The "N" Word

Im just going to jump right into it. The "N" word-- nigger, nigga, whatever. Recently there has been so much buzz lately surrounding the usage of it and really WHO is using it. Just this week Madonna used it on Instagram referring to her son using the hash tag #thisnigga.  Then lashed out on Twitter saying "get off my d$!k". (I personally find that funny lol). And the guy that Kanye pummeled for calling Kim K a nigger lover. A few years ago we had Michael Richards aka Kramer who called some hecklers niggers at his stand-up show. Then I also heard that Gwyneth Paltrow used the hashtag #niggasinparis when she was at a show in Paris where Kanye and Jay Z were performing.

So guess what happens after people who are not black use this word? We get mad. We wanna start screaming about slavery and racism.  Well why dont we get mad when we say it to each other? Black folks have made it ok to say nigga so non black people think that they should get a pass. Maybe I'm making an assumption but thats what I'm thinking. We use this term so loosely that im shocked it hasn't made it to Webster's yet. Hell twerking did. Twerking just came up in my auto spell lol.

I'll admit that I use it very often. Its just one of those automatic words. Kind of like a filler. Remember when Bernie Mac talked about using mother***ker as an adjective or just as a filler word? Same thing happens here. Its almost like punctuation.  But these are not excuses for the excessive use of it.

Is nigga really a term of endearment?  I dont think that there was anything endearing back in the slavery days when black people were called nigger.  I dont think that there was anything endearing about nigger when we were segregated.  Wouldn't it be weird if black people started calling each other colored?? "Hey waddup colored boy?" Sounds stupid right..

So I was listening to the radio (XM where anything goes) and this topic of non black people using the word was up. So a white guy called in and said well if I say NIGGA it just means its cool. If I say NIGGER then I should expect problems. The logic in that makes sense to me. We say it all the time and we dont use the "ER". What if I called a black person a nigger?  What would the outcome be? I've only heard one black person say it (Uncle Ruckus) and it was funny. But why?? If its not ok for white people then it shouldn't be ok for black people.

Black folks in the entertainment industry are extremely guilty of making the use of nigga mainstream.  Comedians and rappers for the most part. Why are they not scrutinized for it. Maybe because its entertainment but there's no way that anyone can tell me that after they leave that stage that they dont use the word. If they do that's their business. But if we cant seem to get away from it how can we expect anyone, black or white, to not ease up on the usage or not say it at all? Should we even keep getting offended that its out there or do we just ignore it? Its hard to ignore but we as black people make it ok and get mad when others use it in their own way.

On the other end of the spectrum, why is it that black people get mad about the N word but we find it ok to make jokes about white people? I understand that we think that we have the right because of slavery blah blah blah but isn't that a double standard? Thats like saying its not ok for men to be in gay relationships but two women together is sexy (and I've heard someone say that which baffles me). Do I make white people jokes? Yes and you know whats funny is that white people will go to a black comedian's show and crack up laughing.  If a white person makes black jokes and the camera cuts to the black people, they're angry! I mean come on people. There's a movie called White Men Cant Jump!!! What if there was a movie called Black Men Cant Drive? There would be all kinds of chaos. Louis CK, a hilarious white comedian, has made black jokes in his stand ups that I've seen and I thought the joke were funny, especially since they were true. And I also wonder if there are really any white people that get offended when they hear the jokes. I bet they dont because hmmm...lets see....they know its just jokes!!!

The point that im trying to make is that the N word is just a word to me. If its used to harm then get mad. If it's used for fun so what. I understand that most white folks wont say it out of respect even if we give them permission lol. But WE shouldn't be using it as much as we do and if its not ok for them then it shouldn't be ok for us. And if white people want to make black jokes so what. Its just jokes!