Do Black Parents Discourage Their Children from Using the "N-Word"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i bet O and Holder def drop the n word here or there when they're chillin together in the cut.

When O is playing ball away from the public eye, and only with AA's, you know he's dropping n-this and n-that.

yeah,, didn't that comedian call him the n word during a speech and O laughed it off?

I can't find that thread on white privilege. I think it's in the sequestered Politics Discussion for the rest of the election season.

But this kind of comment is manifest white privilege. You feel free to spout this ignorance and actually think it has some value, while other white people who know better will never feel like this kind of bumfuckery can be considered representative of them or their views.

[Anonymous]

As a black lady, I have friends who use it around other black people. I don't. I have used it in a literary sense before in a paper in college.

As far as the teens using it.... I'm sure their parents haven't condoned it, anymore than I would condone my kid using "shit" when I'm not around. Part of it is the fact that they are in a group with their friends and no adults around.

I know that I cuss like a sailor when I'm with friends in my living room or at the bar, whereas people at work think the raciest thing out of my mouth is "darn"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i bet O and Holder def drop the n word here or there when they're chillin together in the cut.

When O is playing ball away from the public eye, and only with AA's, you know he's dropping n-this and n-that.

yeah,, didn't that comedian call him the n word during a speech and O laughed it off?

I can't find that thread on white privilege. I think it's in the sequestered Politics Discussion for the rest of the election season.

But this kind of comment is manifest white privilege. You feel free to spout this ignorance and actually think it has some value, while other white people who know better will never feel like this kind of bumfuckery can be considered representative of them or their views.

I disagree. Doesn't have anything to do with white privilege or white people period. This thread and the ignorant comments and conclusions being suggested are about life - or rather the lack thereof. Because the idiotic antagonists eager to make these insinuations and throw out these absurdities are doing it for the sole purpose of riling others up for entertainment since they have no life. But it's all good. Let them spout their stupidity, let them make their microaggressions, let them try to instigate your anger but don't even bother trying to correct them because they aren't sincerely seeking clarification. They just want to play the game of back and forth with someone and you'll see it plain as day when no one bites and no one feeds into the foolishness - the barbs will become more brazen and the insults will become more obtuse.
At that point you can simply alert Jeff and bye-bye bullshit thread.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe any self respecting Black person would willingly participate in any discussion on race in this forum.

[Anonymous]

Its complicated. Some do, some don't, for various reasons. Its not even a class thing, as I know wealthy AAs who use the word (e.g. Michael Jordan and rappers). I also know AAs in from poor areas that hate the word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its complicated. Some do, some don't, for various reasons. Its not even a class thing, as I know wealthy AAs who use the word (e.g. Michael Jordan and rappers). I also know AAs in from poor areas that hate the word.

Just because Michael J and rappers are rich DOES NOT mean they have any class. Does kim k have class?

[Anonymous]

Has to do with upbringing If you neglect your kid and leave them to hang out and be raised by the ghetto then naturally they will grow up to talk, dress, and act like them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its complicated. Some do, some don't, for various reasons. Its not even a class thing, as I know wealthy AAs who use the word (e.g. Michael Jordan and rappers). I also know AAs in from poor areas that hate the word.

Just because Michael J and rappers are rich DOES NOT mean they have any class. Does kim k have class?

Class = income class. Not "classy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its complicated. Some do, some don't, for various reasons. Its not even a class thing, as I know wealthy AAs who use the word (e.g. Michael Jordan and rappers). I also know AAs in from poor areas that hate the word.

Just because Michael J and rappers are rich DOES NOT mean they have any class. Does kim k have class?

Class = income class. Not "classy."

Um same thing. Being rich does not make them less likely to act ghetto or commit crimes. Poor or rich doesn't matter. Just matters where and how they grew up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never understood why some white people are so eager to use this word and care so much about not being able to use it. I find the whole "I WANNA CALL PEOPLE NIGGAS TOO, IF NIGGAS CAN DO IT, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT" argument...well, interesting.

It baffles this white woman, too.

And I have never encountered a person who asked WHY CAN'T WHITE PEOPLE USE IT??!!!! who wasn't racist or bigoted. That's also interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was riding on the Metro last night towards Reston, when three black youths (late teens/early 20s) got on the train near Farragut West. Over the next 25-30 minutes, and in the presence of mostly white and Asian passengers, they spoke loudly, with about every 1/3 or 1/4th word out of their mouth being "niggas." As I listened to them speak it became clear it was used as a substitute for "we" or for "young workers in entry-level jobs" (like "they make the niggaz stay late to clean up at Shake Shack").

Do black parents discourage their children from using this term, or do they not care? And, if the latter, how can they take offense when youths of other races are then socialized to think it's an acceptable term?

This is not trolling, but a serious question that merits an honest discussion. As long as non-AA youths are routinely punished for using language that AA youths apparently can use in public places with no repercussions, some people will trend further right, convinced that the left is ready, willing, and able to enforce speech codes replete with double standards.

1. So is it the fault of these young people that others trend further right? Are they therefore responsible for the entire drift of political discourse in this country?

2. Are you advocating that non-black young (or older people) should be able to use this word? I mean, go for your life -- but you do understand there will be consequences to you if that happens, right? These young people are not the keepers of who can use the word. You cannot simultaneously believe that it is too offensive for them to use but you want white teens to be able to use it too.

3. Why were there no consequences? You were there, you are an adult. Speak up if you are offended. Who else do you expect to speak up? It takes a village.

4. Yes, of course Black parents enforce this. It is also not the responsibility of Black parents to educate you about what they do or do not do.

5. I don't think you are trolling, but please realize that your questions come across as very naive. As though "Black teens" are this completely other group of people, and you've never seen kids acting out on the metro before.

Here are my responses:

1. I think such behavior might lead people to trend further right, primarily for this reason: if people observe that members of one race are granted linguistic privileges that others are denied, they might embrace a political philosophy than encourages individual responsibility and denies notions of group rights.

2. I'm not sure what I think on this topic. I personally told my kids when I realized - when they were in their mid-teens and I realized others in their age group were Tweeting away "nigga this" and "nigga that" - not to use the word and not to assume that there would not be consequences for them, even thought they are mixed-race (but not black). But at a broader level, I do believe that, if AA youths can bandy about a term like "nigga" to refer to both other blacks and other non-blacks in a more general sense, there should not be any consequences for non-blacks who are socialized to think the word is acceptable and no longer uniquely is intended as a racial slur. I do find it deeply offensive that blacks can treat the word like a race-card option: use it all they want, but complain about racism once some other kid or young adult who may have been influenced by their black peers starts to use the term as well.

3. That would have been an interesting conversation, perhaps in a different forum.

4. It's not anyone's responsibility to respond to any thread on DCUM. People participate voluntarily if they want to share views or express opinions.

5. This isn't a thread about whether some people behave in a rambunctious manner on the Metro. These youths weren't trying to take over the train or harass anyone. However, as noted, they were quite loud and anyone within 15-20 feet could not have helped but notice how frequently they were using the n-word." As I said, at some level, I understand that using a slur like that is an attempt to "make the word our own," but they weren't using it to refer simply to black people. I have to assume they speak the same way in front of non-blacks in other settings as well, so blacks shouldn't be surprised when others start using it as well.

[Anonymous]

They problem is that kids are sponges. One day I heard my seven year old bopping down the stairs saying something that sounded like "nicka, nicka" . I realized what he was saying, and even though I could tell he had not the slightest clue what it meant and had heard it in a song somewhere, I went to town on him. He has a habit of wanting to "play around" with "cuss words" for a while to test boundaries, and I just couldn't let him get the "muscle memory" on this one.

It was really difficult trying to even explain why it was so bad to a small kid and to convey the idea of just how hateful it is. After a long discussion about racism, hatred, why some people still use it,etc, I just had to look him in the eye and say "you're white, you can never use it in any context, and you're going to be in massive trouble if I ever hear it coming out of your mouth again"

It's only a matter of time before he really comes in contact with it again as we're approaching the age where I can't really police what music he listens to, what other kids say, etc. Most of the black people I know think it's low-class and would rail on their kids if they heard it, but teens will do whatever to shock their parents and rebel. If I hear it coming out of a teen's mouth or an adult's mouth, I think less of you, like I think less of anyone of any race who constantly drops the f-bomb, mother-effer, etc. it's not empowering, it's classless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i bet O and Holder def drop the n word here or there when they're chillin together in the cut.

When O is playing ball away from the public eye, and only with AA's, you know he's dropping n-this and n-that.

yeah,, didn't that comedian call him the n word during a speech and O laughed it off?

I can't find that thread on white privilege. I think it's in the sequestered Politics Discussion for the rest of the election season.

But this kind of comment is manifest white privilege. You feel free to spout this ignorance and actually think it has some value, while other white people who know better will never feel like this kind of bumfuckery can be considered representative of them or their views.

Enough with the lame "white privilege" shaming - which has nothing to do with race, and is only an attempt to illicitly steal political influence.

[Anonymous]

I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my head around "trending right" in the context of being denied something.

If you think using an offensive term as a privilege, you've got personal issues that are way more troublesome than the impact on society and culture.

Enough with the lame "white privilege" shaming - which has nothing to do with race, and is only an attempt to illicitly steal political influence.

Serious question: what does this even mean? You're ashamed of the ability to ascribe negative characteristics to an entire group of people - even to its most successful members? How can this be illicitly stealing political influence when it's the primary appeal of the GOP's candidate?

And how can white privilege even be avoided in this discussion when the original post asks why black kids should be permitted to use a word that white kids can't?

[Anonymous]

Usually it's just one single mom