Is 'the N word' offensive or just acceptable everyday slang?

[sp1814]

I would appear to be the latter in Australia:

http://www.dailymail....N-word-offensive.html

Would any Ab'er use the phrase in front of a black person they didn't know, and if so, in what context?

[naomi24]

Yes, odd indeed, but there's no accounting for folks!

[eyethenkyew]

When I was growing up (only in the 2nd half of the 20th century) my mother once bought me some socks whose colour was advertised in the shop as n*gger brown.

Reading mcmouse's comment reminded me also of an episode of Only Fools and Horses from the early 80s which I saw repeated (again) recently, and there is a line where Del Boy refers to a "black man's pinch": it, too, had been beeped out.

The "n" word is exclusively used between lots of black people, which appears to be quite acceptable, but woe betide any white "honky" who dares utter it to a black person. The "racial abuse" button would be pressed immediately and the "offender" would undoubtedly find themself on the wrong side of the law, a pariah to society, an outcast of the first water, branded as a hater of ethnic minorities.

I am white and I abhor that particular word, but I know of quite a few whites having used it quite liberally, usually in all white circles.

[sp1814]

EDDIE51

Let's forget PC for a moment because I suspect that even if PC didn't exist, we wouldn't see the N word, the C word or the P word used in general terms (say on the news, "President Barack Obama is the first semi n*****r to be elected..." etc.

So leaving aside PC, and leaving aside the dialogue that one may hear on a Tinchy Stryder album track - does anyone think it's acceptable everyday slang?

Is the judge in this case right?

[sherminator]

Its one of those words that i wish would just disapear altogether!

i hear white people say "well if they can call each other N****** then so can I!"
and they do have a point! if you want equality then that would be equality!

So can i just make a slightly racist statement and say I wish dumb black people would stop referring to themselves as N******rs and then other people woudnt as well

[sherminator]

Can I just say I hate the word and just want it to evaporate completely!!!!!

[Hazel104]

A lot of my black friends use it as well, and I have heard it used in interviews etc, it is defiantly more commonly used now.

Being white I would not use the word, and I must it admit it does grate on me a little.

Do you think it is the younger generation not being taught the history related to the usage of the word, so they do not appreciate it's meaning or as Jake says a conscious 'taking back’ of the word?

[naomi24]

Personally, simply because of its history, I think it’s a horrible word, and so I don’t think he’s right. Having said that how can it be deemed acceptable for one section of society to use it, but not another?

[stewey]

Eddie51, wasn't the shoe polish called 'Niger'? With one soft 'g'?

[naomi24]

I'm not sure about that stewey. Ni&&er brown used to be the standard name of a very rich shade of brown - hence the name of the dog in the Dam Busters that someone mentioned.

[mike11111]

I think it was Cicero who said, "Mutantur mores, et nos mutamur in illis". I can vividly recall, over 55 years ago, as a five year old seeing a black person for the first time. I excitedly pointed out to my mother, "Look mam, there's a real live ***". At this point she drew me into her side and said that I was never to use that word again, as it upset their feelings, instead I had to say "***" or "Darkie" which were acceptable terms. That was the mid- 50s.

[mike11111]

Should have realised that the censor would have picked up on the words used. Ni$$er and Ne$ro were the original words. This is not meant to be offensive, merely to show the mindset that existed in the 50s, when ne$ro was actually considered to be polte.

[sp1814]

sherminator

Valid sentiments, but honestly - it's only since the 70s that black (mostly urban Americans) have adopted the word. I'm sure that if overnight, every black person stopped using the word - it wouldn't mean that whites would too... because they invented it!

[sandyRoe]

What about Joseph Conrad's novella, The N-word of the Narcissus? Times have changed and so has usage of that particular word.

[yinyang]

The language of prejudice can contain unexpected pitfalls -

http://www.youtube.co...K7sAw&feature=related


( contains strong language,)

[mike11111]

Very enlightening and entertaining. Was half way through listening before I twigged that the two unmentionable words were anagrams, one of another.

[naomi24]

Sandy, I just typed the word into Amazon. That book's there, along with Agatha Christie's Ten Little Ni&&ers, and several others.

sp, but why should it be accepted for one section of society to say it but not another?