I'm confused to why this is even a racial slur in the first place, now I could be completely wrong which may make the situation seem different than it actually is.But isn't Nigger just a mispronunciation of Niger which most of the people being called nigger back in the old day were from Nigeria, I mean you could say it's still better because not ever black person is from Nigeria but. It seems kinda silly based off my own race.Seeing as I'm Native american, most people refer to me as an Indian, and I've never heard anyone call a Native by a actual tribe name. Just saying. But possibly misunderstanding the full story and not being white or black maybe I just don't get the hate for that word.
-
The N word
-
The origin of the word "nigger" does not come from or have anything to do with Nigeria. It's a corruption of the Spanish and or Portuguese word negro, meaning black. The offensiveness of the word comes not from it's roots but from the meaning that it acquired and was applied to it over the years. The root of the word has little to do with meanings applied to it with it's popular use. The meaning that society applies to the word trumps whatever the actual root meaning may be.The meanings that where applied to the word "nigger" by the society of time was lazy, dirty, ignorant, lacking in character and morels and just about any other pejorative you can think of. The word was used to make people feel less than human and put them or keep them down. It would be like someone calling you "blanket ass," "wagon burner," or "prairie nigger." The etymology of the word doesn't matter it's the hurt that it attempts to impart.
-
I would also add, that like any pejorative term, it only caries as much power as it has been given. Unfortunately, due to it's rather disgusting history, the word has been given much power.It's an interesting thing when you give it some thought though, isn't it? There really is no such thing as a "bad word". I don't know if it's even a valid comparison, but from my own perspective, words like honky, cracker, wasp, really have little if any impact on me because I've never assigned them any relevance, or "power", in my life.
-
Quote:I'm confused to why this is even a racial slur in the first place, now I could be completely wrong which may make the situation seem different than it actually is.I can't believe this was even said, but given to the fact that you don't know makes sense.Scotty and unsupervised said it best. The word was also used in many barbaric and inhumane actions towards African Americans such as lynching (hanging and burning). It's a very derogatory term with ALOT of power.It's like asking what Chinese people find so offensive about the word "chink" or Japanese people with the word "Jap" or Spanish people with the word "spic". Though they all have different origins, from what I've heard from Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish friends, it effects them the way that word effects me. Well I'm Spanish too so eehh.
-
Originally Posted By: JapanFan14I can't believe this was even said...This honestly isn't really at you Abi just kind of to the discussion in general as it's taking place in my head.Always remember, there are people who have never experienced prejudice and don't understand it. Simply explaining it as factually and as forthrightly as possible, has always been best in my experience.A lot of minorities have a gut reaction to get condescending and accusatory when someone says they don't understand prejudice or racism and that puts the one seeking to understand (if that is indeed their motive, rather than just bating) on the defensive and less likely to listen and less willing to understand. Beyond that it may make them more apt to start buying into some of the prejudices they hear. While siting examples of prejudice in ones own life can be effective it can also lead to a more argumentative and less productive form of discussion. While the minority knows and understands the effect of the prejudice they may have just described that doesn't mean the recipient of the information is automatically going to understand it. If and when they don't that can lead to hard feelings on the part of the one relating the experience and feelings can quickly become hard and accusatory, often thereby negating the attempt of positive enlightenment. As counter-intuitive as it sounds it's often more productive to use examples of prejudice from the lives of a friend or acquaintance so as to avoid this pitfall that I seem many minorities stumble into.
-
I have many Japanese friends they've never been offended by the word Jap. I dunno where that comes from
-
And I have many Japanese friends who are extremely offended and were in fact the ones who told me about that word.
-
it seems to me that "Jap" and "Nip" became more wide spread during WW2, like "Kraut"