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 Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:08 am
So this is my rant.. it's about the word "******." I know I'm not the only one fed up with it. I've never used it before in my life and yet I'm so freaking pissed off about its usage these days and all the bitterness that circles it. For several decades and I'm sure a few centuries it was used by the majority race to discriminate against Africans as pretty much a piece of worthless s**t.
All of a sudden, after these centuries of those ancestors were destroyed by that one single word, blacks are getting together and saying "*****" this and "*****" that. "Waz up *****?" It's not just an insult to their ancestors but it's dangerously confusing to all other races that don't know "the rules" about who can call who a ****** and who can't. What happens when a niave white girl listens to the blacks in her class calling eachother ***** and wants to become friends, and as she starts walking up to them, tries to be cool and says "Waz up *****?" Now it's suddenly a huge insult and the group obviously has to beat the s**t out of her because she should've known better. What the ******** is up with that??!?!
I honestly don't care what any of you say that is for it because I've heard it. Maybe you think that they're trying to make a tasteless word into something positive that they can call eachother. Maybe it's used for the exact purpose of insulting all other races by prancing around calling eachother that having us know full well that they can and we can't. What ever it is, I honestly don't care.
I think what it shows from the outside is that (a)blacks have given in and lost their own dignity in calling eachother the exact thing that degraded thousands of Africans and (b)becoming more isolated from the other races and even more hostile.
I'm never sure what to believe anymore when a black community is in rage of the police shooting or arresting one of their own because of racial discrimination. To me it's kind of like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I just can't believe that every single cop that arrests a black is racist, that's just insane. I can understand that their frusterated by having been oppressed for hundreds of years, but I think they're going about this the wrong way. Especially since so many people have accepted them as an equal. Will they ever be satisfied?
Don't get me wrong though. I know a lot of African Americans that aren't like that at all and are actually very friendly towards all races. In a lot of ways I really look up to and admire them, especially when they've achieved a lot given their circumstances. Instead of lashing out at caucasions they put all their energy into becoming an accomplished adult. I remember as a child I actually wanted to be black. There was just something about them that I really admired.
I think a lot of these people need to go back to Africa for awhile just to see how their brothers and sisters are living. So much destruction is happening over there that it makes me sick, but has anyone seen their spirits? It's so inspiring!
Basically I've just gotten annoyed with a lot of them having nasty attitudes and blame everyone else for their failures and mistakes. I am so willing to show them that I accept them, but how can you show it when they won't even let you in? Who's become racist against who now?
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 3:47 am
i can kind of see where you're coming from, but i think you are being to harsh. i think black people still hold a certain amount of resentment towards whites because of the way they were treated in the past, and quite honestly i dont blamd them in the slightest.
it is not for us [white people] to say what they should be allowed to call each other, we wouldnt like it if they did it to us.
and quite honestly i think this thread in itsolf is racisit... you are segregating them from us by saying what you are you know. we are all people, and deserve the same treatment....
just for the record... my family is a white family, and my brothers and friends call each other ******, so what does that tell you??
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:38 pm
"Don't get me wrong though. I know a lot of African Americans that aren't like that at all and are actually very friendly towards all races. In a lot of ways I really look up to and admire them, especially when they've achieved a lot given their circumstances. Instead of lashing out at caucasions they put all their energy into becoming an accomplished adult. I remember as a child I actually wanted to be black. There was just something about them that I really admired."
If you didn't remember, I said this paragraph close to the end to show that it's not against all of them. I completely understand what you're saying and I do agree that they have every right to show resentment. The thing is, though, that a lot of us [white people] have come around and aren't as racist as we were for so many decades. I feel that the resentment and fear between the two races not really knowing how to react around eachother is really a lose-lose situation. Believe me I'd be saying the exact same thing if it was the other way around and we were all going around calling eachother "crackas" and beating the s**t out of blacks because they didn't realise they couldn't call us that. The whole point of this rant was to say that because of this attitude there's no way to move forward into an accepting community.
As for you and your family calling eachother "niggers," I basically find that really weird and creepy. razz I hate that word all together so obviously I'm not going to like that you do that.
I was just so moved by the injustice that the Africans that were oppressed for all that time and just how incredibly hateful the word "******" was used. I don't find it right is all.
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:23 pm
i dont get it myself. like, if they wanna call each other the n word, go ahead, i have no problem. i'm just a little confused about why black people would wanna call each other that word when it was so demeaning 60 years ago, and is still demeaning when a white person says it. i also wanna know how a little scenario would play outLITTLE SCENARIO LITTLE JOHNNY(white): hey homeboy!
LITTLE WILLIE(black): sup dude
LITTLE JOHNNY: nothin my n*****
LITTLE WILLIE'S PARENTS: how horrible!!!!!! *drags little willie away*now little johnny and little willie cant play anymore because little johnny listened to the unedited version of Kanye West and thought that the n word was okay
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 3:11 pm
Exactly! It's confusing and can really hurt in so many of those kinds of scenarios.
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 3:25 pm
Okay I got a really cool response from someone on another guild about this. And his response:
1) Owning a derogitory(sp) term doesn't make it better.
2) It wasn't reffering to their race, per say. The word '******' means an uneducated, unintelligent person, and to the Europeans/Americans who went there for slaves, they were indeed niggers. They managed to use their Tribal hate for each other to have them trap each other. They saw this as stupidity, hence, niggers.
3) Don't say I can't say something you can say.
Whole situation annoys me. People shouldn't bother being offended so much. Takes too much effort. Giving Racists attention is just fueling their fire.
Don't you just love knowing there are smart people living among us. ^_^
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:28 pm
First of all, that is NOT where the word "******" comes from, it is derived from the term "negro," which is derived from the Latin word for the color black, which itself is derived from "necro," the word for death. The word "niggardly," meaning stingy or cheap, also came from the same root, and was then applied to the Jews.
In any case, I think that people will sort it out for themselves, and that we shouldn't make any action to correct them. If people are comfortable with saying it, that's their perogative, if not, they won't use it. I, personally, am not comfortable using the word (even typing it out makes me cringe a little), so I usually don't, unless I'm using it to explain something like I did here. I also have problems with other racial monikers, such as "gook" and "c***k," since I am of Asian descent. In any case, I would advise not using any of those words unless you know the people you are using it with will be comfortable with you using it. It is for this reason that I curse much more liberally when around friends than when I am around family. Same words, different crowd.
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:33 pm
I guess I could lighten up a little about it. It's just hard looking around at all the injustice happening; I honestly don't think people really understand where these words come from and therefore use it without having real knowledge of how offensive and wrong they really are.
I have also heard of the terms you stated, among a few others from different races. I'm just more fueled by this situation with the African Americans and the use of the word "******." The word makes me cringe as well but not as much anymore because when I use it, it is for the exact purpose of making some sort of opinion on modern day society. I know so many black people so I hear their use of the word "*****." They're actually incredibly nice and I love hearing them talk, it's like a whole different language! For them it seems that "*****" is more of like the word "homie" with a few exceptions.. It just seems a way for having their own word for "their kind." Not trying to sound offensive! I'm just being observant.
Even when it is used in an innocent sense, I still don't like its use at all. In my opinion they have held low standards of themselves by calling eachother *****, what does that say for you? I probably have no right to judge but it does strike my curiosity whether in a good sense or bad. I guess I'm most of all baffled and confused that they would actually decide to call eachother the exact thing that oppressed and enslaved them for centuries; not physically, but emotionally. How can you accomplish anything when all you see is this "worthless ******" in the mirror each morning? I can't get my mind around it.. Maybe it's a case where when someone says it to you enough then you begin to see it yourself and lose all of the essence of the real you. I also think that the usage is seen a lot of different ways in all blacks; some find it offensive no matter if it's from another race or another black; for some it's just a way to greet your friends; for some it's what they call pretty much everybody without having any real offense towards the word at all.
Does this one sound a little better than the first one? It's not as angry.. Yay for not being angry!! I'm learning that the best way to state your opinion, especially in a real argument, is to do it in a calm way and with facts and background experience in order to express it well enough to get the point across.
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 9:48 pm
I don't use ****** because I find it very racist and I probably never will use it. And I'm not too fond about shows like Mind of Mencia that have a lot of racism in them..
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:01 am
To be honest I use the word, but only joking around with my friends(some of wich ore black). They know I'm not serious and so do I. But I do know what you mean. It bothers me that there's some kind of "rule" against the word. I also don't appreciate how they bash on white people for the htings we did 100 years ago. And what bothers me the most is that "we" didn't even do it. I'm sorry my ancestor was a dumbass, but guess what? Oh well, nobody's gonna go back and fix it.
I'm not saying what they did was right, but it happened and people need to move on. Shows like Mind of Mencia I can actually appreciate because unlike Chappeles(sp?) Show, Mencia doesn't just target one race. Hell the guy even makes fun of himself. Anyway ending my rambling, racism will always be an issue. 100 years from now people will still talk about it and there will still be racists people. It's wrong I know, but really there's no sence it arguing about it. It's not just gonna pop up and go away. (by the way I understand I sorta strayed off topic, my apologies)
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:04 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:54 pm
I had this topic in another guild and I realised as people were commenting was that there isn't any reason that we can't move on from it. Racists will be racists, some may change with a bit of education but most will stick to their guns. When we react to it with anger and frusteration then we're basically fueling the fire. I remember in grade school when people would call me four eyes. It really hurt and I'd get angry or really sad, but once I realised that it didn't matter, they lost their power in it and it pretty much ruined their plan of getting the better of me. The point of using those insults is to belittle you and they feed off your anger, frusteration, or sadness. Once you shrug it off and let them do as they please then they will lose interest. (In a lot of cases)
Once people realise this then it won't be such a big issue. The people that say this derogatory things will be ignored and in that sense won't have anymore reason to say it since no one cares anymore. It kind of reminds me of Romeo and Juliet in a sense. The more you throw words back the longer it will take to stop, and it will give them even more reason to keep doing it.
That's what I've learned and I'm keeping that with me. Knowledge is a wonderful thing. ^_^
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:34 pm
Perhaps that's the same reason for people embracing words that were once used to demean them; they are taking away the power of the word by using it so casually themselves. While it may still be offensive to them to hear it from someone else, it may not always be that way.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 8:38 pm
That could very well be the case.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:09 pm
I think everyone should just give up the hostility between races... Sure, maybe they're still upset over the whole slavery thing, but... we're a new generation. We aren't the same people who held them captive, and they aren't the same people who were held captive. It's not fair for them to hold the actions of our ancestors against us.
If they want equality, though, there's no reason for them to not let us refer to them as "niggers", if they themselves are also going to do it. That kind of thing will increase racism. I myself have never really run into this situation, as I don't associate with many black people (not because they're black; it's just that I don't associate with many people in general), so I'm basically just taking your (and everyone else's) word for what goes on.
But basically, we should all just stop noticing that people are different colors. If it's not supposed to matter... then why is everyone letting it matter so much?
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