Ban on the N-word

[Mike059jig]

And the only entertainment industry that uses it is Hip-Hop.....the Hip-hop community is gonna let it happen.....

 

[kainedamo]

And the only entertainment industry that uses it is Hip-Hop.....the Hip-hop community is gonna let it happen.....

Comedians.
Movies.
Television dramas.

 

[Daisy]

I saw a discussion on this last week sometime (right after the Richards thing) and one panelist was arguing that black people should be able to use it because it was 'taking back' the word, but white people shouldn't because it would always be a reminder of racisim. She went on to liken it to how gays and lesbians had 'taken back' the word 'queer'.

All I could think is how mistaken she was (and that she clearly didn't know too many gay and lesbian people). The idea of 'taking back' the word is about removing it's power, not removing it from either a segment of the population or all the population. Most gay and lesbian folks don't say that it's okay for them to call each other queer, but not okay for straight people to call them queer. Even when someone calls them queer meaning it to be an insult, they simply don't take it as one. Every single experience I have seeing my gay friends being insulted is the same way, they make a joke of it:

Some idiot will say: '****in' queers' or somthing like that.

And the response is: "Only when I get lucky!" or "I certainly hope so." or "****in' wasn't exactly what I had in mind." or "Sadly, not lately."

The vast majority of the time, the idiot walks off just muttering and glaring.

It's not that gays and lesbians don't recognize when it is meant as an insult. They just don't allow it to be one.



And I'm not saying it's an exact analogy and that it will necessarily work for blacks and the N-word. I guess my point is that simply saying "it's okay for blacks to use it, but not anyone else" is not 'taking it back', because you still haven't taken the power from the word.

 

[Lackey]

If that word is banned from television, I just don't think I could watch "The Boondocks" anymore and enjoy it.

 

[tzarinna]

I think the word has too much power,sadly. I cringe whenever I hear the brothas calling each other that. It's not cool. I would hope that they could dissolve it out of their vocabulary with out any outside intervention,it sucks that someone needs to bring up banning the word when it shouldn't be part of our culture for so many ****ing reasons. The fury when someone who is not of our ethnicity uses it is proof enough of how much it still hurts due to the history behind it.

 

[Daisy]

And how is removing it from vocabularly going to reduce its power?

 

[Son Of Logan]

And how is removing it from vocabularly going to reduce its power?

Well repetative use and over-use hasn't seemed to reduce its power at all.

 

[Lackey]

Well repetative use and over-use hasn't seemed to reduce its power at all.

any racial slur is only as powerful as that race lets it be

 

[kainedamo]

It's just... why can't people just use their common sense?

There is no need for any black rapper to keep saying ****** ****** ****** in all their songs. There is no need for black guys to keep calling each other ****** in every conversation.

Taking the word away from entertainers can only be harmful. It's censorship gone too far. All for the sake of sparing feelings. Comedians should say the word if they want to in their acts.

And like I said before, banning the word ****** actually gives racists ammunition. "One rule for them - another rule for us". It would be dividing people. Because why ban ******, and not cracker or spic?

Black people aren't some sort of... super minority.

 

[tzarinna]

And how is removing it from vocabularly going to reduce its power?

I didn't say that this would reduce its power. I was just stating the obvious.
I don't feel as though it should be an accepted form of speak amongst people. I also think when it's heard jokingly people think it's all Kool and the Gang to use.

 

[Daisy]

Well repetative use and over-use hasn't seemed to reduce its power at all.

But I addressed that in my first post. Saying it's only okay for certain people to use it doesn't reduce it's power anymore than not using it at all.

It's like a woman who can tell herself she's fat, but is then crushed when her boyfriend tells her she should maybe consider losing a couple pounds.

She won't cry when she says to herself in the mirror: "God, I'm fat." or even dicussing the latest diets and exercise programs with her girlfriends. But if her boyfriend (or any guy for that matter) says she's getting a little heavy (or even so much as suggests that maybe she doesn't need that piece of cheesecake for dessert)... she'll start bawling.

 

[tzarinna]

Black people aren't some sort of... super minority.

Sure we are.

 

[tzarinna]

But I addressed that in my first post. Saying it's only okay for certain people to use it doesn't reduce it's power anymore than not using it at all.

I was typing while you were posting. Didn't see it.

 

[Daisy]

I didn't say that this would reduce its power. I was just stating the obvious.
I don't feel as though it should be an accepted form of speak amongst people. I also think when it's heard jokingly people think it's all Kool and the Gang to use.

But it's not the obvious to everyone. Some people don't think words should be given that much power.

 

[Quimby2999]

Banning ni**er would be completely stupid.

While, I'm not exactly going to friends with anyone who calls me ni**er or spews racial slurs all the time, banning use of the term would not only be censorship, but it'd be selective censorship. In which we pick and choose what is "appropriate" to say, and one group or a small minority (no pun intended) unilaterally makes the decision of what's "appropriate".


And that's a ninja.

 

[tzarinna]

But it's not the obvious to everyone. Some people don't think words should be given that much power.

Yeah,went through that at work,guys don't know how much words can hurt. Now he does.

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

"B!tch" has lost it's negative connotation, so nowadays it's not really even harmful. Heck, it's been allowed in all shows now, where 2 years ago it used to bleeped out.

But it IS still censored at Hype, so stop bypassing the censor

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

i honestly don't care. words like that needs to be used less often anyways. and would stop giving white people the excuse "if black people can call each other n*****, why can't us whites?"

 

[terry78]

i honestly don't care. words like that needs to be used less often anyways. and would stop giving white people the excuse "if black people can call each other n*****, why can't us whites?"

Unfortunately, we like to do things out of spite. If someone complains about something, we like to throw it in their face as often as possible. The best thing white people could do is just not use it period, and just go with the feeling that's it not really worth griping about.

 

[Lackey]

I'm taking back "porch monkey"

 

[Obi-Ron]

Yeah,went through that at work,guys don't know how much words can hurt. Now he does.

Whatever happened to "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me?"

 

[Spider-Girl™]

nvm...

 

[Addendum]

Doctor: What happened to you?

Man with one arm: My arm fell off.

Doctor: How?

Man with one arm: Because someone said the word "Klstrfck"

-one of the doctor's arms falls off-

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Whatever happened to "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me?"

We grew up and realized how silly that saying was

 

[AndThePickles]

Indeed. Words have so much more power than people realize.