Reply by makroni
4 years ago
@sopherian Language is not an abstract construct, at least, not when used by people. Every word has different historical connotations depending on who's using it, or where it's being used. Wu-Tang: An American Saga is 100% an American show, and the people represented here had the word 'nigger' used against them in derogatory sense, by non-colored people, on daily basis. <br />
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Put yourself in their shoes: if random black people called you 'donkey' everyday, for years, solely based on your skin color, and they actually mean it, you would not want to hear another black man calling you the same word ever again, would you? But you would not flip if a friend, or a family member, jokingly called you 'donkey'.<br />
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Typically, in the US, when used by colored folk, the word carries friendly connotations; it is rarely, if ever, used in a derogatory sense. The word sounds the same, but it takes on a different meaning depending on who's saying it, what is the context, and what their intentions are. This is why it is different.<br />
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And YES, the problem IS your skin color. This is where the negative historical connotations come from; white Caucasians did enslave black Africans for centuries, and are still practicing racism against them on daily basis, primarily in the Western hemisphere. Racism is very much alive, and people of color get antagonized everyday. When you incautiously use the word, you're inadvertently associating yourself with evil, and bringing up a terrible memory, of the times the same word was used as an insult, in the mind of the colored person to whom you're talking.<br />
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Here, on the internet, especially on predominantly English-speaking websites, you rarely see it said because most of the popular websites are US-based, and racism is thriving on a massive scale in the US, and, to my knowledge, the situation isn't much better in other, western, English-speaking countries. In general, you should never compare cultures, habits, and traditions between two different countries because these are always massively different, especially when they belong to different parts of the world.<br />
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You can practice your right of free speech very openly without having to use that particular word—all you have to do is replace it with 'people of color' and I assure you everyone will know what you mean, and no one will be hurt. This is called respect, empathy, and compassion. Language is a vehicle to communicate your thoughts and feelings—as long as that is doable, and it still is, you should not have a problem dropping hurtful words from your vocabulary.<br />
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That said, you can actually say the word in some contexts, given the person you're talking to knows it is said out of love and appreciation for their culture. In fact, the Wu-Tang Clan—the rap group this very show is based on, are known for sharing covers of their songs made by non-colored fans saying the word. Most famously, this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGO2U5VlCw<br />
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The problem with you randomly dropping it at will is that strangers do not know who you are, or how you usually use it, and since the majority of non-colored people who use it utilize it as an insult, people will most likely assume you mean it as an insult, and they will, non-voluntarily, feel hurt. Now, you can clear that up, of course, but why go through the trouble, and make others feel bad in the process, when you have a very simple alternative?<br />
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Lastly, I don't know how accurate this is: https://www.quora.com/Is-the-Dutch-word-%E2%80%9Cneger%E2%80%9D-a-racial-slur But, according to that person's answer, the word 'negers' never actually carried the same negative connotations in the Netherlands, to begin with.
Reply by makroni
4 years ago
@sopherian Even if you ignore all of that, you actually did admit that some people are hurt when the word is used, but you still defend using it; just because your rudeness is subtle, doesn't mean it's nonexistent. Say rude things, get rude responses; even children know this. So, no, you did forfeit your right to complain. If you want respect, you need to learn to respect others first. If you're gonna go Rambo and say stuff like 'so, basically I can say whatever I want' even if people get hurt, then the least I can say to you is 'Fuck you' too.
