I dedicate this to Kalmplex Seen for asking me to write about it… and to ALL MY NIGGAS!!!
Hello, loyal reader. Today’s topic is a controversial one. Therefore, I will begin by telling you what this article is NOT. This article is NOT about race relations or racism. This topic is about a word, and the usage of that word. The word on trial today is, ‘NIGGA’!!! More importantly, it is about White people using the word presently. This isn’t about the history of the word ‘nigger’, because we’re not talking about ‘nigger’. We’re talking about ‘nigga’. You notice the difference?
I searched high and low for a qualified person to tackle this subject. After restless nights, I found him – ME! Can White people say, ‘nigga’? OF COURSE they can. It isn’t a hard word to pronounce. The real question is, “SHOULD White people say the word”? I believe it depends on the context of the conversation. I’ll give you an example, there are two men in their early twenties conversing with each other. One is White and one is Black. Their names are Hakeem and Bradley. I know your stereotypical mind is assuming that Hakeem is the Black guy, and Bradley is the White guy. Okay, your assumption is correct. Hakeem is the Black guy, and Bradley is the White guy.
Here is how their conversation goes:
Hakeem: Yooo, Brad! Wassup, my nigga? How you been?
Bradley: I’ve been good. Chillin’, my nigga.
Hakeem: Don’t call me a nigga, my nigga. You’re White, my nigga. Don’t EVER say ‘nigga’, NIGGA!
Bradley: I don’t mean any harm by it. Besides, you call me a ‘nigga’ all the time.
Hakeem: YOU SAID IT AGAIN!
***Hakeem punches Bradley in the face***
***an onlooker calls the police***
***The police arrive & draw their guns on Hakeem while asking who he is***
***Hakeem reaches for his wallet & is shot 41 times***
THE END.
Do you get the moral of the story? No? Good. Because there is no real moral, nigga.
This is for the Black people who use the word, ‘nigga’ – and A LOT of us niggas use it regularly. If we (Black people) call each other ‘nigga’, what gives us the right to bark at anyone of a different race using it in the same context as we use it (as a general and unoffensive term)? These days, it seems like niggas would rather own a word than own a home. Our music is swarmed with the word. White people listen to the same music we do. Are they not allowed to recite the lyrics because the word ‘nigga’ is in it? They illegally downloaded the album just like we did. Can’t they share in the same joys as us while enjoying pirated music? Nova Knows… but, what do YOU think?
I Love You,
Nova Giovanni
P.S. – White niggas, don’t call me ‘nigga’ yo…
http://NovaGiovanni.WordPress.com
http://YouTube.com/NovaGiovanni
Facebook – Nova Giovanni
NovaGiovanni@gmail.com
Great again
Very Well Put!! ….But U didnt have to kill Hakeem with 41 shots lol
Wow, the guy you found was really ‘qualified’. lol.Great stuff Nova.
Haha this post is equally funny as eye-opening.
You bring a good point. I’m heavily influenced by hip-hop … I’ve been listening since I was 13.
I think the reason why black people get offended when white people say nigga is because it’s essentially the biggest differientiator that black people have over other races.
It’s about exclusivity. It’s almost like being part of a club.
I rarely say nigga, it was always taboo when I was growing up.
But these days, when I talk about my friends (white, black, asian) that grew up with me, going through the same struggles, sometimes I’ll say “he’s my nigga”. Because for me, nigga is that expression of coming from the bottom and hustlin to the top. Like Pac always said, “never ignorant in getting goals accomplished.”
Peace.
ay… this goes hard right here im black nd i do use the word nigga constantly i dnt get offended when white ppl use the word nigga cuz it is a sign of us going thru wat we goin thru while were growin up but it depends how they use it if they call me a stupid nigga then wtf by all meanz i will pop off but in other words i feel you dave…
but yo
im glad you touched on this ..im white itailian to be exact ., and grew up in the inner city.. (south philly) raised in a all black neighborhood (7st) and went to a all black high school(southern).. so the word nigga been intertwined in my everyday vocablulary since birth… to me its nothig but a slang word for friend..
but you cant glamorize it in your muisic and in your movies… try to reach out to a white audience for sales then get mad when we recite the shit like all other races do.. thats some ignorant ass shit ….yall gotta stop living in the 60′s.
this is true as well chirs but it does depend on the context that use the word i used to say white ppl idc how many blck friends you have do not use the word nigga but i had to understand if im gone use the word to other blck ppl and it is a word used every day to let u kno… then of course ppl around me are gone say it cuz thats just how it is blck ppl cant even call it offensive cuz of what you said right here we do glamorize it n for all niggas that get mad u shuld point that out cuz thats hella real right there i like that..:)
Chris, it took almost 2 decades for George Lucas to make “Red Tails” mostly backed by his own money and private investors. He could not get a major film studio to see the value in a positive predominately Black movie about WWII, with a big budget. THis is no seceret he openly discusses the fact that white Hollywood did not see the capital value in this movie.
My point is that Black people do not control the media, it is largely rich White men who control the images of Black people that are displayed in popular culture. Perhaps, instead of making an argument as to why Black people cant get mad at Whites for using these words, maybe what you really need to do, is get mad at the Capitalist media for only seeing value in ignorant, self destructive, stereotypical representations and images of Blacks. Could you imagine a world where 17 year old uneducated White males from rural Kentucky and Kansas are the only representation of White men in America. Can you imagine how limited the world view of White AMerica would be if we only were given one representation of White people, if White people were viewed as culturally homogeneous. Well, this is exactly what happens to Blacks. If you truly are from Philly, then you would know that there is far more diversity in Black music than what is played on BET and on the radio. . You would also know that there is a variety of Black films from all over the African diaspora that are never given the support of the main stream media.
I luv it and feel you put it well. It’s just like i would never call someone from the LBGT community a “homo” or a “faggot ” because those are their words and bc im not part of that community i can’t use it.
no its not right for a white person to say the word nigga and were im from if we ever heard a white person saying that then it will be a whole bunch of mess started and the will possibly get killed for using such language especially if you adress a back person in that type of way. and i dont think that its right for you as a aurthor to use such language eather, and the reason why it is ok for black people to use that word is because when the white people called us it, it was meant to bring us down but now we’ve taken that word and made it our own and now that its our word nobody outside of our race can use it.
U’r a racist (: go drink Grape soda “you’r own race ” is like every other race on this planet . Don’t fool poeple , when you’r givin apple to a monkey don’t try to pretend it’s a banana otherwise i’ll be upset .
You Nisha are a idiot. get killed for saying nigga!!! i laughed so hard when i read this not to mention the spelling errors in your comment. where i live we black and white people call each other nigga/cracka in FRIENDLY CONTEXT. And by your comment i can pretty much tell u dont like white people at all. This is something you’re just ganna have to get over and shrug it off if it bothers you. BECAUSE GUESS WHAT ILL SAY IT NO MATTER WHERE I AM, WHAT IM DOING, NO MATTER WHO I AM AROUND. if u wanna get mad then get mad we can duke it out and put it behind us and ill say it again after we get done. its just your comment makes you look really ignorant/racist maybe even both. have a good day idiot
I don’t allow anyone, regardless of their race/ethnicity/ or nationality to call me a nigga/nigger , the words are the same. Black english vernacular consistently drops “er” endings of words and replaces them with an “a”: sister/sista, mother/motha, preacher/preacha. So the “different word argument is ridiculous. Nonetheless, you are all missing the point of the blog. Are you really arguing that you are proud of a word that is rooted in hate and inhumanity, are you really attempting to justify its use. Our you saying that we are so hopeless that the only tool we have for empowerment and to counter racism is to justify ownership of the word “nigger”? This is the stupidest SHIT I have ever heard in my life! The sad reality is that when I read stuff like this, when I look at the systematic destruction of Black families, the incarceration rates of Black men, the number of Black children in foster care,the health disparities, the number of Black children in single parent homes, the Black on Black murder rates. I realize, that this is the first generation in which Black people have become niggers. There is power in words, be careful of what you call yourself, and what you allow others to call you. We need to wake up.
Hm. I don’t use that word casually anymore because I didn’t want nonblack people hearing me say it and think it’s cool to say it around me. But what you said is very true and I never saw it that way before. Black people have been calling each other “nigger/nigga” for so long they’ve begun living up to it…or down to it rather.
WOW!! Now that is powerful! I agree 100%! We have allowed/facilitated the power of thought and speech to manipulate us into becoming niggas/niggers. It is truly sad and bewildering to me because as a personal trainer and life coach, I speak with POTENTIAL clients all the time from the very circumstances you mention here- broken homes, unhealthy, incarcerated, etc- and the reason I say “potential” in such a way is because thats as far as our communication goes approximately 90% of the time… with all of the complications and struggles we go through individually, when it is shown to us that there is a pattern within our community, or race, of others experiencing the same or similar situations AND the causes and solutions are explained, we still continue the same path of destruction in a very “o well” manner. Its like we don’t even want to attempt to do better!! It sickens me most of all because for so many years I was all for the “black man’s plight”. Now, I see even black men and women aren’t for themselves much less the whole of us
No. This is not okay. Its perfectly fine for Black people to say nigga. That word was made by white people and used as a racial slur. Yes. But when Black people say nigga, its us changing the meaning. Its us claiming our own definition.
Notice I said US and BLACK PEOPLE. If a white person says that, the word becomes racist again and they deserve a slap in the face.
To Non-People of Color: Every White Person Ever
Why would you even want to use the word? Do you know what that word means? Where it comes from? Even though you might have Black friends, you DON’T have the right to say nigga/nigger. There are two reasons for saying nigga/nigger.
1. You are trying to reclaim the word (only Black people can do this)
2. You are being racist
listen up guys im black and its true we black people use it to rise above it and tbh 1 of my best mates is white and he even realises that its wrong for white man to say it cause the whites didnt realy go through anything bad in their history but the blacks were made their toys and all the bad stuff you can think of like goerge stinny the 14 year old kid that was killed on electric chair for something they soon realised that he didnt do! a white mate once asked me that why do black people get bothered by racism and i said its cause it happened to them not the whites and another example (if someone laughed at you and said haha your mother got raped it would realy bother you cause it never happened! thats the whites side of the story of the word nigga) but now someone said the same thing and it realy happened of cause it would hurt your feelings cause it happened to you, nigga to blacks) see the diffrence even i fight when people say it but after the reasons ive given you can you blame me? even my mate agrees
listen up guys im black and its true we black people use it to rise above it and tbh 1 of my best mates is white and he even realises that its wrong for white man to say it cause the whites didnt realy go through anything bad in their history but the blacks were made their toys and all the bad stuff you can think of like goerge stinny the 14 year old kid that was killed on electric chair for something they soon realised that he didnt do! a white mate once asked me that why do black people get bothered by racism and i said its cause it happened to them not the whites and another example (if someone laughed at you and said haha your mother got raped it wouldnt bother you cause it never happened! thats the whites side of the story of the word nigga) but now someone said the same thing and it realy happened of cause it would hurt your feelings cause it happened to you, nigga to blacks) see the diffrence even i fight when people say it but after the reasons ive given you can you blame me? even my mate agrees
sorry guys but read the second 1 to understand not the first 1
No black person alive now has been enslaved by a rich white man so you can’t claim that you’ve been through anything! White people have also been through struggles in their history. Do you see the British hating the scandanavians because of the Vikings invading Britain and killing folk? No because the ones alive had nowt to do with it! Get the fuck over yourselves and stop acting like victims!
What justifies the usage of the word “niggu” as being acceptable IS its context and whether or not it was MEANT to be offensive. It’s as simple as that. If someone want’s to be offended by it, regardless of the true intentions of the word, then that person probably has a chip on his/her shoulder.
Lol I’m signed up to post this. See I look at it in this light though, you can say its a slap in our previous generations face but in reality its a slap in the white peoples face because the same derogatory word they used for us has technically evolved into a different use in our race. It’s true, different races don’t do anything like this but its true that none of these races have such history in America with such a derogatory word against them. This word has traveled through generations so its definitely not going no where so why not take it from the white man and alter it. And that’s exactly what we did. We took a word that oppressed us for years made a mockery of it and turned it into something cool to say. That’s how we addressed it in my opinion. Our people set trends…..always have like they say we are the most copied race. So when white people want to say a word that was made by them to downgrade us to fit in…..it makes them look worst. We took this word and really made it ours. Also I wanted to address something else…. The older generation chose not to say it at all to cope with it, but the new geration copes by throwing it back in the white peoples face (my opinion). It’s funny because our race are like assholes because the white people are the majority of the people getting mad about the word which is why they try to justify saying it.
As a white person (who would never say the damn word, it’s not my history and struggle to try to claim – like really this is an obvious point) I think the reason white people DO freak out about the “unfairness” of not being able to say it is because saying it is the ONE thing that white people can’t do in society. White people aren’t used to being told they can’t do shit and they freak out when they feel “prejudiced against” when in reality all they are doing is not knowing how to react to being socially limited. Of course, these are the same white people who don’t see that the country is racist as fuck and that black people, black men in particular, are prejudiced in way bigger, actually real ways, every day of their lives.
That’s why I really think you shouldn’t tell white people they can use this word under any circumstance. The taboo against white people saying the word is a rare and powerful sign of revolt against the structural racism in this country, and if white people start feeling comfortable using the word, the reminder of that prejudice is gone. Keep the taboo strong.
You start off by saying “this article is NOT about race relations or racism”, and later in the same line of thought say, “it is about White people using the word (nigga)”. Therefore contradicting yourself. Its either about racism and white people can’t say it or it’s not about racism and anyone can say it.