Like many others, I first encountered the n-word at school. One of the biggest jumps from grade school to middle school is undoubtedly the amount of profanity used by the kids. It went from timeouts for calling someone stupid in Kindergarten to discipline for cursing someone out in 6th grade. Unsurprisingly, the n-word was amongst the main words. Right off the bat, I knew that I nor any other non-black person could use it. That much was clear but it was the why I was confused about. It made absolutely no sense to me because at that point I wasn't fully aware of the historical and cultural context. It wasn't an issue that mattered much to me so I just accepted it and moved on. Immeasurable amounts of media consumed and history classes taken later brings us to the present day, where I'm writing this right now. What's changed? The n-word is used and scrutinized more than ever.
What follows is not a popular opinion but it's something that I truly believe and am comfortable with expressing. The existence of the n-word is, in more ways, good than bad. Now let me explain myself. Aside from the deep history we all know it embodies, it also represents an equally deep evolution. A large part, in my opinion, is from the change from the -er ending to the more contemporary -a. Many would argue the insignificance of the spelling but I beg to differ. What was initially used to insult and oppress is now often used to express relationships. Of all the times I've heard it, at least half were used in conjunction with "my," proclaiming a close bond between the speaker and the receiver. I view this as a direct mockery of the word used by slave owners and white supremacists over the years, a message from the African-American community saying we are using your own weapon against you.
Ryan Higa and I both agree that this is the most effective way to extinguish prejudice, bigotry, harassment, and any other discrimination. By embracing a word or phrase, the effectiveness will, sooner or later, die out or at the very least diminish. While hatred will never be fully eradicated from the world, I think the n-word is one of the keys to significantly reducing it. Sure it has its negative connotations and uses but what doesn't? There can be no good without evil to match it. I can think of no better way to beat adversity than to turn weaknesses into strengths.
What follows is not a popular opinion but it's something that I truly believe and am comfortable with expressing. The existence of the n-word is, in more ways, good than bad. Now let me explain myself. Aside from the deep history we all know it embodies, it also represents an equally deep evolution. A large part, in my opinion, is from the change from the -er ending to the more contemporary -a. Many would argue the insignificance of the spelling but I beg to differ. What was initially used to insult and oppress is now often used to express relationships. Of all the times I've heard it, at least half were used in conjunction with "my," proclaiming a close bond between the speaker and the receiver. I view this as a direct mockery of the word used by slave owners and white supremacists over the years, a message from the African-American community saying we are using your own weapon against you.
Ryan Higa and I both agree that this is the most effective way to extinguish prejudice, bigotry, harassment, and any other discrimination. By embracing a word or phrase, the effectiveness will, sooner or later, die out or at the very least diminish. While hatred will never be fully eradicated from the world, I think the n-word is one of the keys to significantly reducing it. Sure it has its negative connotations and uses but what doesn't? There can be no good without evil to match it. I can think of no better way to beat adversity than to turn weaknesses into strengths.
I'm curious, in your account of learning the word's meanings and conventions of use as a young person, how you "knew right off the bat" that its employment was exclusive to African Americans--because this is a unique aspect of this word as opposed to other profanities or obscenities, and on the surface of it, not intuitive at all. Were you initially aware of its racist pedigree, before you encountered it being used in the more familiar/fraternal form? So you saw African American kids *tweaking* the racist term into something else? You *got* that this is what was happening? I'm interested in how non-black young people figure this out, if they figure it out at all, in the absence of a historical awareness. Because all the good things you have to say about the familiar use of the word (among the in-group) seem to only apply to African American speakers. I don't see what it would mean for the "negative connotations" to "die out" when it's uttered by a white speaker, short of a profound historical ignorance. Because it's the history that, implicitly, GIVES the word its subversive power when used by formerly oppressed groups. Progress toward racial justice in this country shouldn't depend on erasing or forgetting that history.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that only my black classmates were using the word as well as the fact that a lot of them are offended by even the smallest of comments.To me, it was the obvious thing to do.
DeleteI get how you see my post as only reflecting the African-American perspective because that's essentially true. I feel it's only fair that black people remain the sole speakers of the word because it's a progression that they've went through. Also, I think the word would lose significant history and former connotation, especially to younger generations, if white people spoke it as well.
Racism wouldn't be eradicated from the N-word not being considered offensive, but at the same time I don't agree with the belief that the N-word must keep its original meaning out of a sense of anger, respect, or any feeling towards the past. I think it's entirely possible that the N-word could lose its offensive connotation over time, and it's not as if new racist slangs are being invented daily to take its place. However if one is to take this stance where the N-word begins to be used positively, then restricting its usage only to African-Americans will ensure that the word constantly stays in a state of limbo, where it is both extremely offensive and acceptable. The racial charge will never be lost, and therefore the racist charge will never be lost. Society is going to have to get to the point where either everyone says it, or the word becomes completely taboo.
DeleteWhen reading your post, I was reminded of a line from "Game of Thrones": Let them see that their words can cut you and you’ll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name take it make it your own. Then they can’t hurt you with it anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think thats a good point, but in the case of the n-word, it seems to me that the word still carries a lot of baggage when it is spoken by someone who is not an African American. The word may be 'acceptable' for some, but for others, there is still so much hate and historical context that we can't get rid of just by using the word more often.
While reading your arguments, it occurred to me that perhaps it is not in societies best interest to re-appropriate the N-word. I do not think that stripping it of its historical meaning completely will in any way eradicate or even do much to lessen racism. People can say any words with hate, and taking away one will not make everyone love each other. I think it is more important for the N-word to keep its connotation, or at least for its old connotation to be remembered. I know that for me, some of the most powerful examples of how bad racism is, and how prevalent it is now, come through hearing people use the N-word in a derogatory way. Without it, I would not now how much we still need to struggle against racism. I have no problem with the N-word's use in rap or in other familiar settings (where everyone present accepts its use), but I think it is important that it retain some of it's taboo.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your argument that the N-word can be striped of its meaning, I felt that in principle it is a great idea, yet I also felt it will never happen. To put it simply, it is a word that has so much meaning that it can be removed and it is in a way different then other words. The reason for this, beside the historical context, is how defining of a person the N-word is, its not just a negative trait or a disfavorable part it is defining. It says who you are, what you are, who you will be, and why you do what you do, all based off an arbitrary trait of the body. It does this in such a ruthlessly efficient way, that it can never be weakened, it will always be a villainous word, and always be taboo.
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