See my biggest argument about this whole thing is “stop using it then”
I specifically like Morgan Freeman’s take. I’m paraphrasing because I haven’t read the quote in a while but it basically boiled down to: Y’all keep using the n word and then act surprised it’s so prevalent. You keep perpetuating the very thing you say you hate by doing so. Stop giving that word so much weight and it will lose meaning.
Now with that said, would racism still exist? Would certain people still refer to black people as n words? (God that looks fuckin dumb) Absolutely. Would I have ever used the n word if it wasn’t all over black media? Not a fuckin chance.
I literally only found out the word was bad because I was singing along to a rap song and the black guy next to me lost his fuckin mind about it. And the whole time he’s berating me all I can think is “so you know it’s not a word you want people saying but you put it in almost every sentence you use.”
Idk man like I said it’s a touchy subject and I understand that. I just feel like the massive knee jerk reactions are what keeps it going in the negative context more than in the casual “I’m singing a fuckin song” context
I hear you but at the end of the day - there really is no way I’m going to feel comfortable having an opinion on when black folks should or shouldn’t use it. I could certainly understand taking it back as a catharsis, but I could imagine a lot of other reasons that might come up if I’d lived the experience of black folks. Either way I don’t think I can equate the idea of me using the word as within the same realm as a black person using it.
Again, this all comes from a place of understanding where you are coming from, but I’ve spent a long time trying to understand where black folks might be coming from on this too, and I’m just sharing how my viewpoint has evolved over time.
Idk man like I said it’s a touchy subject and I understand that.
It totally is, and I hope I’ve succeeded in being conversation-y and not asshole-y. :D
See my biggest argument about this whole thing is “stop using it then”
I specifically like Morgan Freeman’s take. I’m paraphrasing because I haven’t read the quote in a while but it basically boiled down to: Y’all keep using the n word and then act surprised it’s so prevalent. You keep perpetuating the very thing you say you hate by doing so. Stop giving that word so much weight and it will lose meaning.
Now with that said, would racism still exist? Would certain people still refer to black people as n words? (God that looks fuckin dumb) Absolutely. Would I have ever used the n word if it wasn’t all over black media? Not a fuckin chance.
I literally only found out the word was bad because I was singing along to a rap song and the black guy next to me lost his fuckin mind about it. And the whole time he’s berating me all I can think is “so you know it’s not a word you want people saying but you put it in almost every sentence you use.”
Idk man like I said it’s a touchy subject and I understand that. I just feel like the massive knee jerk reactions are what keeps it going in the negative context more than in the casual “I’m singing a fuckin song” context
I hear you but at the end of the day - there really is no way I’m going to feel comfortable having an opinion on when black folks should or shouldn’t use it. I could certainly understand taking it back as a catharsis, but I could imagine a lot of other reasons that might come up if I’d lived the experience of black folks. Either way I don’t think I can equate the idea of me using the word as within the same realm as a black person using it.
Again, this all comes from a place of understanding where you are coming from, but I’ve spent a long time trying to understand where black folks might be coming from on this too, and I’m just sharing how my viewpoint has evolved over time.
It totally is, and I hope I’ve succeeded in being conversation-y and not asshole-y. :D
Didn’t take it offensively at all. It’s nice being able to simply discuss touchy topics without hostility.