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Nigga and You: A Comprehensive Guide to the N-Word
- Thread starter SENPAIatLARGE
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lightskintwin
Banned
LOL So obvious it had to be said.
I only have one that says it all the time, the others are occasional sayers.
Is it really that difficult to understand? There's a history that goes back 200 years to whites acting Black, hence the culture of blackface some to this day participate in, and then a history of Black culture creating the contemporary form of cool in the 40's and setting the trends that's still prevalent today. Hence why people want to say it, because they think it's cool.
"different biracial members of the African American community "
Flag on the play.
If you are "white" looking no one cares your grandfather black.
As my grandfather would say. It only lower class using the word so just dont say it. i have found this very true over the years at least in public.
I have to say im shocked everytime i seen it posted on gaf.
Flag on the play.
If you are "white" looking no one cares your grandfather black.
As my grandfather would say. It only lower class using the word so just dont say it. i have found this very true over the years at least in public.
I have to say im shocked everytime i seen it posted on gaf.
what? the point is to not say either.
Coffee Dog
Banned
I mean, we're saying it now. This is a conversation in which the word has come up.
chaobreaker
Member
You'd think David Simon of all people would know better. Someone link him to this thread.
Ah yes, the rap trap conundrum. Nothing like turning on a good banger with white friends and watching them stumble on the best parts.
So exactly how is it possible to have a conversation about the usage of the word without either using the actual word or saying "the n-word"? Do we invent some other euphemism to replace it? Is that other euphemism any better?
I'm not gonna lie
It's hilarious
Psychoward
Banned
I was at a festival once that remixed New Slaves and yeah.... it was kinda uncomfortable.
Personally, this is the way I see it:
Well, it's a way of showing you are aware of the issues regarding the usage of the word though needing to refer to it as it relates to the discussion at hand. Like, people aren't going up to people and screaming WHAT'S UP MY N-WORDA. I mean, I think they aren't. If they are please let me know because that sounds terrible and hilarious. People don't use "N-word" as a straight up substitute for the actual word because it just flat out sounds stupid like, phonetically.
People tend to basically only say "n-word" when...well, when discussing the word itself. I mean maybe I'm missing something obvious but I seriously haven't seen someone just walk up to a black dude and be like "YOU N-WORDING GUY" or anything of the sort. It's only used to...discuss the word. Like "X famous actor says n-word on television. We're saying n-word instead of the actual word to show our disapproval for actually saying that." kinda thing.
I mean I could be super wrong, that's just personally how I see it, and why it's better than using the actual word for me. (That and, racially charged history and all that)
TheAbsolution
Member
It's never not funny.
I always think back to that Office Space scene.
IrishNinja
Member
excellent thread, preach
as a mid-tier CAC: for hip hop lyric purposes (or say, naming your 2nd favorite ODB album),
is "ninja" okay? it's on the verbatim, but it's still used the same way, so i'm thinking your system applies here
oooof
same amount of syllables, that works
as a mid-tier CAC: for hip hop lyric purposes (or say, naming your 2nd favorite ODB album),
is "ninja" okay? it's on the verbatim, but it's still used the same way, so i'm thinking your system applies here
oooof
same amount of syllables, that works
Homie also does in a pinch. Based on my profession I can't say bad words in public. Gin and juice is one of my go to's for karaoke for that reason.
Brother works better in a fast song like "All Day" from Kanye, cause you can shorten it to Brotha
This is my go to. The sooner we see each other as brothers instead of niggas, the harder it'll be to pull a trigger. You really gonna ride on your brother?
*looks at post*
*looks at tag*
*looks at post*
I feel like this dude knows what he's talking about.
Coffee Dog
Banned
re: the inevitable "n-word" derail
"the n-word" is something that non black people say to shield themselves from the discomfort of saying the word nigger in academic usage
whether or not you think that discomfort should be shielded or distracted from is ultimately a personal decision. some people will mind, some people won't. the world is a nuanced place.
"the n-word" is something that non black people say to shield themselves from the discomfort of saying the word nigger in academic usage
whether or not you think that discomfort should be shielded or distracted from is ultimately a personal decision. some people will mind, some people won't. the world is a nuanced place.
Depends. Are you in a situation where someone who doesn't understand (or care about) the context will fire you, fine you, harass you, or kick your ass? If not, I don't see the problem.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
https://youtu.be/vK2tOCSWf6M
What an odd choice..😕
Also, you gotta say it because it doesn't "sound good" or rhyme? On some idiot shit..
MagicWithEarvin
Member
Is it ok if I call my Asian brethren ninjas? Whenever I see them I say, "what's up, my ninja?!"
therealist
Member
i would like advice on this actually, I listen to lots of rap music so I will most likely get into a similar situation in the future.
LookAtMeGo
Member
Im like the only white guy in my one group of friends and it never crosses my mind to drop N bombs in a friendly or unfriendly manner. Brother works fine. Sometimes they call me it and I feel cool for a second 
IrishNinja
Member
if they're reformed and now serve a proper daimyo, this is 100% not okay
I am personally generally okay with limited academic usage, but I can definitely definitely 100% tell when you are leaning too hard into that shit because you think you can get away with it. Proceed with caution.
Are they japanese?
In the same vein, is it okay for me to call my Scandinavian friends vikings? Like I go "Waddup, my viking, here to rape and pillage?"
Gordon Shumway
Banned
Heh..interesting..
Holy shit, never heard that butchered version.
It's that use-mention distinction. Using the word is different from speaking about the word. Now, people only say "the n word" in a mention context. People say "the n word" to talk about the word.
Let's think about this using another word that is also hateful but doesn't really have the same problem. Faggot. Now, I have zero desire to call somebody a faggot. That's a horrible thing. And I hate it when people use it casually but go "oh I'm not talking about gay people". It's such a cop-out. But I can talk about the word faggot, such as I'm doing right now, and I wouldn't expect the gay community to be up in arms about it.
But in a conversation like this one? With a rule like "never use the n-word" there's no stated exceptions. So we have to resort of euphemisms like "the n-word". It feels pretty arbitrary to me.
Lol I was trying to ignore that
Gordon Shumway
Banned
Welp, now you know..nuh. Stop saying nigga.
Hard..HAAAARD..explains a little bit though. Gnite, honkys..
lightskintwin
Banned
True story, years ago my barber invited me out to a club on a Tuesday night because he had a VIP section, so i went and had no idea it was a college night filled with predominately white college kids and only playing hip hop music. DJ Khaled was the special guest and everybody was dancing on the huge ass dance floor and at the height of the night when DJ Khaled was in the DJ Booth and talking on the mic, they dropped "Steady Mobbin'" by Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane and Khaled stopped the music right before Lil Wayne's verse, and I kid you not every White college kid knew all the lyrics and chanted them acapella unapologetically at the top of their lungs. One of the most surreal experiences I've ever experienced as a Black man. LOL
Mister Wolf
Member
Its a stupid word and I get no brotherly endearment out of it. I grew up with pro black male figures who never used it once around me.
benjipwns
Banned
I know this is more humorous and everything, but the history of it is actually a bit more interesting than that snippet there. The wikipedia summary is alright, but there was a longer piece, maybe part of a book that went through its permutations (and I believe "coloreds") and beyond including official usage.
No, I heard in another thread that this is a commonly used "stand-in" for the n-word to hide alt-right racism.
Laieon
Member
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
This. I'm white, I have no business using it, and never will. I don't care if blacks have a privilege to use it and whites do not, it should be that way.
My rule for myself is this: blank it out, always with no other choice. For me, my decision to rap along with a song rests on the use of the word and the subject matter. I am OK with rapping along to MF Doom or Rakim (blanking it out), but if its Bone Thugs, just wordlessly flow with your hands. I do both to feel the music better, and that's it.
John Caboose
Member
The singing along with a song thing is definitely a conundrum.
I might have said it once or twice in recent times in other contexts but I'm definitely on board with the DONT system from now on.
I might have said it once or twice in recent times in other contexts but I'm definitely on board with the DONT system from now on.
benjipwns
Banned
Carl Weathers entire life should have hinted at this. I take it you never took his acting classes. One entire week is about this just before and after the stew recipes.
Zeus The Dino
Member
General rule is if your at a hip hop concert every one can sing along
Personally, the way I see it, it's just that referring to it by an euphemism as opposed to the actual word seems to cause less discomfort to the people who are hurt by it. Ideally, not even touching the word/euphemism is better but there are times like in this thread when the euphemism is as close to respectful as I can get. So I just think, well, the word affects this group of people more than anyone else, so I should abide by their requests regarding its usage.
Like regarding the faggot example...if the gay community was up in arms about its usage, my reaction would probably be along the lines of "I see, apologies for my usage of the word when discussing it. I won't do it again."
It might be an arbitrary distinction, but it's one I feel like the group affected by a slur is entitled to make and that I don't have the right(or wish) to challenge.
Maybe I'm totally wrong in how I'm seeing this and my approach doesn't help at all but like, yeah. In topics like this I tend to defer to whatever the person/group most affected by the word feels like would be the better course of action, buuuut I can never know. Plus like, certain people might have different opinions on the matter than the "group at large" so to speak, so it's not like I can claim to know what the best way to act regarding the word and its euphemism are...
But what I just try to stick with is, yeah, the "If it upsets the person most affected by it, I'm backing the fuck away from it" idea.
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
That's fine as long as the artist themselves give it a pass, but I still will follow my own rules. Blank it out, and the song dictates how in I can go on a track.
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