Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Why I Am Against the N word.

People in the hip hop generation, to include members of "Black Hollywood", claim to have flipped the "N word" from a negative word to a positive word. They claim that the uses of the word means brother hood, a term of endearing friendship, and to be accepted into a peer group. They also claim no race is limited to the use of this word. Recently, I watch the documentary "The N Word", and discovered that there were a few holes in the Hip Hop generation's pursuit to flip the "N word" to a positive.


The first hole I found is that 95% of the people interviewed said "that they would have a problem if a "White" (or any other race for that matter) person called them the "N word" whether they were a friend or a foe". After finding out that fact the first question that came into my mind was; "If the word now has a positive meaning, then what's the problem?" The problem is that that kind of thought process creates a double standard. It also lets me know that the people who continue to use the "N word" have not let go of the negative meanings behind the word.

The next hole I found was that people who use the "N word" do not like to be called ignorant. Dictionary.com defines the "N word" as "Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of the black race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc". Now that that fact is on the table do we still think its ok to call each other the "N word". Rene Descartes made the famous quote "I think therefore I am", which lead me to say, if we continue to think of ourselves as ignorant than we as a people will continue to labeled as such.

Just because a few people have decided that this word is now a positive and not a negative word doesn't erase the 372 years of slavery and oppression. It is time for "Black America" to change its frame of thinking. It time that we understand that we are more than just a bunch of "Niggas". We come from a line of royalty and should conduct ourselves in a manner that should reflect such. So, if you’re that person who still uses the "N word" to describe yourself or your friend and family, consider this; Stop it, you’re only making yourself and the rest of 'Black America" looks like fools.

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