[Vinod]

I am Indian and never call myself a "camel jockey." I have Jewish friends, and they never call themselves "kykes," and I have white friends and they don't refer to themselves or their friends as "crackers." So why to blacks use the derogatory term "nigger" when talking about themselves or their friends and family? Why do African Americans get upset when other people use the word "nigger" if they use it themselves?

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Name : Vinod, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 20, City : Seymour, State : CT Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Ana L.]

First, I would like to say that I am not African American, but of mixed race and ethnicity, with one parent from the Dominican Republic and another from the United States. However, I went to an all-black high school and also consider myself an ally to African Americans, as well as a child of the African diaspora.

There are systematic definitions of who we are supposed to be, and then there are words of resistance. "Nigger," as used by African-American youth, has a specific history of meaning resistance to the definition of blacks as 'less', or as nigger as "non-human" - just like gay men use "fag" and lesbians use "dyke." These have all been words used to dehumanize us, but among ourselves we use them as a way to reclaim the anger and pain and turn it into a community building force. However, the intent and the owner of the use of the word is very important. It is very different for a Jewish lesbian to refer to herself as a kike dyke, or a first nations person to refer to themselves as Indian, or a black person to refer to themselves as a nigger, than for someone outside of that particular place of resistance to use those words. We embue these words with new meaning when we use them in our own contexts, than when someone who is not black uses the word nigger, or not Jewish using the word kike. Also, there is no singular experience. I am sure that you as an Indian person can relate to the idea that you are different from a lot of other Indian people, and that you have your own opinions and ideas about names, labels, words, etc. The same goes for individuals in all communities.

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Name : Ana L., Gender : F, Age : 24, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, 

[Naomi]

I'll give you my opinion on it. First, when other races use the word 'nigger,' it's meant to degrade black people and make them feel less than human. When black people use the word with other black people, it's not meant to degrade or make you feel low. Now the word has a totally different meaning with some black people. It could mean your homie or friend, not a low, dumb stupid, ignorant being. For some black people, there is no difference. Nigger is a bad word no matter who says it. To me, there are two different meanings: One is someone who is ignorant and doesn't act like they have any sense. The other is just meaning your boy, homie or friend. I don't use 'nigger' every day, just sometimes. Yet if other races use the term, they mean it to be derogatory and to degrade. And they use the word with the intent of having some sort of hold on you and power over you.

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Name : Naomi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 20, City : Lansing, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Steve27850]

I know white guys who refer to themselves as Crackers, Rednecks, Peckerwoods, White Trash, etc. Same guys would be brandishing a broken beer bottle at someone from another race calling them that. This phenomenon is not limited to African Americans.

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Name : Steve27850, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 37, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Kathryn26638]

In middle school and early high school, I didn't understand this, either. Nowadays, it makes more sense, since I do the same kind of thing. Around my sophomore/junior year of high school, I realized I was a lesbian. It was this terrifying experience. What if people called me queer? What if they said I was a dyke? After a while, I came to understand something: I was queer, and I was a dyke, and ... so what? The gay community, perhaps more than any besides the African-American community, uses language reclamation. What that means to me is that I will choose the power these words have. There is no longer any insult in the word "dyke" for me... at least, not generally. In fact, the word itself never bothers me ... it's the tone, and the impetus behind it. At the same time, these words are used within the community, often at full force. More than once I or someone I know has made a reference to so and so being a "fag" or a "big dyke." Usually, these are merely reference points. (It saves going through a lot of qualifiers: "You know, the one with the bi-level hair cut and the leather jacket. She rides a motorcycle and lays pipe for a living. She looks kind of like Billy Ray Cyrus." Read: the dyke.) Women seem to have done this to, with "bitch." It's all about choosing where the power lies.

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Name : Kathryn26638, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Age : 21, City : Roanoke, State : VA Country : United States, 

[annonymous]

VINOD: Your guess is as good as mine. I've read the other responses, and I don't agreed with this logic to justify, glorify, romantisize bull-. Nigger is not acceptable, period. I won't call anyone camel jockey, nigger, nigga, a-raab, or any other variants. There is power in the words we use. Now, deflate its power by not reacting; okay, I can buy that, but I have yet to hear a legimate argument that explains the necessity to use these terms in the first place. Are our vocabularies that limited? That could lead to an entire new discussion. Why does the average American have an average 8th grade reading level and a 30-40% decrease in vocabulary than the average student had when our grand parents completed high school? You can call me gal, sista, dreads(friends only),black,african-american, momma, but don't call me n-!

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Name : annonymous, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 34, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States, 

[Gloria S.]

I relate the n-word and its potential use for empowerment among African Americans to the word "bitch" used for and by women. Remember when bitch was a derogatory term? These days, I think many young women define bitch as a strong-headed woman who gets what she wants, when she wants it - a very powerful feeling when you've been told for centuries that you're inferior based on your gender, or, in the case of African Americans, the color of your skin. It takes a very strong group of people to take a word used out of hate and turn it around to mean something more positive.

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Name : Gloria S., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Tokyo, State : NA Country : Japan, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Billoo]

Perhaps black people should consider the listening audience- when a black person uses the term 'nigger', to a non Afro-Carribean audience it is always regarded as a derogatory term for Afro-Carribeans, and they will interpret it that way. After all, its been used in that context historically where genrations have used it to offend. I'm Indian (born in India) and living in Britain- its fairly common here to hear Asians (from the Indian subcontinent) call each other 'Paki'. This is a British racist word mainly used by racist whites and is used as a form of abuse. When Asians here use it, its to show superiority between their Asian background/religion over the other Asian person receiving the term. Here also, there is a lot of prejudice between Asians eg Indians don't particularly like Pakistanis, etc. Let's get on with living together!

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Name : Billoo, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Indian, Religion : Sikh, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : computer engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Mandi]

I don't use the word and have never been called one by anyone who did not want my fist to connect with their face. It is a degrading and demoralizing word. I don't think the use of the word by blacks is as widespread as you think it is. The only blacks I know who use it are of two kinds: 1) They are selfish, narrow-minded and have little respect for other humans, so they don't mind using words that are dehumanizing to anyone , or 2) They grew up in lower economic communities and were influenced by the large commercialism of the rap industry. People in the rap industry use it because it shocks, sensationalizes and turns a buck. And because most people in America know more about the media representation of blacks than they do about actual black people, this is what they perceive to be. But "don't believe the hype."

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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Trey-Dawg]

There is a big difference between 'Yo Nigga' and 'Filthy Nigger' Nuff Said?

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Name : Trey-Dawg, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : I am white/Wife-Kid Black, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[K.J.]

This is definitely not a black phenomenon. In my school there is a large Italian population, so it's not uncommon to hear an Italian refering to another Italian as a guido, guida or guidette. When I first heard them speak like that to each other I was offended, and I'm not even Italian. I think the word 'nigga' is now being used like 'homeboy' or 'homegirl' was used in the early 90s. I've seen Italians call each other 'nigga,' and even blacks calling their non-black friends 'nigga.'

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Name : K.J., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 17, City : Bronx, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : High school student, Social class : Middle class, 

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