It has come to my attention that I've been too lenient in the past and continue to be so.
Some of you may know my stance on this from personal conversations or just listening to me. Or you may have seen my bulletin I posted a long time ago. And by a long time ago, I mean a long time ago.
This blog is about some issues I've been having with my race and I mean the human race.. And about it's terms that are used about my ethnic background.
I am an African American. Meaning my ancestors were originally from Africa, the Mother land, and were enslaved, and dragged to America, where from a series of intercourse, hidden and public relationships with other ethnicities, we have now come to be known as African American or simply, black.
The people I come from had to deal with slavery, then racism and segragation for many years of their lives. Racism has slowly started to die down, but it will never go away because racism is an enemy without a face. An enemy without a body for you to beat on, or to lock up. Racism is immortal. It is invincible, uncorruptable. Like justice. Racism is a crutch, a shield. Something for people to hide behind. When they are unable to make their stance known on it. So, they hide behind their white sheets, or even in public, they hide their views for the privacy of their homes and in small confrontations.
If I had one of my literature books here, I'd quote it.. But I don't unfortunately.
There is one word on this planet that I loathe more than anything.
That word, is nigger. Here is the definition from dictionary.com:
nig·ger /ˈnɪgər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nig-er] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
—Usage note Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. Definitions 1a, 1b, and 2 represent meanings that are deeply disparaging and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. Definition 1a, however, is sometimes used among African-Americans in a neutral or familiar way. Definition 3 is not normally considered disparaging—as in “The Irish are the niggers of Europe” from Roddy Doyle's The Commitments—but the other uses are considered contemptuous and hostile.
–noun
1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a. a black person.
b. a member of any dark-skinned people.
2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
3. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks; a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised.
This is the part that really speaks to me: The term nigger is now probably the most offensive word in English. And it is. It goes for many other people of my ethnicity.. And it goes for me.
I despise the word, nigger, nigga, nukkah, negro, and any other stupid variation that has been made with it.
I know my words are probably not read much. But, I don't care. I'm going to post this wherever I can speak. Because my stance on it will be known.
Do not.. And I seriously mean.. Do not call me a nigger, nigga, negro, or whatever. Ever. Do not use the word around me.
An old friend of mine, David. He started using it, so I stopped hanging out with him.
Brett introduced me to someone saying I'm the coolest negro. WTF? Did I introduce her to someone and say, this is the coolest whitey I know.. Or this is the coolest cracker I know, or honkey or whatever term people use to degrade Caucasians.
And this blog has been prompted by my reply to a text sent to me by someone that used the word "nigga" in it.
I do community support, I love my job. It's a very rewarding job, because put with the right people and armed with the right words and lessons, you can help someone begin to walk in peace. And that's what life is about.. Being a mirror.. And reflecting light into the dark places in the world.
I spoke with one of the residents at the group home I work at, and mind you.. He falls into the MH/DD/SA category. A mentally handicapped person said this to me about someone using the word against him. I said to him, "What does the word nigga mean to you?"
He replied, "An ignorant person. People say that to release the hurt the word causes, or to try and dissociate it with the race of black people, but it doesn't go away from it's original or true meaning. "
Someone with less of a mental capacity than you, or whoever you talk to said that. His mind has been legally declared, "Not right" and he has the sense to say that.
And you know what, he is 100% correct. People do say the word nigga means ignorant person. And I agree, it does. Black people generally have allowed themselves to become viewed as ignorant people. So it may as well mean both a black person and an ignorant person, because according to most of the world's views about it, black = ignorant, ghetto, stupid, failures, criminals, etc.
And that's a motherfucking shame.
You have people.. Brilliant people.. Brilliant, beautiful black people. Whose lives touch so many, change so many people, situations, things. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman, many people in the past and today. They continue to inspire, to work, despite the oppression against them.
I met people and they test the waters, a friend of mine, David did it. I saw it, but I didn't say anything about it. Cause I don't like to confront people on it. But, I'm moving away from that. Cause like I said.. It makes me somewhat of a bitch, cause people will walk all over you.
And I understand that, because my people are the oppressed. As much as it is denied, racism and oppression still exists. I to this day believe that the killing of Dr. King was a government funded act. I also have faith that if Mr. Obama is elected President, he will be assassinated. If by some chance you read this Mr. Obama, I offer my services to you as a guardian, I will join Secret Service for your term, but on my own terms. I'm very appreciative of my hair, it is a symbol of who I am.. All I ask is that I get to keep it.
Or better yet, for a true understanding of it.. Refer to Raven from Tekken, his race is unknown.
My avatar character is black. It's Anubis, he's egyptian. Egyptians.. Are from Africa. Before people begin to mesh throughout the world, face it.. Egyptians were black just as you'd expect an African to be.
See, you may not mean it as offensive, but I take it as offensive. Because I don't refer to my asian friends as chinks, or my spanish friends as border hoppers or wetbacks, or my white friends as crackers. I refer to them as a human being, they aren't reduced to a slanderous term.
Many people I associate with may have a problem with this. And you know.. I shouldn't have been silent, I should have spoke on it when I first met them. That way they'll know my stance on it. Now it has come to this.
This is drawing on longer than I anticipated, and I am getting hungry and I am going to go to sleep for about two hours cause I work tonight.
So, my message is simple.
Don't discriminate or be derogatory in my presence. You may use the word when you talk to someone else, or whatever. But don't use it around me or refer to me or my people. Cause I will take offense at it. And this isn't the old days, so I'm not going to get violent about it. I'm just going to stop hanging out with you.
I'm not speaking on it anymore.
I hate the n-word
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Comments
1 - 29 of 29
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I never knew you felt so strongly on this, you have some wise words, you should know that, I believe when you speak, write, text, people actually listen to you. I know I do.
~Oka -
♥thank you♥
since i've moved to this small town that shall remain nameless, i've tried to teach these ignorant kids here that that word is unexceptable in ANY context. they walk around calling each other that because they heard it from some great song and they think it's cool. you have just posted the greatest "sermon" ever on this subject and i plan on refering to it when i explain this term to people again because it also has enlightened me in the process. again, thank you.
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Damn, you are brilliant and deserve a thousand clappies for this.
i should write a column on the term SPIC.
I'm puerto rican/spanish and i hate it when ppl call us beaners, mexicans or spics.
omg,getting pissed just thinking about it xD
this was quite a well versed write and i agree with you. -
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I encourage it!
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i shall then Anubis.
=]
btw, is there anything you wish me to call you nickname wise?
it's kinda weird saying anubis since that is a god i look up to and worship.
but ill call you anubis if that is what you want. -
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Hehe.. You have no idea
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i dont?
tell me then =p -
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You'd never believe it
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haha, you wouldn't believe the things I BELIEVE.
xD -
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Oh, I'm sure I would. But you won't believe what I'll say
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what shall you say then?
tell me or ill, ill, not share pancakes with you =p -
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By the Gods.. no! I love my pancakes.
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-pokes you with a spork-
tell me!!!!
o.0
spork xD -
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I'll tell you when you are ready to know
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okay =]
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xD i have the power
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what power?
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Hehe
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hey you! thats not an answer!
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this is really really long. how long did it take you to write this. Also, why don't you have any poems on your page?
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Because they represent a side of myself that I no longer channel.
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I love you to pieces and I fully support you, mind you, but, if I may say, this does seem hypocritical. In my eyes, by singling out blacks and saying that they are oppressed and saying how racist the white people are and how bad they are, are you not doing the same thing? Grouping them together and assuming we're all the same way?
That's just my opinion, though I do understand why you'd be upset.
Socky loves youuu. :]
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After re-reading, I see where you could get that idea. No, I'm not singling out white people. But those are examples I'm using because of what I experienced. It prompted the blog/column.
I'm not racist whatsoever. I wouldn't hang out with anyone but black people then. I have white friends, asian friends, mexican friends, etc. I don't hate anyone. If anything, I don't hang out with my own people because the majority of them fall into the black stereotype.
They assume that all mexicans are border hoppers, nasty and live in houses with way too many people.
They assume that all arabics are terrorists or muslim.
They assume that all asian people have small penises and that all asian women are potential sluts.
They assume that all white people are rednecks that like to drink beer and go fishing and own a shotgun.
They assume that all black people are ghetto, use the n word, and are criminal or thinking something criminal.
That's why I hate people like.. Well, almost all rappers. I pretty much hate rap. They condone the use of the n word and an ignorant lifestyle.
I spoke to a woman from netherlands and she said (because she saw my Now Playing on MSN) (Direct Quote) "Oh! You like Eminem. We call him a wanna be nigger, but we know you don't like that word."
Ignorance.
Woman from the flea market when she found out about my job playing iraqi insurgent "Oh like a sand nigger! Just like a nigger,but they live in the sand!"
Ignorance.
Plain ignorance.
Message from a friend of mine "Comment me nigga!"
My response: WTF????
"Sorry, I forgot not to say that black people."
Someone on this site: "I do what I want nigga!"
then later on, he thought it was okay because there were no black people around.
No, and this is not at you Socky, this at everyone:
It is not funny. Not humorous. it does not make you look cool. I don't care who laughs, who eggs you on. Being STUPID is not acceptable.
Black. White. Asian. Hispanic. Arabic. Whatever... There is no excuse for being ignorant.
Nigga, nigger, whatever does not apply to black people.
Black people, stop calling yourself that. Everyone else, stop calling us that. Stop asking if we get mad if a black person uses it. Some of us do. Not everyone is stupid. There are stupid people of every ethnicity.
It is not a term of endearment, it is OFFENSIVE.
Being from the "hood" or the "ghetto" (aka poverty stricken area) is fine. Being ignorant is not. It certainly does not give you an excuse to be a loser. -
Socky! No, that's not the point I'm trying to convey. I do wish for all discrimination to be removed. Hence why I referred to terms (derogatory) for white, black, hispanic, arabic and asian.
I don't think everyone's the same as far as the way they treat other people. I like everyone, regardless of ethnicity ( I really hate calling it race. There's the human race.)
I say it more stems in sort of a conflict between white and black. (Not derogatory terms, but discrimination)
Being white is being part of the majority. There is mostly white influence in everything unless it is catered towards someone else. You have the spanish channels, BET, then everything else has a wide assembly of a mostly white cast on every other channel. Being oppressed is not just for black people. Everyone is oppressed by a white influence. Even though it may not be intentional (it's natural instinct to stick with what you're familiar with). You may have people who do it intentionally and then ignore reasons why or come up with some other reason.
I've dealt with it first hand and know others who have dealt with it. A friend was refused a part in the Phantom of the Opera because they wanted an all white cast because they said "there are no black people in the play". But, it's okay for a person of another ethnicity to be replaced by a white person. The Egyptians in most movies (Cleopatra being most recognized) are played by anything but black usually. I think the most accurate portrayal was the way they were penned in the Prince of Egypt.
I'm not saying everyone is the same. I didn't think I said this anywhere. I end up with alot of white friends because I'm into the white culture. I like metal, vampires, etc. But, I usually get that from alot of white people when they see the way I conduct myself.
"You don't act black."
"You're white."
Very irritating. A world without discrimination will continue to be a fairy tale, as I said.. It's immortal. It's an idea/concept.
I am tired of people saying "You're white washed." 'Sell out." Or black people automatically assuming it's okay to start calling me a n**** just because I'm black. Or someone asking if I get mad if black people say it.
In the CB, you had people who went through a joke of acting "ghetto" or how they think black people act (because they assume that every black person HAS to be ghetto). Every person on AP that I know has done it so far have all been white. I'm not saying its just a white thing. But, it's the majority of the oppressors of every nationality are usually white. Even though, it may not be intentional.
However, the world is a world dominated by white people. Everyone aside from them is oppressed. And that's not said with any maliciousness towards anyone, it's a truth that some people choose to deny.
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WOWEE! That just poured right out of your heart, didn't it.
I, too, despise the word. I do not understand why people would use it as a "term of endearment" or as a familiar word to call one another.
Race means nothing to me. I see it this way: there are good black people and there are bad black people. Same goes with white, mexican, asian, european, and any other race and color of people. There are always going to be those jerks that set the stereotype and hold true to it.
I find it shameful.. -
I love you nuuby.
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Truth is the human race is degrading to something as low as that, I am not directly aiming my comment to anyone but we have many things to be "Disgusted" within our race.
Colour, ethnicity and culture should not really matter to us, we all breath, we all have feelings that can easilly be trampled on, so being of a "Darker" race shouldn't really bother, we are like a chessboard, black and white, like symbiotic beings like (Light and darkness) or two sides of the spectrum.
Those who merely judge by colour are just even worst then scum.
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Indeed they are. I look forward to the absence of such discrimination.
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