Brian
By no means to I use these words in my vocabluary, and I know I have far less ground to say them on than most people. I know this may or may not be a racial slur, but the fact people believe African Americans love fried chicken is very easily explained. Due to extreme poverty (not all African Americans live in poverty, but sadly alot do), there is one food anyone can afford that has the most calories for the least amount of cash. Lard. You deep-fry something, and you’re consuming hundreds of calories instantly. Eating lots of calories keeps you from being so skinny you can no longer function. Chicken is just the most commonly deep-fried food. The watermelon thing though… I haven’t a clue on that one. Nigger. Easily done; trace it back to its root word of negro which means black. I have an utter hate for this word, even when used light-heartedly by rappers or commedians, and especially by the white kids at my school. Other forms of the word: Nizzle, Nigga, Nig, Whigger (used for whites who are attempting to mimic the socially enforced African American culture we see on TV. I.E. Baggy clothes, carrying small arms, thuggin’, pimpin’, etc.). Now for one so the African-Americans here don’t come out swinging at me like I’m only pointing at easy ones… Faggot. To fag or to be a fag was a common term in British schools from the late 1700s and referred to a lower classman who performed chores for upperclassmen. Around the time the Titanic sank, it started being used for gays as it is today (in America, anyway). It referred to a homosexual ball where the men were dressed in drag and were called fagots, or sissies. 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, ‘You’re a hell of a good guy, and I’m fonder of you than anybody on earth. I couldn’t tell you that in New York. It’d mean I was a faggot.’ (To avoid prosecution by samclem, this information was paraphrased from http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfaggot.html)