[Nicole]

What is the meaning of the word ‘nigger,’ from an African American point of view, and from non-minorities?

User Detail :  

Name : Nicole, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 17, City : Kalamazoo, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : school, 

[Mike]

It is a word of such power when used in the wrong hands. It shows every single ugly emotion, all bundled up in one little word. This is a word that when used destroys the reputation of the person using it. This is a word that when used against someone shatters their self-esteem and pride, even though we recover in one word. I think it’s a word of extreme hate.

User Detail :  

Name : Mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 15, City : New Bern, State : NC, Country : United States, 

[Chris]

I don’t know if this addresses your question, but I thought I would share it to see what people think, and if anything like this has happened to anyone else. Reading the question caused a memory from grade school to resurface. When I was in early grade school, around the second grade, I used to hear the ‘n’ word on the playground. This was usually during lunch recess. At that time I didn’t know what the word meant; I just knew it was directed at black people. One day in school, a group of kids in my class was looking at a world map. We were trying to find country names we hadn’t heard before. During an inspection of the continent of Africa, I noticed the country of Niger. Being fairly young, I made the connection that the ‘n’ word stood for somebody who was from the country of Niger. At the time, I was quite proud of myself for having figured out the meaning of a word that I didn’t know. Well, you can imagine what happened when I used my newfound knowledge for the first time, which happened to be when a black friend of my mom’s came to visit. I simply walked up to her and said something along the line of, “How are you (n-word)?” Luckily, the woman didn’t lose her composure, but mom hit the roof. After mom calmed down, the woman asked where I got that word. I explained how I made the connection when I saw the map and how I was so happy to figure something out for myself. She explained what the word really meant and the context in which it is used most of the time. Thinking about this today, I can’t help but laugh. Children’s logic can be so simple sometimes. I should mention that I was in the second grade in 1972. I guess what I’m trying to say with this long-winded story about my experience is that, to me, the n-word means whatever the speaker wants it to mean. It may sound simple, but I really believe this.

User Detail :  

Name : Chris, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Lebanese, Religion : Catholic, Age : 35, City : Warren, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Dominique]

This has always been a touchy subject for me as an African American, and not for the reason you might think. I know very well the historical negative meaning of this word, and it is quite unfortunate what blacks had to go through in the past. But what makes me angry today is the use of it among black be BY black people to refer to other black people. In other words, blacks use it to refer to each other in a brotherly or jovial manner. I read the two responses, and just like the second guy said, yes, a word can mean whatever you want it to mean, but one must consider the historical ramifications of the word. I don’t like it that of all the words on the planet, blacks chose that word to mean ‘brother,’ etc. It reminds me of a class I took in college: ‘Race, Class and Gender.’ The section was about how certain loaded terms that have one specific historical, often degrading meaning are ‘recycled’ to mean something new. For example, the word ‘fag’ used to be a derogatory term used often by heterosexuals toward homosexuals. Now, gay people used it to refer to each other, much like blacks use the ‘n’ word. Wow! As I’m writing this I realize it’s a tough subject to address. On one hand I guess in theory it’s uplifiting that blacks can take such a historically negative word and use it positively, but on the other, I can’t bring myself to want to use that word in this new, positive fashion. To conclude, I think it’s something that deserves a lot more disucssion, which I hope will take place. The use of nigger by black people is controversial but debatable. But when used by white people, it’s uncalled for, even if they don’t mean anything bad by it, and blacks know this. The reason for this is that the word was created in a negative context by white people to degrade and dismiss black people. And it’s much harder to look at that word positively when coming out of the mouth of a white person. That is just the way it is; ask any black person and they’ll agree.

User Detail :  

Name : Dominique, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Don't believe in religion, Age : 22, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Meredith21811]

It’s just a word used by less-intelligent people, generally. It has no power over me. Usually when I hear it, I look to the source, and without fail, it is an ignorant black or white person. So what it means to me is that a dumbass is speaking.

User Detail :  

Name : Meredith21811, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Author]

Posts