I work at Outback Steakhouse as a server and although we do have a somewhat diverse serving staff, we still run into racial issues. That being said, I was at work this weekend when I walked into the kitchen where one of my white coworkers (we will call him W) was talking to one of my black coworkers (we will call her L) about the N word. I'm not entirely sure the background to this conversation but from my limited understanding, W said something using this word and L asked him why he felt it necessary to use that word.
Now at this point, I'm drawn into the conversation because I walked into the kitchen. L had asked W when is the appropriate time to use the N word. Is it only behind people's backs? Is it only when they say or do something, or act a certain way? When is this word appropriate?
So as W is stumbling over some words, L turns to me and with a glance, directs the question my way. I simply said that I don't believe this word is appropriate to use not matter who you are (race and gender included), where you are, or what your circumstances.
L proceeded to explain to me that the reason this word is accepted among black people is simply because the original word is turned to slang and instead of the -er or -o ending there is an -a ending (which enlightened me because I was unaware this was the case).
As I thought about this the rest of the weekend, it occurred to me that if people (celebrities, musicians, and comedians included) would cease using this word (slang or otherwise), it could only help racial relations.
Let me explain. Because of the connotation and evolution of the N word, it is only "politically correct" for black people to use this term. In my opinion this is absurd! If a word can only be used by a specific group of people or by certain races (as society defines them) it can only be detrimental to racial relations. Think about it. If a white, yellow, green, or blue person uses this word, everyone gasps because it is a derogatory term. But if a black person uses it, it's acceptable because they are of the race the word was created for. Just because a black person uses this term does not mean the historical connotation does not exist; therefore it should not be used period.
I know this is extreme, but to vastly improve racial relations in this country I believe it will take an extreme social movement. This could be a humble beginning.
In case you are not as familiar as you'd like with this term here is a link giving the history.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2420/Nigger_the_word_a_brief_history
Well, I am pretty familiar with the term? Do you know where it came from, and it came to be utilized? There are two factions with opinions about this word. There are two popular books written with your questions in mind; Randall Kennedy and Jabari Asim, not to mention Dick Gregory.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your post. I have always found it mind-boggling to hear African Americans saying the 'N' word so freely. Granted, not all do, but I do hear it a lot. But like you said, if any other person on the planet had said it, the world would stop and they would immediately be chastised for being a biggot, or racist.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of friends who are REALLY Southern and very racist. One night I was over at their apartment and one of them wanted to go get taco bell or something. So he got in his truck getting ready to leave, when all of a sudden a car backed right into his truck as he was sitting in it. He got out, saw it was a car full of African American guys and immediately started yelling at them, calling them the 'N' word. This was no good. Every single one of those guys looked like they could have killed him at that moment. My boyfriend actually stepped in and pushed him aside, apologized, and took the guy inside. I seriously thought a fight was going to break out.
I guess it goes to show how easily some people just throw the word around. Even if they are not African American. I still believe that it shouldn't be used at all, no matter what race a person is. It is still a derogatory term, nonetheless.
I admire you for taking the initiative to write this post I know it is a very sensitive issue and has very strong supporters on both sides, right and wrong. It has always been very interesting to me, a white female, how it is acceptable for blacks to use it but the moment a white person uses it, even the slang version tensions mount immediately because then it is completely inappropriate even within the same conversation and used jokingly. At little background on me, in high school the majority of my friends were black, just nature of the school I attended whites were the minority. I also happened to be much closer with guys than girls. I was always been considered one of the guys. But my inclusion in that group was limited because, despite my friendship, I was still never comfortable with some of the situations. Despite them being my best friends I still could not talk the way they did, although I don’t know if it was simply out of my own discomfort or theirs because I never used the words, even jokingly, the way they would. I just feel that if it is something that is really that important and degrading, then it should not be used by anyone regardless, because personally the only people I hear using it are the ones who supposedly are opposed to its use. I appreciate and admire you for taking a stance and acknowledging the benefits which would come from the word being removed from use entirely.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this post, I found myself agreeing with almost everything you said. I am a white girl but I have gone to racially diverse schools all of my life and had quite a few black friends. I have even asked many of them the same questions and have gotten very similar responses.
ReplyDeleteI do think America, as a country, is moving towards being a more acceptable people. I can only pray that it continues to get better. But to be completely realistic, there will always be racial problems that face our country. In order to move past the racial problems we need to address them.
As I mentioned earlier, I have gone to diverse schools since I was very young. I remember hearing the "N" word for the first time in middle school. All of the black kids used it with each other. To me this could be part of the problem. Kids at that age are very likely to pick up on names and be easily swayed. How do we expect people not to call each other names if it is clearly acceptable that they use them on each other?
I guess I have strong opinions on that subject because I would love to contribute to the fight against racism but have issues with things such as this. If there is still a lot of racism happening in America, getting rid of this harsh word could be extremely beneficial to the fight.
Hi Lizzy. I just wanted to comment on the situation you encountered with the N word. I just wanted to give you a different perspective because I am African American and this may not be something that you may not have heard. I personally do not think that not using the N word would actually solve any race relations. I do know that some people who use the word do not fully know the history behind the word and should educate themselves and maybe they wouldn't use it. Reality is most African American's will get offended if someone outside of their race calls them the N word. This is because most African Americans believe they have some kind of ownership over it uses in other forms, such as the 'a' ending. Another opinion of mine is that African American use the N word out of habit. Many people don't even care to change and most people won't. The bottom line is we live in America and everyone has freedom of speech, so anyone can say what they want, you just don't have control over how people will respond.
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