Don't s that word



 

 

A very white friend of mine recently asked me if I ever get offended when I hear a white person use the term N*****. He asked this question in public and as you can imagine everyone around us was quick to reprimand him for using this word. After convincing everyone that I am not offended I spent the next ten minutes trying to explain why that term has absolutely no effect on me.

The history behind the N word is long, vicious and sad. In no way do I want to undermine the pain that this word caused and continues to cause people who take serious offence to it. I really believe that intent is everything when it comes to words that are deemed insults. When the word was used in the segregation era it was used to demean and belittle black people. The term was used by people who had hatred in their hearts and was used in a malice and viscous way. The word is still a reminder especially for the older generation of the pain and suffering that people had to endure in that time.  The intentions behind the use of this word were clear, it was meant to hurt the people it was used against.

The friend who asked me this question is strongly influenced by black culture. He loves watching black TV shows and idolises various black musicians. He is a huge rap fan and everyone who listens to rap music knows that all the big name stars often use the n word for describing other black people. I find it amusing that if he’s singing a song he has to stop every time the word is mentioned. He is conscious of using the word, as he should be. I know a few people who would be extremely offended if they heard him and would go as far as physically assaulting him. My reasoning is we give this word too much power. It is just another word and is by no means a definition of black people. We can’t expect people of other races not to use the word when it is normal for us to use it when referring to each other or when it is a common term in modern music. 

When he uses the word the he doesn’t do so with any ill intent as to him it’s a word he encounters in he’s daily life through he musical taste. When he posed the question to me and I said it didn’t bother me he became comfortable with using the word around me, actually I may get him in trouble by saying we use it to one another from time to time. I don't give this word power. I recognise the power it had in the past but refuse to give it the same power in my future.