Business…here’s a piece on LaDainian Tomlinson, the passer.
So I’ve seen that a lot of people are using Michael Richards’ kirk-out on stage as a time to relaunch discussion on black people using that n-word. I only write “n-word” because I don’t want to deal with semantic arguments over the different connotations of the word based on differences in pronunciation that wouldn’t be indistinguishable if someone were speaking with a retainer in his or her mouth. But you know exactly what I’m talking about.
As many of you know, I say that n-word a lot. I’m unapologetic about it, and I’ve blogged about it quite a bit. I must admit, though, that I’ve spent a lot of time lately with a non-curser, and it has kinda made me rethink some of my language.
Oh yeah, I cuss a lot, too. To the point where when my mother e-mails my blog posts to her friends, she offers a caveat about the foul language that’s going to be in the post. Note–it’s no fun when you embarrass your mother, no matter the level of the embarrassment.
I find that I use that n-word a lot because it fills certain sentences perfectly. When I use it, it’s because I think it’s the perfect word to convey what I’m thinking and feeling at a given point in time. More accurately, it registers the effect from the listener I’m looking for.
And that’s the part that makes me think. No matter what anyone says, there is no positive connotation to the word. None. At best, someone using it intends it to be viewed innocuously, but there’s no way at all to make it a nice thing to say. Anyone that says that is lying, simple as that.
So is it time for me to chill out on that? It’s entirely possible. i don’t mean anything by it, but I do have to acknowledge that it offends a lot of people. And I do believe that people have the right to be called what they want and not called what they don’t want. That’s also pretty simple.
So how do I continually rationalize saying the word a few dozen times a day? Right now, I’m really not sure.
I’m sure of one thing, though–hearing Michael Richards say it didn’t make me rethink a thing. There’s nothing similar to what he was saying and what I’d say when using that n-word. The problem with him wasn’t the slur. It was the intent behind it, which involved a strange and, perhaps, Freudian references to sticking forks in anuses. That was just too much, and it’s mostly unrelated to what I’m thinking about.
I’m thinking about whether the benefits of driving home a sentence are enough to offset how inherently problematic the word really is. Perhaps the people using it aren’t really causing a problem, nor do they intend to, but we can’t do nothin’ but trace this to something not cool.
Anyway, that’s a consideration. But get ready for the sad part…
Perhaps the toughest way that would hurt me would be the effort expended finding a replacement in the vocabulary. I can’t think of a word that would fill the same role.
That there is a problem. Maybe my decision’s been made for me.
We’ll see how it goes.
No promises yet. Just thinking out loud.
29 thoughts on “The N-word…again”
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http://www.abolishthenword.com
I show that site to my students every time I catch them slippin’. Then I ask them to sign the contract. Most do.
I know you see this coming, so on the surprise scale, it should rank about a 4.
*ahem*
N*gga please.
Good piece on LT. He can do everything – run, catch, block and throw. A 4-tool running back, if you will.
Anyways, I was watching the Broncos/Chiefs game on Thursday night and I was blessed to hear Chris Collinsworth drop some knowledge on the viewers. Surprisingly, it might not be so undisputed at this point who the best “runner” of the running backs is if Larry Johnson had another season’s worth of starts. He’s only started 23 games, and is currently 2nd only to LT with a TD every 1.18 games. LT is at a TD every 1.12 games. Collinsworth was just making the point that if Larry Johnson had as many starts as LT, they’d be pretty neck-and-neck as far as stats in terms of carrying the ball. I agree that LT is the best in the game right now as a complete football player.
Just thought it was an interesting way to look at those two guys.
Kind of like using “fuck” for emphasis, but scarier when people become desensitized to it.
Needing a replacement word?
Go the route of Snoop and start calling people “nephew”… nah, actually that gets on my nerves…
Or do like W.C. and start saying “Niyah!”… ehh, that’s kind of wack too…
Did 3rd Bass and MC Serch used to say “nucka”?
Or remember when Masta Ace came out with “Jeep Ass N-Word”? N-word was played backwards in the song and it said “I’m a Jeep ass Huggin!”
anyway, it’s a start…
What about Snoop’s “Nizzle?”
Ben, what’s that s’posed to mean?
When i say n***a, it is because i MEAN it.
I am calling a person one. and it ain’t a nice thing.
I never do it in “mixed” company and It is usually something done in private.
Why folk feel the need to punctuate with the word..I aint really sure.
At least youre honest about the n-word.
when i saw that paul mooney was gonna stop using it , i almost hit the floor.
ive seen him, its his entire bit.
I just want to know at least why people censor themselves when it comes to that word. Calling it “the N-word” or writing “n***a” is exactly the same as saying or writing nigger or nigga. The word is conveyed either way.
And it’s the word’s connotation that’s considered offensive; it’s not the word itself, which is patently harmless just like every other word ever spoken.
So if you’re going to say it, say it. Don’t dance around it. The same goes for any other so-called “unsavory” word you may be trying to use. If you mean “fuck,” say fuck.
Just a white guy’s two cents.
i agree with ben, if you’re gonna say it then just say it.
i despise racism. all my friends and family know that, and when i meet someone that says something racist in a certain way, in a way that i can really tell that there’s an issue underlying, i do my best to stay away from them. having said that, and being in college, i have friends from all parts of the country whose friends occassionally come down to kick it. one of my boys has his friends from the Chi and they all claim they aren’t racist, atleast that’s what they tell my boy, but I’ve heard them watch basketball and call players “monkeys.”
It’s not the “N-Word” but to me it’s just as offensive, if not more. My point is that I don’t think that black people stopping to use the word is gonna stop people from using it in general. I’ve been around plenty of white people, and I’ve never heard one that’s never used it. That is truly sad.
and in addition to using the word monkey, they all drop the word nigger casually. and these are college educated, white kids from the mid-west. i always ask them if they’d say that if black people were around, and all of them say no. and i say well, then don’t say it around me. they don’t seem to care because there aren’t any black people, just the guy trying to stick up for them.
sorry for the multiple posts.
Please don’t agree with me.
I recorded a piece for my new video blogging.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qukg6iV94QM
Ben’s prob says nigger all the time when he’s with his white friends all the time. So he prob doesn’t want me to agree with him because he doesn’t like the fact that white people say nigger all the time when a black person isn’t around.
I’ve said all of this before, but I haven’t used the word (aside from reading it or joking about racists) in well over a decade.
I undersand its history; I understand the fluidity of language, but I will never use it to refer to people I love; I don’t even think it’s appropriate to use for people I hate. If people want to use it to refer to degenerate black folks, why not find some word without the historical baggage–one that has nothing to do with their blackness?
I am not a “nigger”-Nazi, though. I don’t look down on black people who use the word, unless it’s in public or around kids and elders (at least the ones who care about such things). I even find it funny in the right context. Still, no one can convince me that it’s not problematic, regardless of the racial background of the speaker.
Having said that, all these “ban the ‘n word'” stories are ridiculous. You can’t ban words, even unsavory ones. Any attempt to do so will only make its use more appealing and thus more pervasive.
Shot Clock seems to be getting off on typing the word.
I feel like Dave Chappelle when he left his show.
Mooney flippin is a shock. He put it down when he said, “Everyone wants to be a nigga but nobody wants to be a nigga.”
His whole career can be wrapped around the word. If he is having problems with using it, then we all should take notice.
This is all about the kids right?
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/061129_prince/
Oh, check this out.
It’s because you have a tendency to say really dumb shit like that, SC, that I don’t want you to agree with me.
Ben, you’ve just made Kirk’s day!
I don’t know that I’d go quite that far Rex. It is nice to see someone state the obvious, though.
Ben, you know I’m right. You and your white friends say nigger all the time. Just admit it. You may not, but you sure as hell know many more white people that use nigger or make racist black jokes more than the number of white people you know that don’t. That’s the truth.
You and your friends are the ones that laugh a little too hard on the Chapelle skits.
And Kirk, you say dumb shit all the time. Like when you said the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs last year. So just shut your ole’ ass up.
Who cares if Michael Richards uses the “n-word”? I’d like to catch ol’ Bushie saying it, ’cause I KNOW he says it.
I can see it now: Bush and Cheney sitting down to dinner at a fundraiser, when suddenly, Bush realizes he doesn’t have a fork. He leans over to Dick, unaware that there’s an open mic concealed in a nearby floral centerpiece, and says, “Hey, Dick. I don’t have a fork. How am I gonna eat without a dang fork? You’d figure these niggers could get this sh*t right by now. They’ve been fetchin’ and carryin’ for two-hundred years!” *the two men snort with laughter*.
“MR. PRESIDENT! AW, SH*T! SOMEBODY GET THAT MIC!” Secret Service agents all running towards the President’s table shouting.
“What? My mic was on? Aww, HELL! Why didn’t they tell me they’d be listening in? Can’t the damned President have any @#$%! privacy around here???”
LOL
SNL came up with a interesting solution this past Saturday: Parodying Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (Darrell Hammond and Kenan Thompson) on “Weekend Update”, the two declared that “Kramer” would be the new ‘n-word’.
Not only would it denigrate Michael Richards’ famous TV character, but as ‘Rev. Jackson’ pointed out, rappers wouldn’t get thrown off using the word as a replacement; after all, it has the same number of syllables.
“Kramer, please!”
I agree with you 100%. Tubby’s style of ball is outdated, plus he continues to hold on to people who shouldn’t be on the basketball staff. He has Hobbs, who was fired from Alabama, and just hired Finney who was fired from Tuland(I think) . He tries to take players who can’t play and make stars out of them. He is anice person and i would welcome him as my neighbor, but his style of basketball is crap. He needs to resign or change.
People that use the “n-word” are just plain stupid. Especially those who have no thought or sense of purpose in life other that to just be on this earth….. When will the true Black America wake up and reallize that we not only destroy our own image, but currupt that of our offspring by utilization of the word amoungst ourselves…..Fed up with stupid; nobody azz black people…..