I have many many black friends white friends asian friends and even hispanic fiends like myself and a friend in particular of mine gets offended by me saying the word Nigga even though i say it in the same way as a greeting with my white friend and i just try my hardest not to say the word around him because its deeply offensive but he has his reasons for that he grew up in Mississippi and he says still to this day people get spit on and many other awful things spoke to them because of their race . The true meaning of the word Nigger means an ignorant person and someone that would get offended by me saying that must be ignorant trust me im the farthest thing from racist that you will ever see in your whole entire life. I am of no 'perfect' race or 'pure' race!!!!!!!! No one is so if someone calls you a nigga in an offensive way then just remember what i said. They are the ignorant ones.
User Detail :
Name : Heather21453, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 16, City : Montrose, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, I know just what you're talkng about. As a white high school student who recently moved from a 56% black city to a 98% white city, I must say I experienced a crapload of culture shock after I first moved. Nobody around here understands what the word's significance is to a lot of people. Everybody here just complains about getting made fun of by Cedric the Entertainer and Martin Lawrence. lol :) Anyway, back in my old city, near Detroit, pretty much all my good friends were black. Sometimes if I simply said something I read on the Internet that had the word in it, they'd start messing around and telling me I cant say that cuz I'm white. But a bunch of them regularly referred to me using variations, such as 'my niggs' and things like that, and I could say things like that to them because they knew that I understood black culture and what the word can mean sometimes. So it goes both ways. I totally agree that suburbanites who have no idea what black culture is really like beyond what they see on tv and movies, should never even think about using it around non-white people. Peace, love, and soul. I'm out.
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Name : Brent, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 16, City : Grand Haven, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : student, Social class : Middle class, The reason we used to word 'nigga' is because we've taken something that the white man had used against us and turned it into something we say proud. The slave masters used to call slaves(black folks) 'Niggers' and they used it as a degrading thing, ignorant, and just plan on bad. But as time has moved on black people have changed the meaning of Nigga and now use it as something proud. the word 'Nigga' when black people say it means Dawg, friend,Playa. I'll even say it to some of my non black friends and they know wut i mean,But they have respect not to say it back because they know it's a hole notha story because it seems that is a white person says it, they're try'n to take it back and usin it to degrade us again. so thats why we get mad when other people say it. But i have latino friends that use it and for some reason i don't care. even my latino boyfriend using that word, and i'm all coo' wit it. If you look at alot of stuff that blacks used to get called of done to them, they still kinda use it now, juss using it to make themselves feel good and show them where they've come from.
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Name : Camille, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Warren, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : College, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, I've studied human interactment between Americans for a couple of years. It's funny how your countries petty problems entertain the rest of the educated world. I guess it's come from a lack of schooling. Funny how people get mad so easily over a word with no meaning. It only means something if you want it to. But then a again, your people have been suppressed for years. Get over it!! The word means nothing.
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Name : Slavkin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Czech, Age : 22, City : Moscow, State : NA Country : Russia, Occupation : Journalist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, I agree with all that I have read so far. If a white person uses the word it takes on a different connotation. It has always perplexed me that white people even ask this question. If you don't plan to use it why does it bother you that you don't have the right to. When a Black person calls another Black person this word they have a mutual understanding of its meaning based on a connection which comes from culture, and you have no such bond, no matter how much you like Dr. Dre or any other Black men or women. I would also like to ask you what about derogatory terms used by other whites. I have white friends at school who call each other 'Crackers' or 'poor white trash.' All other cultures that I can think of have derogatory terms for each other which other races can't use. Why are Black people the only people called into question for doing so.
User Detail :
Name : Ashley M., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 20, City : Charlotte, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
JMember
The problem is, quite a bit of the music being sold right now (Nelly, Snoop Dogg...) use the word very frequently. The CD's are marketed to both blacks and whites, and then white people are left in really awkward situations when we try to sing along with, these songs. In this context: What do you think is appropriate?
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Name : J, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
JJParticipant
call each other niggas. All the hispanics that I know use that word too. It's kinda like when your friend calls you 'crazy' or 'stupid' etc. and they are just joking around with you and you laugh it off. But when someone who is not your good friend or your friend at all says the same thing to you, you take in an offensive way. This is how I view it. I hope i answered your question.
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Name : JJ, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 15, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States, When someone calls a white person a cracker it is ok by them. Just the same as a black person can call a black person Nigga without some not being offended. To me, I am offended by both because they are both derogitory terms that should be banished out of our vocabulary.
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Name : Ashley B., City : Kenosha, State : WI Country : United States, I don't think it is acceptable at all rather it be a black or a white person saying it. Blacks are quick to say that it is okay for blacks to say it to each other, but it is not. People of all races will never understand what black slaves experiecned. Yes, we read it in history books or discuss it with people, but no matter what, no one have or will experience what our ancestors went through. If we did we would not coin the term 'nigga' as a term of endearment, which is so close to 'nigger.' Stop and think about it. We can not be mad if a white person address their black friends by saying, 'What's up nigga?' because we as blacks say it. Would our ancestors accept the explanation that there is a big difference between the word 'nigga' and 'nigger?' What's up dawg, homie, son, kid, and the other words are fine, but why add the word 'nigga' to the list?
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Name : Nicole, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 22, City : Long Beach, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, That brings up a point that Blacks are the only ethnicity I know of that call each other by an insult, nigga (derived from the slavery and Jim Crow term: nigger) I've never heard Italians call each other Wops, never heard Hispanics call themselves Spiks, and never have I heard East Asians call each other Chinks. I would like a Black person to answer this for me.
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Name : John29393, City : Chestnut Ridge, State : NY Country : United States, I don't care who uses it. The word has not changed and I don't know why so many Black people have been brainwashed into thinking that it has. This word will always be derogatory. I grew up in a family where the n-word word was used as everyday language. As a child, I never understood the word or what it meant, but as I grew older I found out the meaning of the word. I've never spoken the n-word and I never will. I'd also encourage my future children not to believe the hype about the n-word meaning something positive all of a sudden.
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Name : Trey S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : Valdosta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Education, Education level : 4 Years of College, There is a difference between 'nigga' and 'nigger'. While I am not clear on the exact distinctions, my black friends have said that a white friend can use 'nigga' without being offensive, but that 'nigger' is offensive unless it is used in a joking manner.
User Detail :
Name : John29314, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Des Moines, State : IA Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, It is all about power. Nigger isn't an insult as much as it is a black power word. With black people it's 'We can use it, you can't.' If it was truly an insult blacks wouldn't use it themselves.
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Name : Bill Stietenroth, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 64, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Washing machine mechanic, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 
bcParticipant
u wish u knew what u where talking abuot
User Detail :
Name : bc, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : italian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I feel that a person has full and complete control of how they respond to a word. The presenter of that word can inject as much meaning as they want into the word, but only the receiver can fulfill that weight by acknowledging it. Hence if they become offended by it, they are choosing to be so. No other word in the English language carries so much weight. Some people believe that no white person can ever use this word, regardles of context; be it demeaning, in jest, or even in an educational and academic manner. If a black person called me a honkey to my face, I'd look at them and say 'And...?' I choose not to be offended.
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Name : Cheyenne, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 32, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : airport shuttle driver, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, 
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