“If you can say it, then why can’t I say?”
This question has been posed to me on many different occasions, when people from different races hear black Americans using select terms in their vocabulary. I have never really had an answer to share with those individuals outside of the fact that you just can’t say it.
I sat back and really thought about why it is acceptable for us to say certain things and not the next person, and here is what I came up with. The word “n****” is very prevalent in today’s
society; it is used frequently in movies and music. Rap music is used to speak about the struggle of black Americans. It once spoke to the problems of the black community that otherwise may have been left unaddressed. Now rap music is more or less culturally centered, it is more feel good music, whatever song has the best beat is the song that people will more so relate to.
When an artist says the word “n****” in their song, people of other races do not get quiet and hum over that part until they can safely say the lyrics. No, people are saying the word “n****” aloud because the word has lost the power it once had.
I personally use the word everyday – it is a word that is at the forefront of my vocabulary.
Anyone can be considered that word, no matter what your ethnic background is. You can be called that word for any number of reasons.
Everyone knows the term was used to demean black Americans decades prior, and still today, but people change, the meanings of words change. The term is now used as a term of endearment, how we greet our friends or how we categorize a group of people.
I have heard people from all across the spectrum use this word and when I have heard it, it was not used to degrade anyone in a certain way.
The term has lost the power it once held, at least when you use “gga” at the end.
Do not get me wrong, there are individuals who would rather leave the word alone black or white. We have tried to get the word banned. The word was even buried back in 2007. There was a funeral procession which some of the greatest black leaders walked in; and still the word has resurrected itself. Some elders of the black community feel as though we have taken a word that was used to degrade us and made it popular. Some white people feel as if the word is too risky and they would rather not say it.
Regardless of your feelings about the word, the biggest factor that comes into play when using the word is your intentions and your delivery. Just like the word gay. Gay has a meaning of being happy, however society took the word and made it a slur. When you call someone gay are you saying they look happy? Or are you trying to hurt or belittle them?
Now you can use the word…but don’t abuse the word.
