“If you’re not black, you can’t use the N-word.”
This argument has been slung back and forth for years. But
why? It seems straight forward to me. If you aren’t black, you don’t have the
N-word pass. Period. Point-blank.
Yet, I’m still hearing “Well if black people can say it, why
can’t I?” Ready for a history lesson? It is a racial slur. How, you ask? As
YouTuber Chescaleigh puts it, you have to look at the words historical context:
“The N-word was used to describe black people as they were being stolen from
Africa, put into slavery, chained, lynched, raped, beaten, spit upon. So the
word was created as a tool of oppression.” Its historical context cannot be
erased.
When you belong to a particular group, there are certain
things you can and can’t say, things you can and can’t do. Chescaleigh uses the
analogy of football players, who when they score a touch-down pat each other on
the behind as a “well done!” kind of thing. No one bats an eyelash. It’s
A-Okay. But if someone were to do that to a football player randomly, when he’s
off the field, he would be completely taken aback. It’s the same when using the
N-word. If a non-black person were to use it (and I’m not just talking about
white people here), they would be given major side-eye to say the least.
So why use the word at all? Well for some black people they
use it in an attempt to create their own meanings. For centuries the word was
used as a tool of oppression, with extremely negative connotations. For some
black people who do use the N-word (because not all black people do), it is an
act of defiance, a “screw-you” to the oppressors who originally used the word.
They are reclaiming the word and giving it their own meaning.
There are many people who argue that the whole debate is a
double-standard. That if non-black people can’t use the word, then black people
shouldn’t be able to either. But I think that completely misses the point. This
isn’t an issue of “fairness”. It’s about black people reclaiming a word that was
used by white people as a tool of oppression, and giving it their own spin.
I know this is a hotly contended topic, and there is
definitely aspects I haven’t addressed, but I would like to hear what your
thoughts are.
damn i didn't really see your post until i finished mine but we seem to touch on similar topics.
ReplyDeletein response to yours, my short answer to the N-word debate is Dont use it if you're not black. Those who are not of african-american descent should not be encouraged to use the word. Like you said, its a term reclaimed by the african-american community in order to empower themselves. Its a word that connects them in a common struggle they are facing as a people.
However, the term itself is evolving. The stages it went through i believe were:
-its use to identify a person of black ancestry or skin colour
-its derogatory use towards Black people through the whole slavery situation
-it being reclaimed by the black community as a term of endearment amongst other members of the black community
The stage it seems to be in now is its use by everyone seemingly not white. Its used a lot between people who feel wronged by a white system which they feel they do not fit in.
eventually the answer to the debate could allow for others to use it in their own struggles as a community. But the term will lose its historical links to black people and instead just be a term to identify the oppressed minorities.