Unfortunately, the N-word has been somewhat accepted into the parlance. IMO, its 'acceptable' usage is limited & proscribed as my above post indicates.
Those who use it so freely likely have no idea of its origin or potential impact, and might say the word just cuz it's used so readily among young persons in their locality and without regard to its derivation.
I would suggest that those kids don't try using the word in Watts, for example, if they are white... :-o
I personally don't think anyone should use that word It is such a nasty, hurtful, word. As a black American, i grew up in a mostly white neighborhood and I have bad memories of this one kid calling my siblings and I that all the time, and i remember it making me very sad. I also don't understand why some black people feel that it is okay to use the word, but if a white person says it, its not ok. Shouldn't anyone of any race use any racial slurs. It's ignorant. My little girl is biracial, and i hope she never has to hear the ugliness of that word.
It is a nasty word because for well over a 100 years it has been used to denigrate black people. It is used to dehumanize a whole group of people. This is especially true due to the context in which it was/is used and the sneering of the voice when using it.
Most kids today that use it are probably just copying their favorite rap artists but they have no idea as to why rap artists and older people used it: It has been a tradition for oppressed people to take a derogatory term that has been used against them, and begin to use it themselves, to cause the term to lose power. For example, gay people used to be called "queer" a lot and that was considered a derogatory term. gay people hated the word. Then, they adopted it themselves to take it's power. It worked. Now, when people hear the term they don't have the visceral reaction they used to have.
This has not yet happened with the N word. It still holds a lot of negative power. It has an ugly sound. Until the regular use by black people defuses the word, it is NOT acceptable for others, especially the white majority, to use it, except in an educational context.
I think the use by some white person of the word in a casual context or in the heat of the moment shows their true characters. It is simply not a word that would cross my lips spontaneously. The only time I have used it is when describing how my old boss used to talk (acting it out) in order to demonstrate that racism is still alive and well. But when white people use it casually or in anger, I think their inherent, maybe even buried racism shows.
I have enjoyed listening to Dr. Laura on occasion. Why? 1/2 because she is a crazy, anti-woman nut and it is comical to hear her and 1/2 because I do like most of her advice about living for one's kids and not sacrificing one's dignity for a loser, and I like to hear her go off on people who don't and do.
But I have known for years that she has some very bad qualities. She is homophobic, advocates abandoning the elderly to old age homes, hates overweight people and promotes Stepford-wifery. If you want to know what she really thinks about the correct role for women (except herself because she worked full time herself when her son was young), read Fascinating Womenhood. It is bizarre, scary and hilarious all at the same time and pretty much sums up her stance. (By the way, it is currently a very popular handbook for FLDS women).
This last bit also confirms that she is a racist so that about does it for me. I will not be listening to her again, funny or not.
