Jude 2

Just curious if anyone caught the View the other day when they were discussing Jesse Jackson and the N-word? What do you think of Whoopi Goldberg saying that black people "took back the word" and gave it new meaning and basically that it's ok for her to say it but not other races cause she said that they were not living "in the same world".

I think we ARE living in the same world, duh. And that if we are going to remove a word from our vocabulary because of it's historically negative association then it shouldn't be embraced by anyone, of any race.

Of course it's not a "good word". It has too much history of hurt and pain. But alot of people that use it today do in fact mean it as a term of endearment. ie. "whats up my n--ga"? I have used that term many times without the slightest bit of harm or hate toward anyone! Sure I know it doesn't sound pretty. And I wouldn't want my kids going around saying it. But when I have been with the fella's (black and white) we have used that term pretty loosely.

Just curious what some of your views are. Should it be used by no one? Everyone? Only Black folks?

And just as a side bar, I think that everyone of every race in this world are all made equally in the image and likeness of Almighty God. All of us of all races and peoples are brothers all of the same blood and same breed. None is inferior to another. All of us are One in the Lord.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with what Al Sharpton said on the matter. If black folks want everyone to stop using that word, they are going to have to stop using it themselves.

So is Sharpton condemning Jessee?

the word is different , even when said it sounds different. I have been around every race saying it and no harm.
However it shows a lack of education and respect in my opinion and it shouldnt be used....

Al Sharpton is correct.......even though he took the line from the one great Coz!!!!!!!

Bill Cozby has been saying that for decades. He is one voice that the black race would like to shut up and they can't.

Whoppi should be ashamed of herself. But then what would one expect from her?

Anyway........if you don't want it used, don't say it and it will fall into oblivion!

Whoopi's rant disgusted me. It ALMOST made me miss Rosie. Not really.

Whoopi's argument is full of fallacy. Just because African Americans tried to "take back the word" and redeem it, they are yet unsuccessful. Especially when they say, "I can say it, but you can't." They prove the word still means what it means. I cringe at the word and other racial slurs. I live in the 'enlightened' west coast and latent racism is still all around. As is "reverse racism" (which is a misnomer).

As part of a city-wide prayer altar Friday night, our group was led to pray concerning potential race conflicts in our city/nation. I just sensed a storm brewing, if you will. Perhaps it would be good for us all to watch and pray concerning this.

Honestly, I hear the word from the black community FAR more than the white community; FAR MORE!

[quote="Brian"]

Of course it's not a "good word". It has too much history of hurt and pain. But alot of people that use it today do in fact mean it as a term of endearment. ie. "whats up my n--ga"? I have used that term many times without the slightest bit of harm or hate toward anyone! Sure I know it doesn't sound pretty. And I wouldn't want my kids going around saying it. But when I have been with the fella's (black and white) we have used that term pretty loosely.

Vocationally, I have had the opportunity to talk to people who use this word on a normal basis. People will say the word is used with the "ar" ending as a form of endearment. It is so. However, the word is used freguently in the black community , and the white with the 'er' ending. In my experience it is used more frfequently among the black.

It is applied (the "er") when discussng a certain type of white or black individual. Someone who is not hip, for instance. A snitch especially. Also, an outsider not accepted by/in the "crib'. The "ar' version is just the opposite, and is used to describe both black and white people.

In my opinion this is a word which is going to be used more frequently.

Ray

All I know is this: I hate it. Some years ago after I became a Christian, it just dawned on me that the word refers to chattel, objects, things -- not people. Early English use of the word referred to slaves, who were viewed as property and not as people. Still, it has a dehumanizing connotation. If I view someone as less than human, that is inconsistent with the command to love my neighbor. That's how I came to just cross that word out of my vocabulary. Over time, I've grown to hate it. Anytime I hear a white person use it now, it is invariably used as an insult. "That stupid n...", or "well, that's just a n... for you," or as I heard one lately, "I don't care what you say, I ain't votin' for a n... for president." And so on. There's just not a nice way to say it.

Now, Whoopi and Jesse and others who want to "reclaim" it can say so all they want. But, they need to understand this, that everytime they publicly excuse the use of that word under a theory of "reclaiming" it, they recklessly prop up white people's use of the word and keep it alive. It is a political and cultural weapon in the hands of those who want to "reclaim" it, and they are self-inflicting their own wounds. There is no reclamation of something that never, ever had any value to it from the get-go. It started out as garbage, and if you reclaim it, you're reclaiming something that'll be garbage for all of its days no matter what you say you're doing with it.

Okay, let's unwrap some things here.

First, the word was never intended as a racial slur. It is a word that is derived from the root word "Negro". It became the "ebonic" of that word because when Negros first came to America, they did not speak english....nor did the illiterats of the south and east. Education was not a major accomplishment for many people.

Even my own family were ill educated. They didn't use the word as a racial slur. I grew up hearing that word from eveyone........even the blacks.....as nothing more that a slang form of "negro". I lived among blacks people a great deal as a child. When I was on the road in evangelism. My family were friends with many blacks. No one thought anything of the word. It came to be an issue just like other words have become an issue. Improper usage.....and yes I did grow up in the south.

Every area of the country has their own predjudices. In the Dakotas, they are highly predjudiced against the Indians.....who are treated with far less respect than the blacks are in the south.

As Cosby says......the word applies appropriately to those who are determined to continue to act in a manner which places them in that catagory.

We need to give all this PC stuff a rest. I don't use the "n" word , but neither do I give it any major credibility as long as they use the word with , about , and on each other. Even their usage of the word compares to their useage of the word "ho" , "cracker" and other forms of stupidity.
As long as I am called "whitey" someone may get called .......

Racism will never be "cured" .Too many people like Jesse and Whoopi, make their living keeping it alive.

Full Quiver wrote:So is Sharpton condemning Jessee?

Here's the story:

http://wcbstv.com/local/sharpton.jackso ... 73359.html

It seems to me that the word would have originated as a term to define the origination of a people that were from Niger or Nigeria. It would be like calling people from Germany Germans and they getting bent out of shape about it.

Granted not all slaves came from the two nations mentioned but it appears to be a slang term used to describe the country of origin of many slaves. I'm not saying that it isn't a derogatory term but kinda like saying someone is a Pollock. Of course those with chips on their shoulders make it worse than it is.

With all that said I would like to say I don't use the word and am sorry for the times that I did in my life. No matter the origin or meaning it is generally used in an offensive way in this day and time and I know that my usage of the word as a teen and young man was not in an edifying way.

The distinction, guys, is that Germans weren't imported en masse to North America as slaves, and the old folks who used it in a non-perjorative sense simply inherited it as a circumstance of slavery. I don't argue that every use of the word by whites is inherently evil. I do maintain that the word, in whatever manner it evolved, was inextricably linked to slavery, which entails viewing people whom God loved as something no more valuable than a farm implement. It took on much worse meaning over time, and has also taken on very much in the way of no particular meaning among blacks. Just the same, the use of that word by blacks keeps alive white defensiveness or a sense among whites of a certain inequity in the apparent double standard about its use. That leads to an amount of lovelessness that, IMO, is anti-Christian (at worst).