The word could have basically came from the word negro and perhaps just mispelled or pronounced incorrecrly in the beginning. Later it became an offensive word. If a words use is offensive to anyone it should never be used. Using it can not possibly bring about positive feelings between people.

By Frangiapani (203.54.231.246) on Sunday, July 29, 2001 - 10:59 pm:

If you look at it another way, to use the word nowadays between black men it's been given a whole new meaning. They have taken it and turned it around, it was never a "real" word to begin with. It's whatever you make it. Although I can see how Black men and women would take offense if used by someone non-black, that should also change. If the word "nigger" can be used in a positive way but then a white man turns around and says it and he gets pounced on for it..what's the point of saying it at all? That justifies that a black man is thinking the word means "dumb" or "theif" or whatever.. otherwise they wouldn't be taking offense. A lot of white guys say the word today with no intention of that, then again a lot don't. I just think the word shouldn't be used so freely all the time, if it's still going to be taken as an insult. It's just that a lot of the new generation is going to hear it in music/movies and think nothing of it. Isn't that a good thing??

By George_m (151.202.60.19) on Sunday, July 29, 2001 - 04:44 pm:

This is my first time posting on this site and I felt a strong need to do so after reading some of the comments of others regarding the word "nigger". First off, just because something is popular does not make it intelligent or right.

I don't care if the word "nigger" is main stream and used by entertainers, rappers or whoever, it is still a word that has a very negative connotation throughout history. The word was created to denigrate blacks and to present us as being the lowest of the low. I have always believed in thinking for myself and not allowing the sentiments of people that are famous to influence my life. Black on Black violence is also very popular across the United States, and the Black incarceration rate is staggering, these two things are quite popular in black communities does it make them right or intelligent?

I think the very act of identifying yourself or another as a nigger contributes to the negative stigmas that blacks have received in this society of others. Think about it, what other race of people have taken a word that was created under extremely harsh circumstances and use it as label for self identity? The answer is none other than blacks, and this is not a good thing. This is also one more reason why people in other racial groups have such a negative view of blacks because we are viewed as a people who have no sense of pride, dignity or respect for ourselves.

By Ishvara (4.54.118.111) on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 05:51 pm:

Thanks for humoring me Hector...

By Roberto (205.188.197.47) on Monday, March 5, 2001 - 08:51 pm:

I guess after a distinguished scholarly Senator (Robert Byrd) use the word "White Niggers" on national television and there is no and I repeat no comment from blacks, I guess the word "nigger" has reached a high level of acceptance in this culture, thanks to blacks themselves. ~ Roberto

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.219) on Monday, March 5, 2001 - 04:10 pm:

I picked the name HectorVelasquez because it is easy for me to remember.

By Ishvara (38.163.112.87) on Friday, March 2, 2001 - 12:46 pm:

Why'd you choose the name, just curious.

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.219) on Friday, March 2, 2001 - 10:47 am:

Some might think I'm Afro-Latin-American, but I unfortunatly don't know much about Afro-Latin-American culture.

By Ishvara (38.163.112.87) on Friday, March 2, 2001 - 08:29 am:

Yes you are correct according to Jewish peolpe it runs down the mother's side, however, to the rest of the world I'm half Jewish and Hitler would have murdered me along with the rest. I think the term is half breed.

By Anon2000 (207.218.73.1) on Friday, March 2, 2001 - 12:02 am:

ishvara,
pardon my ignorance, but i always thought that one's "jewishness" came from their mother's side. is this true?

By Ishvara (4.54.118.158) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 05:47 pm:

He was telling me about a bw who went behind his back and told his boss about something he wanted kept quiet. He said that every time in the black community when someone trys to better themselves the others act like crabs in a barrel pulling them back down again. Then he said there is a definite difference between blacks and niggers. His words not mine. I didn't bother to even engage him in this line of conversation b/c I've heard it before. Same rational used when explaining why some white folks are poor white trailer trash rednecks. From what I understand of this, these labels are applied to people who are uneducated, lazy, poor looking for a hand out etc. etc.. the Jerry Springer type. I think you can grasp the gist of it.

I like to listen to people talk and when asked for an opinion I am always for understanding and practicing non-judgement. As long as there is no physical, mental or emotional abuse, live and let live is my motto. So usually when someone tells me such stuff I gently try to offer another way of looking at it. The key for me is understanding the whys and circumstances of certain behaviors in order to put myself in their position so to speak without condenming them.

Why do you want to change your name, does it matter to you if it sounds Spanish?

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.219) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 03:23 pm:

The use of the term actually is illustrative of many contradictions in the black community. I think the discussion is extremely important, perhaps not on this forum though. The fact that a black man would be willing to go so far to try legitimize its use in describing some blacks to you says a lot. The use of the term actually is illustrative of many contradictions in the black community. I think the discussion is extremely important, but perhaps not on this forum though. The fact that a black man would be willing to go so far to try legitimize its use in describing some blacks, to you says a lot.

May I ask what brought this guy you work with to try to explain his take on a “split” in the black community?

I have been around whites who use the term “poor white trash” to describe certain groups of people and I am often puzzled by why they would to this.

Why is my online name HectorVelasquez? I’m not Spanish, I think I need to change it.

By Ishvara (38.163.112.56) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 01:13 pm:

Thanks for the insight Hector, I wasn't aware of that, what I am trying to get across is the meaning attached and frequency of use by today's younger generation being something in many instances used to describe their friend(s). That is all.

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.219) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 12:45 pm:

The use of the term "nigga" is not something this generation invented. You can hear 50 and 60 year old men saying it. It goes back several generations, and was used amongst blacks during the time of legal segeragation.

Long before hip-hop culture came out, Richard Pryor was........

By Ishvara (38.163.112.56) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 10:47 am:

I do not think a sub culture defines a race, not at all, I think you missed my point. Where do get that I lack respect and I think a sub culture defines a race? I am more intelligent than that. I was just reiterating some of the things I have heard expressed from a variety of people. Example, one black guy I work with was the one, who on his own volition, described to me his view of the distinction between "black people" and "niggas", I didn't say I agreed with his view.

I don't know what you mean by the boy remark, I have my "girls" that I hang out with and many of my male friends refer to their group of guy friends as their "boys". That is just the speech used by many in my age group. I have heard that term since I was a young teenager. I never thought a thing of it, it's not as if I go around calling people boys, I use their given name, but like I said I have heard that term for as long as I can remember and never thought a thing about it. I know by watching movies, in the South, whites used to say boy in a bad way. I don't think this is the same thing. Boys refers to homies or homeboy and now to their "niggas" their "boys" their "homeboys". I expect some people here will never understand due to the generation gap. I am NOT saying I think the term "nigga" is alright, I don't say it but I would not try to regulate other peoples thinking and opinion on their use of the word to refer to their friends. That's their RIGHT, freedom of speech.

I do not support negative stereotypes and I have seen plenty of positive images. I abhor any stereotype, inherently they are flawed, people are people to me period. Words do not offend me personally. They are just words. I don't care how they are used by others that is their perogative and I don't judge them for it. People who are always saying this is right, you are wrong or this is how things SHOULD be, scare me like crazy. Their point is rigidly the only valid one and everyone else is wrong, where is the understanding, where is the effort to see things from a perspective other than your own view point?

FYI I am not practicing the Jewish religion although my father's side is Jewish ethnically.

By Wyatt (207.8.207.9) on Thursday, March 1, 2001 - 09:48 am:

Again Ishvara, because it is used as a popular culture term in the hip hop subculture doesn't make it right. I am black, you are white and Jewish, I respect you and your race( I never use anti-semetic terms or racist terms against whites) and I ask that you respect my race and me and not think that a subculture defines an entire race. Those who are black and use that term haven't a clear understanding what people had to fight for to get the respect to not get treated as a Nigger or Nigga. It is a derrogatory term and it offends me. I think that we should try and not be so base and disrespectful at this site, don't we have more things to worry about besides how a subculture degrades itself?

BTW, many of those people using that term are not "Boys", they are men. Boy is still a racist term for many black men, perhaps not in the northern inner city, but still very real for we blacks in other parts of the country.

Please stop supporting the negative stereotypes and look for positive images of black culture. There are plenty of decent, hardworking, strong black men and women out here, who are intelligent, educated and would be very offended by the propagation of that term. Thanks.

By Ishvara (4.54.118.118) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 06:38 pm:

I have heard many black people echoing Chris Rock's sentiment, that there are blacks and then niggas, it never made much sense to me used in that sense/definition. I can somewhat understand the use of it as equaling my homie, my brotha, my nigga but not at all in the other sense. That's like saying "those people" (niggas) are somehow inferior and that the stereotype is really a reality and many people buy into that, I'm black but I'm not like "those people" I'm not a nigga. So I agree with Hector's previous post, his take on it. It does have many meanings dependent upon inflection, content and who's saying it. One thing though I do think the meaning has changed some. It used to be a purely derogatory term now it is used as a greeting between "boys"

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.219) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 05:08 pm:

Chris Rock has skit where he talks about the difference between a "Nigga" and a black person. He even goes so far as to say that he hates Niggas. This is NOT helpful. You asks many blacks and the might even divide the black American world into "niggas" and black folk as well.

By Mad_scientist (134.124.212.217) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 04:29 pm:

Even though it is "cool" now, I still disagree with it. Nigga is a word that seems to be used in a very cynical way. When I hear it used, it seems to imply that "you are as low as I". The use if nigga among black people seems to indicate that we still have a large inferiority complex. The word seems to mean that you have a low self-image, and that means that blacks as a group have a collective low self-image. You can tell that even though the word is "hip", that it reflects how we really think of ourselves. Many black women use it to put down black men, the way black men use "bitch" or "ho" to put down black women. It's not that we need to stop other blacks from using the world. The problem is that we need to change the way we think and perceive ourselves, and we will stop using the word altogether.

By Ishvara (38.163.112.146) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 03:45 pm:

Too late Wyatt it already is "some new hip hop cool term."

By Wyatt (207.8.207.9) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 11:04 am:

The offensive words and word which derive from violence, threats, intimidation, etc., are words which we should try and eradicate from our vocabulary, if we are to be truly civilized human beings. For those who think the word is a pop cultural term to refer to their homeboys, I've got another take on it. There are millions more blacks suffering from racism and perhaps these rappers don't have to deal overt racism on a daily basis. But there are people who have to deal with it and the Nigger term is not a term of endearment or some new hip hop cool term, it is borne our of violence, hatred, enslavement and life threatening intimidation. Growing up in the south as black man, I knew, even as a privileged upper middle class person, how dangerous that word was and still is. It is not happy, cool, new age term and when used by black or white it shows the sheer ignorance of people without respect for their history or respect for other peoples tragic past. Blacks using the term, if asked, know nothing of the real pains suffered by our forbears to gain respect in country which hates us so. They have no knowledge of the young lives lynched for looking at a white person the wrong way or daring to think as a human being. They have no knowledge of the lives given, both black and white--from slavery, abolitionist movement, the horrible civil war, Jim Crow south and racist northern riots and red lining, segregation and ghettotization. Those who use that word need a lesson in struggle, hardships and devastation and then they would think twice about how they throw it around. And any white who uses it is so disrespectful of the black experience in the world and ignorant, insensitive and plainly "trash".

By Cnocolor (4.17.99.12) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 09:46 am:

LadyLilly,

Thanks for clearing that up. I really need to buy a new dictonary, mine is almost 10 years old. *smiles*

I was always taught that it's not what you say, it's how you say it and the way it is used. So, people like Eminem and others may use the word to express thier feelings about something, or friends may use it to greet one another, while people like the KKK & Skinheads use it in a derogatory way against a specific group of people. So basically people decipher the word according to the context it is used in, but this may or may not be offensive to whomever it is being said to. It depends on the individual person & how they take it.

*C-No-Color*

By Ladylily (152.163.207.178) on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 12:02 am:

Roberto:

The more derogatory names are acknowledged the more they will be said by ignorant people...it will only add fuel to the fire and it will please them that they got to you. I am not suggesting that anyone should accept it. It hurts to be called inflammatory names, but overall it might be better to ignore their stupidity, keep the head up high and do not be tempted to stoop to their level. There will always be idiots to deal with. No one can make a person feel bad about themselves when they know better. Respect for oneself is important for self esteem. Without being boastful, show pride and dignity in who you are, regardless of the negativity around you. ~ Lily

By Mad_scientist (134.124.212.217) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 11:48 pm:

No need for me to add anything to the discussion, as everyone has already been stated. So I'm just telling everyone that I highly agree with everyone. :-)

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.226) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 11:40 pm:

To be fair I have never heard Eminem use the term "nigga." I have heard parts of his CD, but not the whole thing I admit. Dr. Dre "instructed" M & M against the use of the word "nigga," saying that he did not think it was OK for a white rapper to use the term. At least that is what he told the newspapers. Gay rights organizations are actually angry at M & M because he uses the word "fag" quite a bit in his album. They have noticed that he does not seem to use the word "nigga" or "nigger" in his music and they are puzzled by this. He can get away with calling people "fag" but not "nigga" or "niggers." Why is this? After all M & M said himself that he, "just says shit to piss people off." M & M need to be put into contexts as well considering he has called himself "poor white trash" and writes songs about raping his mother.


Stanley Crouch said "...............That shows certain young blacks have lost their minds, which makes it possible for white people to condescend to them with even more confidence..........

Richard Pryor and Redd Fox are some of Dr. Dre's heroes. Where does he get the audacity to say that the young generation has lost their minds? The Neo-Samboism was certainly around with the baby boomers and the culture of the 1970s. Richard Pryor could get laughs from white audiences by saying the he would be scared to go to Africa because he didn't want to be cooked an eaten by the natives. What's this but samboism at its best?

By Hectorvelasquez (63.169.132.226) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 11:22 pm:

The use of the term "Nigga" amongst young black men merely announces to the world that I am not conscious of the history of blacks in America, nor of the history of Africa itself. I am quite happy to brazenly flaunt my ignorance of myself since I am quite proud of it. I am content to and I take great pride in occupying the lowest socioeconomic position in America since this is my natural place and I have not intention of challenging the status quo.

The use of "nigga" in black America can have different meanings depending on how it is used and what the tone of inflection is. In one way it can be used for a greeting like "friend," and with another tone it has unconscious connotations of saying, "YOU STAY IN YOUR PLACE. YOU ARE GETTING TO UPPITY NIGGER." It is a way the some blacks use to tear down and denigrate other blacks, in the same way that whites did in years past. Just as the black women who say my posts on the IR board of Blackvoices called me a “nigga” who loved “cavebitches,” but also said that she doesn’t usually use the term. I become a “nigga,” with the highest form of contempt embedded in this difinition, in the eyes of a black woman who doesn’t like seeing black men express an interest in white women. But she also expresses contempt for herself it would seem.

NO, the meaning has not changed much over the years.

The term nigger is an English dialectical from to of the Spanish Negro.

By Roberto (64.12.104.56) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 11:11 pm:

Ladies:

I ask each of you, does self degradation mean to be desensitized to emotional abuse and an inferiority complex? A sort of acceptance of what the world think of you, so you accept the image or belief of what the world think of you and what you should be. In this way it would be less tramatic to deal with "verbal abuse" on a personal level.
~ Roberto

By Ladylily (152.163.207.189) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 05:36 pm:

Cnocolor:

I use the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. It does not define nigger as one who steals. It says that it is from the word negro and it is taken offensively. Also, a member of the black race. ~ Lily

By Ladylily (152.163.204.179) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 05:06 pm:

P.S. ~ I do understand that name calling hurts black people. It is sad that every culture does this to all races of people. All that I am trying to say is that derogatory names originate somewhere... my previous statement could be a possible explanation. The present form of nigger now being "nigga" may eventually become "nig". My parents live in the south...people from that area are sometimes called "hillbillies" regardless of their cultural, or class backgrounds. Unfortunately, as sorry as it is...that is the way things are and probably will always be...names/labels will always hurt people, including black people. ~ Lily

By Cnocolor (4.17.99.12) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 04:50 pm:

It's interesting though that in the dictionary it is defined as a person who steals. Quite intriguing if you think about it.

*C-No-Color*

By Ladylily (152.163.207.212) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 04:10 pm:

Here is my take on it. I have always thought the term "nigger" came from the country of Nigeria in Africa...as a shortened nickname for the people of that area, or from other parts of Africa who where brought here as slaves. Similar to "aussies" for Australians. Perhaps they were originally called nigroes for Nigerians and the term may have been pronounced "nigh-grows". It then became shorted to "niggers"...which may have been pronounced "nigh-jurs". As the pronounciation changed it became a derogatory remark. Every language has a downward spiral linguistically...slang always creeps in. ~ Lily

By Ishvara (38.163.112.112) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 11:23 am:

Roberto,
the only comment I have is that most young black guys I know use that word as part of the hip-hop culture speak. I also have noticed the only whiteboys allowed to use that term are their close boys, who the black boys call their nigga. My good friend uses that term often when describing his friends, I personally don't feel comfortable with using it. I think perhaps they took a hateful word and are attempting to take the sting out by using it in their own personal way, incorporating it into youth culture. I do think it doesn't mean what it used to and over time the English language constantly changes based upon various new uses and pronounciations of words so maybe this is just one of those things.

By Cnocolor (4.17.99.12) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 10:43 am:

Roberto,

Personally, I don't use the word, and can't stand people who use it. Either way, black or white, I get offended by it no matter what color you are. I don't even like the derogatory statements used against whites, mexicans, asians, etc. It just makes for a greater division in the country.

As a black woman, it intrigues me greatly to see my fellow brothers and sisters use this word. It seems as a people we have forgotten that this is the word that the slavemasters used against us. Our ancestors fought for us not to be called this derogatory word and we don't seem to recall that? That offends me. What gets me is that non-racist whites teach their children not to say this word, and it's O.K for us to use it? I think that brotha at your luncheon has some issues with himself, if he just stood there and let someone call him that without even doing or saying anything about it. & for the white woman that said it, one day she's going to say that word to the wrong person, and their not going to put up with it. I don't see how she could have opened up her mouth and said that, espically at a culturally diverse event. Isn't that a contradiction?.

*C-No-Color*

By Roberto (64.12.104.171) on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 09:47 am:

At a recent luncheon at a Golden Corral (a place where many IR couples meet here), an attractive white female part of a threesome of white women approached a black male who she knew and said in a crowded lunch area and said, "How is my Nigga" and they hugged each other. You have seen the heads twirl and pop right and left. Blacks who were nearby began to fidget, eyes were widening and voices were beginning to rise.

Now here comes the contradiction. Blacks who would call other blacks, "Nigga or Nigger" will think nothing of publicly calling each other the fabled "N" word, but do not like anyone else say it. Where is the pride of being black of yesteryear. But increasingly young blacks are warming up to whites or hispanics who call them nigger.

Jazz columnist Stanley Crouch said the following in today's New York Daily News:

"Eminem uses racial epithets, including "nigger" and his black fans applaud!. Can you imagine young Jews or Asians or Mexicans applauding a white boy who was calling them "kikes" and "chinks" and "wetbacks"? I don't think so. That shows certain young blacks have lost their minds, which makes it possible for white people to condescend to them with even more confidence.
Perhaps, however, the big story is Dr. Dre, the rapper turned producer who is behind Eminem: he discovered him and produces his records.

So we have a slavery update:

A black man who has already been successful in the Neo-Sambo idiom of gangster rap is now behind a white boy who uses the most offensive possible word for black people".

And yes, they "blacks" applaud. ~ Roberto