The "N" Word

cincybearcat

PJ_Soul said:

tempo_n_groove said:

This thread made it a day and didn't get locked.  I am impressed!

There is a To Kill a Mockingbird play on Broadway here in NYC that I have been dying to see and was wondering if they removed the N word from the screen play?  Haven't  heard anything about it.

I would be shocked and dismayed if it was taken out. That, to me, is the one obvious exception when it comes to the use of the word (by non-black people): in art (movies, books, etc) about racism. I mean, it would be pretty fucking hard to make a movie about American slavery or about white supremacists, or about Jim Crow topics, without the word being in the script and said by white actors.

Good point.  When actually being historically correct and discussing events, etc.  Makes sense.  Probably can't do 12 years a Slave without it

cutz

tempo_n_groove said:

cutz said:

Cuomo shouldn't have used it.

Worked with a few young  black   guys over 20 years ago. I had 2 black guys around my age including my Boss. Well, one day the young guys were calling each other the "N"-word when the 2 older guys said to them to STOP calling each other the "N"-word. Their reason was if you do not respect each other how can other people?

Then you have the ICE-T song "Straight up Nga" that says those older guys wouldn't understand.

To be more accurate. The young guys were around 18-24 and one of the "older' guys was in his upper 20's(not much older) and one was in his early 30's.  Really not that much of a difference in age at that time.

I agreed with them at the time and i still do. The N-word should never be used in that context.

PJ_Soul

cutz said:

tempo_n_groove said:

cutz said:

Cuomo shouldn't have used it.

Worked with a few young  black   guys over 20 years ago. I had 2 black guys around my age including my Boss. Well, one day the young guys were calling each other the "N"-word when the 2 older guys said to them to STOP calling each other the "N"-word. Their reason was if you do not respect each other how can other people?

Then you have the ICE-T song "Straight up Nga" that says those older guys wouldn't understand.

To be more accurate. The young guys were around 18-24 and one of the "older' guys was in his upper 20's(not much older) and one was in his early 30's.  Really not that much of a difference in age at that time.

I agreed with them at the time and i still do. The N-word should never be used in that context.

I agree too. I respect black people's right to do what they will with the word of course... But if they asked my opinion about it, I would say that they are doing themselves a disservice by ever using the word. Like someone else said, they should let that word disappear from the language (or at least leave it to just be the worst racist slur possible, making it solely an identifier of racists).

tempo_n_groove

PJ_Soul said:

cutz said:

tempo_n_groove said:

cutz said:

Cuomo shouldn't have used it.

Worked with a few young  black   guys over 20 years ago. I had 2 black guys around my age including my Boss. Well, one day the young guys were calling each other the "N"-word when the 2 older guys said to them to STOP calling each other the "N"-word. Their reason was if you do not respect each other how can other people?

Then you have the ICE-T song "Straight up Nga" that says those older guys wouldn't understand.

To be more accurate. The young guys were around 18-24 and one of the "older' guys was in his upper 20's(not much older) and one was in his early 30's.  Really not that much of a difference in age at that time.

I agreed with them at the time and i still do. The N-word should never be used in that context.

I agree too. I respect black people's right to do what they will with the word of course... But if they asked my opinion about it, I would say that they are doing themselves a disservice by ever using the word. Like someone else said, they should let that word disappear from the language (or at least leave it to just be the worst racist slur possible, making it solely an identifier of racists).

I know the last thing they are going to do is ask us for their opinion, lol.

brianlux

Being white, I suppose it could be argued that I have no right or position to say this (but I will)- I have issues with the on-going rapper use of the "ah" ending "n" word.   Back when it came out, Dick Gregory's autobiography Nigger was, as the man himself, a very powerful statement.  Gregory's work was huge in bringing about a sense of pride in the black community.  I saw him speak on campus in 1969.  I stood in a large hall, heated by the bodies of a large and very predominantly black crowd.  The room was filled with a tangible pride mixed with anger mixed with hope.  I don't recall Gregory using the "n" word in that talk.  I think the use of it on his book was meant to reach a wider audience and create awareness. Seeing him speak was one of the most impressive experiences of my then young life.  I may be wrong about this (but it's how I see it), but I don't see the rapper use of the "n" word being nearly as effective or powerful or creating change in society.

This, (and Gregory's other works) is a great book for anyone interested in reading about the early years of growing black awareness and black pride.  Highly recommended:

Horos

As far as the OP I don't understand the outrage over a quote.

Blazing Saddles?

Where do you draw the line on 'art'?

Jason P

This is kinda funny, entertaining, and relevant to the nookie discussion.  Snoop Dogg playing at Kansas to perhaps the whitest crowd of college students in the northern hemisphere.  I can just imagine Chancellor James Dinglemore III shaking Mr. Doggs hand and wishing him good luck with the hip and the hop before he went live and then you see the 80's comedy movie horror on his face when nookie bombs start getting dropped about 1.7 seconds into the performance 

https://youtu.be/7iIwZkJ6AWc

tempo_n_groove

Jason P said:

This is kinda funny, entertaining, and relevant to the nookie discussion.  Snoop Dogg playing at Kansas to perhaps the whitest crowd of college students in the northern hemisphere.  I can just imagine Chancellor James Dinglemore III shaking Mr. Doggs hand and wishing him good luck with the hip and the hop before he went live and then you see the 80's comedy movie horror on his face when nookie bombs start getting dropped about 1.7 seconds into the performance 

https://youtu.be/7iIwZkJ6AWc

Only ever heard of nookie referring to sex and never as the N word?

lastexitlondon

Yes the  carry on films use nookie as sex

Halifax2TheMax

Well, here’s an example of two perspectives having an impact. Use versus re-stating.

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w

josevolution

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w
Fired for telling student to stop calling him the Nword ..

tempo_n_groove

Halifax2TheMax said:

Well, here’s an example of two perspectives having an impact. Use versus re-stating.

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w

josevolution said:

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w
Fired for telling student to stop calling him the Nword ..

So this is a two edged sword.  Zero tolerance means just that, zero tolerance.  I can see why he was fired, I get that.  Was it the right call?  Most likely not.

2nd thing I want to know is what kind of school is this where everyone is flaunting the word?

I've been friends with a lot of people and the word just didn't get thrown around.

Friends that are teachers say the word is thrown around constantly.  I thought it was just the area.  We definitely live in a different time...

josevolution

tempo_n_groove said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

Well, here’s an example of two perspectives having an impact. Use versus re-stating.

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w

josevolution said:

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w
Fired for telling student to stop calling him the Nword ..

So this is a two edged sword.  Zero tolerance means just that, zero tolerance.  I can see why he was fired, I get that.  Was it the right call?  Most likely not.

2nd thing I want to know is what kind of school is this where everyone is flaunting the word?

I've been friends with a lot of people and the word just didn't get thrown around.

Friends that are teachers say the word is thrown around constantly.  I thought it was just the area.  We definitely live in a different time...

Agreed , the guard should of just took his cell out and recorded the confrontation without saying a word ..

tempo_n_groove

josevolution said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Halifax2TheMax said:

Well, here’s an example of two perspectives having an impact. Use versus re-stating.

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w

josevolution said:

https://apple.news/AtS9ZRh1eRLu2W1T0-5nk3w
Fired for telling student to stop calling him the Nword ..

So this is a two edged sword.  Zero tolerance means just that, zero tolerance.  I can see why he was fired, I get that.  Was it the right call?  Most likely not.

2nd thing I want to know is what kind of school is this where everyone is flaunting the word?

I've been friends with a lot of people and the word just didn't get thrown around.

Friends that are teachers say the word is thrown around constantly.  I thought it was just the area.  We definitely live in a different time...

Agreed , the guard should of just took his cell out and recorded the confrontation without saying a word ..

That's a tough position to be in.  To stand there and do nothing is tough to do...

cincybearcat

Zero tolerance just means zero thinking. It is lazy. Any incident of any kind should be investigated and taken on merit. But when you have a public always crying out to fire everyone that makes a mistake, it’s a way for the school (or business or whatever it happens to be that day) to protect themselves from people without the information going off on twitter.

HughFreakingDillon

cincybearcat said:

Zero tolerance just means zero thinking. It is lazy. Any incident of any kind should be investigated and taken on merit. But when you have a public always crying out to fire everyone that makes a mistake, it’s a way for the school (or business or whatever it happens to be that day) to protect themselves from people without the information going off on twitter.

agreed. I think zero tolerance should mean every incident is investigated, not immediately assign guilt. 

tempo_n_groove

cincybearcat said:

Zero tolerance just means zero thinking. It is lazy. Any incident of any kind should be investigated and taken on merit. But when you have a public always crying out to fire everyone that makes a mistake, it’s a way for the school (or business or whatever it happens to be that day) to protect themselves from people without the information going off on twitter.

10 years ago Arizona schools put  forth a "zero tolerance" program for fighting.  If you got punched in the face and did not put up a fist you still got suspended. 

I thought this was a dumb rule and now I get how it was lazy rule.

TY.

brianlux

Whenever this thread comes up, I often think of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn27lIzAHV4

tempo_n_groove

brianlux said:

Whenever this thread comes up, I often think of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn27lIzAHV4

I prefer Cracker myself.

brianlux

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

Whenever this thread comes up, I often think of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn27lIzAHV4

I prefer Cracker myself.

LOL

It's actually a rather sad term:

A 1783 pejorative use of "crackers" specifies men who "are descended from convicts that were transported from Great Britain to Virginia at different times, and inherit so much profligacy from their ancestors, that they are the most abandoned set of men on earth"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(term)