Being an immigrant, there are some things about American culture I am never going to understand. For example, the obsession with guns and calling American football, football, when it’s really a variation of rugby.
Another thing I can never understand is Black Americans affinity for the n-word. This has always baffled me, even as far back as the 1970s, where I watched blaxploitation movies and was surprised to see black people using the word. As a kid growing up in England in the 1970s and ‘80s, I heard the n-word quite frequently and it was always said by white people. It was quite clear what they meant by it, it was a slur and insult. I remember if anyone called you that, it was grounds for a fight, which happened quite frequently. I spent my youth in England getting into quite a few fist fights. When I was bullied, I would call in my older brother to deal with them, which is hilarious because now he is a doctor, who makes his living patching people up!
The Washington Post has recently tackled the thorny issue of the n-word in an in-depth multimedia series. The article pointed out as controversial as the word is, it’s not going away. The Post article stated the n-word or its variation “nigga” is used 500,000 times a day on Twitter. And even though the NAACP staged a mock funeral for the word, and the NFL has recently banned the word, it doesn’t seem likely to disappear.
I have had deep discussions with Black Americans about why they use the n-word, I didn’t grow up using it to describe myself and even today, I never use it. I have written comedy and performed stand up and still pride myself in never using it. That word is just too offensive and hurtful. It was disturbing to see a video in The Washington Post piece, where white comedy writer Neil Brennan, who collaborated with Dave Chappelle, said including the n-word was guaranteed to make any joke funnier.
I have heard all the various excuses, yes I am going to call them excuses, for why African Americans use the word and I don’t buy any of them. I have heard black people adopted the word to take the sting out of it. Well, that doesn’t seem to be working because many blacks still get rightly offended when they hear white people using the word. I also don’t buy the argument that it is just a word, and black people shouldn’t get upset at it. Words have meaning, wars get started over words. People have lost jobs and endorsement deals for using the n-word. Say the wrong thing about someone’s mother in many parts of the world and you are likely to get your ass kicked or even worse. In my opinion, when a white person uses the n-word it shows a blatant lack of respect and indicates utter contempt.
Some black people have tried to redefine the word and use it as a comradely phrase. And believe, it or not there is a whole generation of kids who see the n-word as a term of affection. There are even some young black children who don’t get upset when their white friends call them the n-word. Apparently, some people have no idea the word is a slur.
A black person I met on Facebook said he would still refer to himself as a nigger, because it reminded people he had come from the lowest of the low and still made it. And there is the battle between spelling the word “nigger” or “nigga,” as if that’s a difference. To me that’s splitting hairs, it’s like arguing there is a difference between a Ford and a Mercury.
I have an uncomfortable theory about why Black Americans use the n-word familiarly. Unfortunately because of Colonialism black people in Africa and the Diaspora, have taken on many of the traits of white people, their language, culture, religion, ect. And that has included some negative traits. For a long time white people had a negative view of black people. (Actually, some would argue this hasn’t changed much.) They thought we were savages, less intelligent and ugly.
Unfortunately, many black people bought into this. Up until 1978, the Mormon Church believed black people were cursed by God, and there are still many Christian denominations, including churches with large black populations, who believe this. Even in modern-day America, we still have the ridiculous battle between light-skinned blacks and dark-skinned blacks. Also, black women in Africa use skin-lightening creams to make themselves more attractive. The success of actress Lupita N’yongo is somewhat surprising because she is a dark-skinned beauty. N’yongo said as a child she was told she would never find a husband because she was dark skinned. Also, black comedians still regularly tell jokes about dark-skinned blacks, as if there is something wrong with being dark. They never mock people for being too light.
The fact that some Black Americans have decided to accept the n-word is a sign of self loathing. Why else would they take on a slur created by people who despised them and try to own it? I compare it to women who are being controlled by a pimp, but lovingly call themselves bitches. What other ethnic group refers to themselves as an ugly insult? You don’t see Italians running around calling each other wops or Jews calling themselves kykes.
Unfortunately, the use of the n-word has spread across the world, largely because of the popularity of hip hop culture. There was even a case of a rebel group in the Sierra Leone civil war, who called themselves the Westside Niggaz. The group had styled themselves after rap stars like Tupac Shakur. And this is not an isolated incident, young people of all races across the world are calling themselves the n-word because they think its cool. Thanks rap music.
British tabloid writer and former CNN host Piers Morgan seems to think the n-word will simply disappear if black people cease to use it. He has a point. By constantly using the n-word black people are sending a signal to other ethnic groups that they are okay with it. Some white people claim it is a double standard that black people get to use the word, but they can’t. And this is not surprising when you have white kids, who grew up listening to hip hop and watching stand up comedy, where the word is casually tossed around.
However, Morgan’s solution is simplistic. Even if black people magically managed to band together and stop using the n-word, it would still be used as an epithet by racists. After several decades of blacks trying to take ownership of the word or desensitize it, that has not gone away. When news broke that President Barack Obama had nominated African American Loretta Lynch to replace Eric Holder as attorney general, a predictable firestorm of criticism exploded on social media. Many of her critics were quick to use the n-word.
I am afraid people like me, who see the n-word as a slur, are fighting a losing battle. The word has seeped into the mainstream of the English language and in a few generations, it might be totally accepted and have a different meaning. In 20 years getting offended by the n-word might be as archaic as using a typewriter.
