So I’m gonna ask something weird, not sure if this is the place. I’m not really sure where else to ask since Twitter is too rabid as is the rest of the internet. This may be a not fitting for this forum since I’m not even sure a lot of Americans are on this site. Anyway, I’m sure everyone knows of the N word. And how much of a big deal it is on the internet. I live in NY and most ( a large portion I guess) of the people I’ve been surrounded by in either schools or just in daily life have been African American people and all sorts of ethnicities except Caucasian Americans for some odd reason. Idk maybe just the areas I live in? I have literally heard anyone and everyone say the n word in real life very casually and no one cares? People kinda like it? Like the black students literally don’t care lol. Granted I’ve seen never seen a full on white person say it cuz...I just don’t see them very often. But everyone on the internet always seems very passionate about it. But like in real life (in my experience of all my life) no one has even cared about it. I saw Chinese kids, Guyanese kids, Hispanic kids, mixed kids, Indian kids, idk u name it say the word. People also freely wear dreads box braids durags Wtv. Regardless of their black or not. No one cares. Literally. idk I’m confused cuz the life and behavior I have seen is different than the one on the internet. Am I living in some alien world?
I believe it's different because you're integrated into or recognized as a part of a BIPOC community.
Yeah I actually wrote a bit more on the n word and my personal thoughts but I deleted it. I know the history very well as well the various history of other stuff in the world so I’m not very ignorant on the matter lol. (Not bragging. Just studied history a lot in my life.) But I figured it would be a bit too much for a forum like this. Not sure if it would be allowed and all. anyway I’m just asking if people see this happen in real life. I’m just comparing real life and experience VS the internet I guess. I just wanted to see if people experienced the same thing as me.
Not really. It's a discussion of derogatory words in the US and English-speaking countries. I believe some non-native English users might not be aware of it.
Hm not really. It’s literally only a thing in America. No one outside cares much. Um...I don’t know. Maybe. I actually had no idea whatsoever that the n word was forbidden or bad until I saw all the drama online. Growing up it was normal for people to use it regardless of race. (I have only ever lived in NY though so maybe it’s different in other states) Granted I hate the word so I don’t like using it.
If you got a black friend who throws the word around like its a noun, verb, adjective, and exclamation it might be kinda wierd to think the word as taboo. But i assure you is some random white person was to call my black friends the Nword the space around us would be so intense people would be screaming racism. (Even if the people themselves don't care) Contextually i think its like if you are in the group vs if your not in the group. I think its dumb, the word is so overloaded and all my friends don't give a shit, but people have gotten butthurt for less.
IMHO, it is because the internet is very differentiated - as in there are a lot of people with different views, so the public norms are usually the strictest public norms that exist among those groups (even though there are groups who just don't care). In this case - the N word is a big no, no. Plus the internet is a toxic cesspool which is fueled by peoples anonymity. And that toxicity is usually on all sides (those few people, who scream the loudest and paint the whole group in bad colors)
The internet isn't real life. Also it's a lot harder to police language in a real life situation than it is on the internet as there's no record of you saying it. Anyway it depends on context. Even white people can be given the okay to say it. For example Eminem said it when he was coming up and his black friends vouched for him so people let it slide. Latinos are probably the next biggest race to use it causally after black people and actual racist white people.
It's one of those things that someone has demanded that the others not touch. And people just agreed. Like the OK gesture nowadays. All that took was one silly article and it went viral. It makes you question the intelligence of mankind. I think in the case of the n-word, there was a valid reason, historically, to discourage its use. But it looks like time heals all wounds since your impression is making it seem less like a stain and more of a badge these days. Personally, I don't like to hear the word since I grew up around classical music and not rap, so I wasn't exposed to it until I was told that it was a bad word, but I thought that the Papa John's Founder's eviction over his use of the word was ridiculous.
because the word is derived from the latin word for black nigreos 1. Back then in America, you were either white or colored. specifics didn't matter about the exact tribe name. So in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter whether you are Asian, Indian, Native, Hispanic, Irish, etc. Race Classifications only serve to divide us. 2. People of other ethnicities don't owe African Slave descent Americans anything. None of that white guilt thing applies. So we don't really give a f Spoiler uck and if anything they are more Caucasian than I am.
You aren't living in a alien world, the media sells sex, sin, fear, and outrage. Kinda hard to believe in the internet becuae the internet really doesn't do anyone justice. Always trying to push an agenda...
Nobody cares. It's just became a sacred cow today because twitter kept on seething about it and will hunt you down if you used the word 5 years ago even with a large A in the end and even if the context isn't malicious.
Also black people rarely use the actual N word even if they sometimes do. They often use a derivative that ends in 'ah' rather than 'er'.
The N word has roughly a double meaning and two tiers of allowance for use. Within a group whom one is accepted, the use is joking and often friendly. Outside that group it's almost always seen as racist. Imagine the word bitch. You can say, "bitch please." To a friend and they won't be mad. Say the same to a very proper English teacher who's also religious and they'll get pissed. It's the same for the N word, except most strangers are going to be like that teacher. It's like the thumbs up sign. It means OK or good where I'm from. Yet in Iraq it means F you. Basically different people hold different meanings of things, and to not be bombed, you'll have to go with the meaning in your area. Since the internet is vast, you have to go with the most common value held for such words.
Oh yeah lol I thought it was clear I meant the word ending in -ga not the hard r. That’s def def def off limits and just uncomfortable for everyone black or not. On another note, wow I’m surprised. I really thought I was gonna get roasted alive or something on here for posting this. Thanks reasonable calm human beings. And I agree with everyone here, the internet is whirlpool of hatred and voluntary segregation. Thankfully it’s not reflective of real life. I’ve seen races brought together in real life not split. (Not that I haven’t seen racism and hatred but there’s still some resemblance of unity in the world contrary to what the internet paints the world as). If people chose to overcome a history of hatred with unity and forgiveness, that’s a real step moving forward. This whole thing of cultural appropriation and separating people by the n word despite people in real life being brought together by it is just plain senseless and hateful. And backwards. No the world isn’t perfect but moving forward is better than moving backwards. Just imo lol. Not like I can change or force people to view social norms some way or another. I’m not even black so who knows what weight my words hold except that I’m human.