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June 12, 2006
"Greeting or Slur"
This letter is in response to the Thursday June 8, 2006 article in the Metro News entitled, “Greeting or Slur”. I'm so tired of hearing the "N" word controversy, so I wrote a little somethin' somethin' in response.
Also, for the record, Minucci was found guilty of a Hate Crime in the beating of Glen Moore. I hope both idiots learned their lesson.
Black people love to play the race card when we feel slighted, but we are never willing to take responsibility for the role we play in allowing these injustices to occur. We will never gain respect from anyone, black, white or other if we do not demand it from ourselves.
I am a 31 year old Black woman writing out of frustration, anger and misery. Much of my anger is a direct result of my being Black and female, but not because I am ashamed of it-I just feel sorry for many of my brothers and sisters-white and black.
Black people have a history, culture and civilization to be proud of, and it has nothing to do with today’s celebration of “blackness,” which encourages violence, prison-inspired clothing styles, illiterate speech and abusive language which promotes the use of the n word.
I came of age when hip hop reached its zenith. I was proud to turn my television on and see groups like Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Poor Righteous Teachers; Boogie Down Productions with KRS One educate and entertain young people with their creativity and lyrical style. I won’t waste time repeating what is common knowledge to true hip hop fans-we are witnessing the demise of an industry whose primary goal is to sell ignorance, degradation, and self hatred to the highest bidder. We are being exploited not only by corporate America, but by our own people. I cannot sit in silence and allow it to continue. There’s no excuse for this in 2006. We all know better.
The n word controversy opens a Pandora’s Box of questions. If blacks use the n word, does it mitigate the racism associated with it or does the fact that black people use the word so callously does it promote it? If the n word is so harmless, then why do white rappers, who according to their affiliations should have carte blanche, refrain from using it? Black people are the only race to accept public humiliation and denigration in the movies, on television on the radio and in the streets. No other racial or ethnic group allows itself to be addressed in public by a derogatory slur.
I would like to switch to another situation which highlights the frustration I have with what is deemed black culture. It involves the NBA dress-code controversy. There is a direct correlation between blacks, hip-hop and the NBA. If you attend a basketball game you will definitely be inspired by the booming bass of the hip hop beats which hype the players up before they do their thing on the court. Some basketball players even moonlight as rappers. In rap videos, NBA jersey’s and paraphernalia are abundant and rappers like to compare their lyrical style to their favorite player, etcetera, etcetera.
The NBA owes the hip hop community a debt of gratitude-if it weren’t for hip hop, their merchandising wouldn’t sell as well as it does. Also, it markets a lot of its gear to the hip hop audience. So why did the NBA take offense at the way the players were dressed, and what does this have to do with the n word?
If blacks view themselves as subordinate to other races and continue to treat other cultures with more respect then their own, (you see this a lot in rap videos with the celebration of Asian, Latino and Arabic influence)allowing others to capitalize off of it then we will remain undervalued and disrespected. We don’t care enough about representing ourselves in a dignified matter then why should anyone else?
The Nicholas Minucci trial is an excellent example of the worst case scenario of the power of this hateful word. He claims he was using as a term of endearment, yet he was he was beating the crap out of a black man. Hopefully this horrible incident will teach those idiots who think the word is harmless, a lesson. Black people are not the only ones to use this word-Latino’s, some of whom hate to consider themselves black use the word as well. They did not suffer through slavery, racism and the segregation that created this hateful word, how dare they embrace it? This is what is most appalling and offensive!
I have no respect for those who use this word and embrace its foolish connotations. It is sheer ignorance and stupidity. In the year 2006 there is no excuse for this.
Posted by renee at June 12, 2006 10:36 AM
Comments
First off let me thank you for providing me with interesting social events otherwise I'd never have a clue about what's happening in the world. Thank whichever internet guru geek for Google and Wikipedia and all my other quasi educational useless knowledge websites. Oh and honorable mention to ice princess for coming up with interesting and otherwise useless questions that tempt my desire for obscure and or blindly accepted / used sayings, terms, quotes etc. por ejemplos - What exactly is Black Forest Ham? and other curious questions like that. I'll have to look up that Nicholas Minucci trial.
I wholly agree with your opinion on the use of the "N" word. It's just stupid and ignorant never mind self deprecating. One day fine sunny day a couple years ago as I walk into work at the hotel I pass this black guy in the hall just outside the office. He's a little shorter than me, a few years younger and obvious to me one of the neuvo hip hop persuaded. As we're about to pass in the hall I nod hello to which he replies with a "what's up my nigger?" This incensed me for the very same reasons you stated in your blog. So I told my ignorant misguided friend "I ain't your nigger!" to which he mumbled something I assumed was not friendly, positive or apologetic. I tossed my bag and stuff into the office and wheeled around to look for my little friend to confront him perhaps explain the ignorance of his thought to him but apparently he slipped out a door and vanished.
Point being that someone once said that maybe the only way to stop "black" people from calling each other niggers is next time one of your "black" friends casually calls you a nigger is to beat them the way you would a "white" (or other race) person. Message delivered and understood. You beat a dog with a newspaper often enough for shitting on the carpet or wherever they eventually understand to knock it the fuck off. Fear is a great motivator especially for young punks that don't want to know any better. We'll work on positive reinforcement another time. Ciao!
Posted by: you know who at July 24, 2006 1:20 PM