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?

[mike11111]

Robertsons gollyw.o.g. badges

Ena, I had six of those on my school blazer when I was five.Dead chuffed I was, wouldn't have called the King my uncle.

[ttfn]

How times have changed Mike , and not always for the best imo

[missnemesis]

Who decides whether a word is offensive or not? When I was younger there were plenty words used that are now frowned upon as being non PC but who decides which words/names etc it is ok to use and which ones are not?

[jno]

if they offend people they're offensive. As someone's already suggested, try calling a black person a n*gger, a Jew a y*d or a gay a qu*er and you'll soon find if they're offended.

[birdie1971]

The increasingly common use of the 'n' word within black 'circles' (so to speak) also raises the issue of permitted usage. For example, how black does one have to be?

What happens when a person is third or fourth generation mixed race who cannot be accurately described as either black or white - can they use the word with impunity? Just what do the specific levels of melanin in your skin have to be above in order for a person to have permission to use the word without causing offence?

[jno]

like I said, birdie, try it and see.

[birdie1971]

I know. That's precisely what I'm saying.

It seems ludicrous to me that we appear to be condoning a two-tier system of communication whereby it's deemed okay for one section of society to use particular words but it's wrong and offensive for another section of society to use those exact same words.

It makes no sense and I believe it's counter productive as it plays straight into the hands of bigots who leap on the opportunity to say (not unreasonably), “Well, if they're using it, I'll use it.”.

As I said earlier – if a word is deemed to be offensive then it is offensive no matter who says it.

[missnemesis]

I get what you're saying birdie but what if 'I' don't find it offensive? Conversely just because 'I' do find a particular word offensive what right have I got to expect others not to use it?

[trt]

lets bring back the Golliwog Dolls, my 2 sisters used to love them. What was the name of the jars of jam with the Golliwog label that were banned?

[missnemesis]

Robinsons I think trt.

[ttfn]

Robertsons

[missnemesis]

I bow to your superior knowledge there ttfn. I'm far too young to remember them anyway ;-)

[ttfn]

Cheers missn you just made an old lady - older
But I am only superior if you let me ;)

[mike11111]

As a devotee of the late great Dame Agatha I should point out that the novel in question is now entitled, "And then there were none."

[ttfn]

As a devotee of grammar that should read 'And then there was none' ;)

[birdie1971]

Missnemesis -

As far as I understand it, it's done by general consensus brought about through the media and social interaction. Words become 'unacceptable' for various different cultural and social reasons. The mechanisms by which this happens are highly complex and I don't claim to understand them. Sometimes however, it comes from the courts who deem a word to be inherently racists or offensive.

For example, there was a court case a few years ago that ruled that the word, “***” is in itself a racist word. It's not a ruling I agree with as I think it's simply a foreshortening of the word Pakistani. However, I very rarely hear that word any more and I certainly don't use it in case I cause offence.

[birdie1971]

^^^ Wow! That just goes to prove how offensive that word is perceived to be. I even spelt it by replacing the letter 'a' with the '@' symbol and it was still filtered out.

[lindapinda]

Although I am "caucasian" as per race identification...With dark hair,eyes and summer tanned skin,in the 70s i was yelled at "you're only an ole ***"....I felt the abuse then and it was quite shocking:-(...I was just a colour...or race...not a person. That gave me a very small insight on what its like to be non white...and it was horrible:-(...To be clear then...the P word is not only offensive...it FEELS offensive.

[sherminator]

SP sorry its taken a while to get back. you say that White people would still use it....if they did and black people didnt say it as well then they would have no comeback and would clearly be in the wrong.
lets just get rid if these words by not using them in any kind of context at all!

also birdie your point about who can use the n word....There is a jeniffer lopez song called play and she used the N word....a lot of people were like "is she 'allowed' to say that word?"