterosexual person--even one who has a large circle of gay friends--tries to use it in a similar manner towards a gay person.

The thing is that this kind of ironic language usage is self-deprecating. As a member of the black or gay community, you're using a derogatory term that could just as easily be applied to you by somebody else.

Self-deprecating humor of this kind doesn't work so well when you're not a member of the group. It just comes across as punching down, especially in the case of privileged group members like middle-class white kids who will likely never know what it is like to be an "other" in their country of citizenship no matter how much they may sympathize (although as "minority" groups continue to eclipse the Caucasian population maybe within my lifetime they might actually start to experience it).

I mean, how hard is it for non-black people to not call someone an n-word? Very few black people are okay with it. The whiny " b-b-but they use the word all the time" excuse just reeks of entitlement to me.

But what do I know. I'm just some dumb white kid living in a foreign country where I can be pulled over by cops because I look different from the rest of the population and jailed for not immediately providing ID (unlike Japanese people who are legally not required to carry ID at all).

Would it have any impact on my argument either way?
If you checked my DNA, there certainly would be African in it. Maybe enough to call me "black" in the south, it doesn't take much. That said, no, I don't check "black" on the census form.

I just believe it works best to exemplify the behavior you want from others, to lead by example rather than reaction, and treat others as you would have them treat you, not as they have treated you.

EDIT: I also think there's a huge difference between 'you shouldn't use that word, ever.' and 'you cannot use that word, ever, or I'll violently attack you.' I agree, white people shouldn't use that word or any derivation of it, and should expect blowback if they do, but if we want to live in a post racial society where people aren't discriminated against based on race, that means no one should use it.

There is no reason to enable white kids to call other kids this offensive word.

Black kids should also not be able to use this word..

Newt You got me scratching my head.

These words don't seem like they are from you.

Then you haven't been paying attention.
I believe in equal treatment. That means I don't support the oppressed becoming oppressive. Revenge isn't about justice.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. "-Friedrich Nietzsche

Moving this video to C-note's personal queue. It failed to receive enough votes to get sifted up to the front page within 2 days.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Racial Slur, Ernie Chambers, N Word' to 'Racial Slur, Ernie Chambers, N Word, nebraska' - edited by MrFisk

When Maher used it and Ice Cube came on to tell him how wrong he was I did sort of feel like its divisive power was perpetuated by the double standard it seemed to represent - black people can use it, white people can't. Honestly I thought it was all a bit hysterical (not hilarious), not that I doubted the authenticity of people taking offence, just that there was an obsession over the word rather then Maher's intent that only furthered the divide between black and white.

Now I think I missed the point. Naively I believed the end goal was to sterilize the word through usage, that the fact a word can cause offence is a sort of aberration. Recently I was made to understand that the word is venomous for good reason. It should be offensive because it represents not just a terrible history of slavery, but also of the continued oppression, both overt and insidious, that blacks experience.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and often I think that is how us whites use it. Mostly our intentions are good, we want to be part of that group... but we never will be because we will never experience that word the way a black man or woman will. I don't think I was a racist (well, so far as any of us are free from bias) when I used it before but I think it was ignorant and wrong of me. To only care for your own intent and ignore a word's symbolism is lazy and self interested.

I'd like a future where the word truly does lose contemporary meaning, but I don't think we get there by ignoring what it still represents to others.

$0.02

Everything you need to know about that word can be summed up thusly: https://youtu.be/skCFCecuIhs

I think his point is that it should be black people deciding how and when the word is used, if at all, and your and my feelings on the matter (as people who haven't had to live every day of their lives with racial oppression) shouldn't really matter much.

I agree with him. Let black people decide themselves whether to let the word die or to reinvent it. Who knows, maybe someday we'll get to a point were the pain of racial oppression recedes so far that everyone will be able to use the word as a term of endearment for their friends.

But we certainly are no where near that point yet.

I get the theory, but that's just not how real life works. Telling people 'I may do "X, but you may not because you aren't the right race' is never an acceptable argument, won't get you much cooperation, nor does it show the proper disdain for that mindset that has been so disastrously used against minorities historically.

Edit: Also, this makes a HUGE mistake of thinking all black people agree, like they're all alike. That couldn't be farther from the truth, they are not unified on this issue, they, like everyone else, are diverse in their thinking.


If people insist on fairness and equality, they'll get far more support and far less opposition from fair minded people. Change the meaning of the word like we did with "fag" (now meaning Harley Davidson riders), sure, but not just for one group. Insisting on a double standard means they don't have a problem with double standards that work in their favor. That loses them the support of people who believe in equality and hate double standards with passion.

I take the view of SDGundamX that it's intended to be contextual based on the speaker but trying to force this kind of nuance into public discourse is a losing battle.

I also think the tack of shunning people / getting them fired for use the word hatefully is the wrong tack. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, just publicly and repeatedly call them an asshole.

Language arguments distract from the real driver of racism, income inequality. I suspect outright racial hatred - notions of racial inferiority/subjugation while still obviously present, are in decline.

I would instead guess the rate of police deaths, employment discrimination and many other biases are linked to the assumption that poorer means 'more likely to be a criminal'.