Nigga vs. Nigger

[CS]

Discuss.

[Godfather of Soul]

No one should use it.  If we were to make a hierarchy of acceptability, white people would be at the bottom, black people at top and others in the middle.  If it isn't connected to your history don't use it. Spelling matters not.  There is no difference and if you have to argue that there is, your ignorance of history and the actual phonetics of the word (and how regional differences in speech can make the er/a distinction pointless) make any argument you might have moot.

I love when people start a thread without giving their opinion.  Clearly you think you're entitled to use it if your post got moderated.  Well, I can use that logic.  I feel entitled to use the term reddskin savige... Sup my reddskin savige.  See, i'm saying red-d not red  and sav-IGE not sav-AGE.

 

[Dizzyfool]

No one should use the word in any context. Some blacks claim they use it to show their defiance against slavery but thats just bullshit really, you wouldn't get Jews referring to the holocaust in casual greetings for example.

[G Monk Monk]

i think white people/suburban folk are mad they can't use it so they try hard to have the word banned. if you from the hood then you know its just slang. it's hard not to use it cause its a big part of black folks vocabulary. i dont think any other race should be able to use it except for black folks.... immortal tech can use it cause he got black in his blood.. if your black/part black you can use it.

[Godfather of Soul]

Dumb ass logic.  It's just slang?  You serious?  You are a 5%er and you accept black people calling themselves that? 

It ain't white folk that are working to get it banned.  It's black folk who understand the history of the word.  It ain't like black people been going around calling themselves nigg-as day in and day out for decades and decades.  It's a recent phenomenon.  It started to change in the 70s as the mass political movements that educated black people and fostered a positive sense of self started to die or were killed off by things like cointelpro.  What happened after that is that young black people stopped seeing themselves in a positive light, stopped seeing that they could achieve things and started BELIEVING and INTERNALIZING the negative stereotypes that white society had about them.  It's part of the mental colonization of black people that has been going on for hundreds of years, it's part of the final phases of it. 

[Godfather of Soul]

I don't know you and when you don't give your position on a topic, people are forced to make assumptions.

[Godfather of Soul]

99% of the threads that have been about this, and there have been many, are in defense of the word...  I will try not to assume in the future, CS, my apologies.

[[_KaNdii_]]

I think defending the use of these words is pointless. Just use another words that says what you mean more clearly

[SetuT]

Us Islander kids have used the word to describe ourselves since the whole hip hop thing started.... we don't have the fucked up history that you have in the US....why shouldn't we use it?

The reason it's such an issue in the States is cause the US is such a fucken racist society. That should be the problem, not what black kids chose to call themselves. Whitey should stfu and beg forgiveness for the next 2 centuries.

But yeah... why can't Islanders down in the Southern hemisphere call themselves whatever they want?.... problems in the US isn't our issue.

[SetuT]

Why?

Because now white supremacy has pacific islander calling each other niggers...niggaz.

If white supremesisits and other hate filled type individauls started calling you a sheep fucker, would you just accept and use it on a daily?

So, If hip hoppers started calling themselves sheep fuckaz, would you start calling yourselves that?

No, it's ridiculous.

It's a kin to natives calling each other "savage." Or claiming that they're savage. Fuck that, I'm a civil human being, it was my great grandparents who truly had defend themselves from savages.

No.... hip hop culture... which is essentially black... has got us doing it. We're in a COMPLETELY different situation to the Afro-Americans.... for one thing we all have our own countries. In the islands, white supremacy isn't really a factor.

The sheep fuckaz comment isn't really relevant because it isn't a symbol of ethnic solidarity the way nigga is. Like I said... the issue is the US being a racist fucken country... NOT a word that some dudes use to relate to themselves. If racism didn't continue to be such a prevalent problem in the US do you really think this word would have the same implications?

You can't compare us islanders with the Native and Afro Americans, we still have our countries (well there's a couple of colonies still), which I think is a huge factor in identity determination for your people. In my country, only 7% of the land is available for sale , and the rest is still based on traditional ownership. You guys living in the US don't have that sort of thing, you're essentially displaced by an opportunistic, racist,  system, which is completely BASED on subjugating and exploiting your people (Afro and Native Americans). So yes... I think there IS a difference between our use of the word.

[SetuT]

Regardless, of how the word came about, the fact remains that it is derogatory word used to destroy the esteem of another person.

You might have used it, I have used it with my black friends, and they used it when they addressed me, and yet even then we knew we were being ignorant.

Now keep this in perspective:

Your saying that your not a displaced people, and since I don't know anything about your history really I won't speak on it. But I will say this much- You have traditional owner ship......over islands. Small patches of land surrounded by water. Small Patches. What's going to happen as your populations increase and your small patches of land can no longer support the coming generations?

To the white supremacist you are an Island Nigger. And when you come off that Island- you will already be calling yourselves niggers.

The foundation has been laid what kind of house are you going to build?

Well I'm not sure what self-esteem you're talking about, considering what I've told you about the context of the use of the word here in the South. We're PROUD of what we are, and we don't have oppressive factors like land-grabbing or a slave-history in our past (well actually we do have a slave history but it was Islanders enslaving other islanders). If you can't understand how different the context of the word 'nigga' is down here, I'm not sure how to better explain it to you. Oh and the whole 'nigga' thing is more of a thing OFF the islands, within the Islander diaspora in the urban centers of Australia and NZ. I haven't lived in the islands for about 14 yrs so I'm not sure what the kids are doing over there.

Emigration has always been a big part of Samoan life.... so the small patches of land don't matter that much as emigration keeps the population fairly constant. Brain drain is a big problem.... but not overpopulation.

And like I said, white supremecists aren't a huge issue for us....while there is alot of racism in a place like Australia, from what I've noticed the racists are generally too scared to pull that shit on the Islanders. It's kinda a perk of being the biggest muthafukkaz in the place. Also why would you pick on the big scary Islanders who have a reputation for being crazy.... when you could just pick on smaller ethnic groups like the Aborigines, Asians and Indians?

Like I said, it's about ethnic solidarity, and youth culture. Us Samoans for example, have always related to Afro-American culture much more than Anglo-Americana. It makes sense. And we don't have the terrible history that the African Americans have to deal with.... so it makes sense that the context of the word would be different for us. we don't use the word as generally, as they do in the US, we use it specifically within the context of hip hop. See the girl in my signature pic? She's wouldn't be reffered to as a nigga in this context, because she doesn't have that association with hip hop and the streets. We have alot of respect for our culutres, so the use of the word 'nigga' is more youth-oriented, and based within hip hop culture.

[Alloy]

Well in NY its get thrown around a lot even by white kids and also the cops around my block. Its get thrown around so much its kind of lost all meaning around here. I have plenty of black or half black friends who use the word at LEAST 2 times in one sentence and I don’t think they notice that they do it, shit even in school whenever someone said nigga none of the faculty really cared. I think Hip-Hop has made it an everyday word, we where talking about this topic before on the block and it turns out there more conferrable with a Hispanic saying it like me then a white guy. I usually just say “what up son” or something like that but it comes out here and there because it’s used so much around here, you always hear “What nigga?” or “What up nigga” in the background and no one really cares. Sometimes I just wonder to myself will “SPIC” ever be the next nigga and how will I feel about it being used like that?

[SetuT]

Yeah but only during the full moon.....

[kittenslayer]

I don't use the word anymore, exception is when I try to be gangsta on internet game chats.   Such as:

"You niggas are fake ass playas!  You only beat my army cuz you cheatin mothahfuckahz!!!!"

[San Patricio]

*Comes in thread, looks at skin*

There is no possible way I can have a valid opinion on this either way.

*Wishes more White people thought like this*

*Leaves*

[ineed<3]

*american white man sees two black americans chatting on the street*
*"wassup ma nigga"..."nm ma nigga"*
*white man feels satisfied that the black man have accepted slave status*

[LastNameForgotten]

Nigger/nigga are the same word, spelling makes no differences. Honestly this nigger/nigga shit is out of control and to take on the slur as some type badge of honor is kind of like enslaving yourself to be defined by the people that see you as less than a person. The vibe I got from older folks using nigger , for the most part, was that it was used as a inside joke as a way to point out racism, but people knew that there was a line of what was acceptable and that the use of the word was a double edge sword.

As far as the person that lives outside of the States, using that to justify their use of the word only shows that you are not willing to give up your luxury for using the word. Have you thought about the perspective that by using your outside status from States as the reason for not having to give up your luxury, using nigger/nigga, is same logic that klansman and the like use to justify their use of nigger. I am not trying to say that there should be a law against saying nigger, like a law would stop anyone for using it in the first place, but rather people should not be surprise that others will consider them racists and will challenge them on their use of the word.

[SetuT]

As far as the person that lives outside of the States, using that to justify their use of the word only shows that you are not willing to give up your luxury for using the word. Have you thought about the perspective that by using your outside status from States as the reason for not having to give up your luxury, using nigger/nigga, is same logic that klansman and the like use to justify their use of nigger. I am not trying to say that there should be a law against saying nigger, like a law would stop anyone for using it in the first place, but rather people should not be surprise that others will consider them racists and will challenge them on their use of the word.

wtf are you talking about? Giving up luxury? I don't give a fuck about what's going on in the US, it's not my country, I don't plan to go there. Youse mind your business and I mind mine, you have no idea what's happening down this side of the globe, so don't be talking shit like the US owns the word nigga. Your country has spent the last century selling EVERY aspect of its culture to the world.... so don't be surprised when we take shit and claim it as our own.

My logic is the same as a klansman? I'm from DA ISLANDS FOOL!!!!! U better recognise.

[ineed<3]

wats chunky vs creamy?

isit a slangslang term for nigger/nigga

[SetuT]

I thought it was peanut butter..... chunky 4 life