House of ZAN Forum

[Erik Dodd]

Ok don't watch this video if you're easily offeneded. linkage
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Είναι όλα τα ελληνικά σε με

[Ravage]

You know, I honestly don't know why anyone would be offended by that.

It's clever, and funny, especially given that it's black people doing it...but it'd be funny just the same.

[Plague]

that is pretty funny.
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"Never fear, I is here!"
Jared Sellars (a.k.a. Plague)

[Grand Master Sef]

thats funny & I'm not offended.

What I hate about the N word is that black people can use it & then they get offended when others say it to them. I totally agree with the last part. No one should be allowed to use it OR everyone should. kinda like the F word or any other derogetory word.

"New rims nig?" lawl...that chick was hillarious!
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[Dana]

You all be mah niggaz.
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[Grand Master Sef]

Cracker or Cracka is just as offensive as Nigger or Nigga. I seriously suggest that no one use them or everyone be allowed to use them.

Kers & Nigs tho...thats funny. lawl.
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[Ravage]

The problem is, certain politicians now expect us to buy that certain words are, in themselves, evil, inappropriate, or in this case, racist. This is simply not the case.

I've had an opportunity to study language in depth this year, despite my insistance that I won't be continuing. At no time in the last hundred years (and more) has popular linguistics/philosophy stressed an absolute of this degree in language. Instead, context, and percieved meaning by the reciever are where the emphasis lies.

In this case, the use of the N word is put in a context where it is not meant as an offense. When some of us throw it around within our group, it's also in a particular context that is not meant to offend, but entertain. That said, if used in the context of intending offense, the word could indeed be considered racist. Of course, I could call someone an Inkjet Printer, and if I meant it to be offensive, or racist, it would carry every bit of unethical meaning as the dreaded N word.

Of course, then you have to take perception into account. Someone could very easily percieve the N word in a racist fashion, and take offense to it. They are less likely to percieve "Inkjet Printer" in the same way. However, this is not because of a hard truth that is carried as meaning by the words themselves, but by the accepted societal habits that surround them. In every case, when determining the meaning of words, one should always pay attention to the context.

It sounds like a hard job, to always be analyzing conversation for contextual elements, but it's actually something that comes very naturally. Just like detecting sarcasm, detecting particular context is rather easy most of the time. If you aren't clear, you should ask the source.

What I'm pointing to is that anyone who claims that a word, or occurrence is essentially and always "racist", "homophobic", "harassing", etc. is applying a pretty strict objective point of view...ironically, something the left in this country usually fight against. I guess if it serves your purpose and gets you votes...

[Grand Master Sef]

See Damin I agree with you 100%. However, the flaw with your arguement (& mine since I agree with you) is this. Most people DON'T take context into consideration when people speak. This is MY point on the subject. Life is rough & I simply steer cleer of using dangerous words, such as the N word, because there are so many STUPID people who don't even know how to SPELL context.

In the rare case that I'm with people who would understand, such as this group, I may use those dangerous words, but thats it. "Sup nigz!" is such an example that our group uses & its hillarious because its intended to be as such.

So, my bottom line is that I can't use dangerous words most of the time, even in context, because of the idiots who don't use context out number those of us who have a brain cell & do.

Ya feel me?!

[Looks down at shoes for notes.]
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[Deathscythe343]

I am all y'alls nigog
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Why run? You'll only die tired.

[Ravage]

Spears used for eel fishing?

Indeed!

[seedosrun]

lol ... i love the white person sign.
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[img:a19668bb4d]http://presidentsimpson.com/simpson08.gif[/img:a19668bb4d]

[Talismonger]

Language is all about communication, and some words have become so supercharged that they risk conveying the wrong message in almost all situations.

The N word is just such an example, and, since it has a strong historical connection to oppression and racism, those are the messages that surface first. You can get away with it if you are black b/c people assume that you are not trying to denigrate your own race. That reasoning just doesn't make sense in other contexts.

Sure it would be ideal if everyone took the time to listen to everyone else and carefully consider the context of the speaker before reacting, but that's unrealistic and unproductive. We simply don't have the time or desire to get to know everyone else that well. If you want to use speech with a strongly racist meaning/connotation, then that is your choice, but don't expect everyone else to ignore the socially constructed meaning of the language. There are always other words to use, and maybe using them is one way we can stand up against our country's racist history/present.

Just a thought.

[Ravage]

Wow...this thread brought Spence out of the woodwork! W00t.

While I agree with what you're saying (especially in practical application), I have a hypothesis that the reason the N word is so endowed with bad "mojo" these days is not actually due to oppression, and has very little to do with the days of slavery. Sure, it's the origin of the negativity of the term, but I think the use of the word over the last 30 years or so has somewhat changed the landscape.

For example, the simple fact that blacks have taken to using the word frequently speaks volumes about the versatility of language over generations. Taking a derogatory "white" word that refers to one's race and then assimilating that into a part of speech that, in a way, refers to a sort of common bond (perhaps brotherhood) is admirable in my eyes. It's very much like a battle scar for an entire ethnic group being put on display.

Where my issues begin is the exclusion of all outsiders from any way of utilizing that part of speech. What I mean is that for many, whites are absolutely incapable of uttering the word, even as a reference to the word itself (such as all of us typing "the N word" here). That is silly, especially since modern-day blacks have no idea what slavery was like any more than we do. I'm not going to argue that we really have necessity to utilize the word in common speech as blacks may, but automatically taking offense when used outside the African-American culture/context is really having your cake and eating it too.

I think that categorizing words differently depending on the race of the utterer is actually just propagating racism, not helping relieve it. Rather than simply censoring our speech (which as I've said before, is inherently neutral), we should understand the reason that words mean what they do to different people, and affect change in such a way that those negative connotations lose their validity.

I'm with Adam in the idea that either everyone should say it or nobody should.

[Grand Master Sef]