In Daniel Beaty’s conversational poem Duality Duel: The Nerd vs the Nigga he explains the battle being fought between the nerd and the nigga by speaking as both the nerd and the nigga. The battle is being fought within many African Americans. Many believe that there is no place in the elite society for the nigga, so they abandon the nigga within themselves and embrace the nerd or the image that seems “proper” to the behavior and image of the upper class or elite society. The battle between the nerd and the nigga is in serious need of a resolution. The battle may not be able to be won by one side so the question is can the nerd and the nigga coexist?
What is a nerd? What is a nigga? Before the question can the nerd and nigga coexist can be answered the nerd and the nigga must be defined. According to dictionary.com a nerd is an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit. What is a nigga? The legendary Smokey Robinson once said “I think it’s a shame that every few years black people get a change of name,” but nigga was one of the earliest names, probably the first name after black or African. Back in slavery days the slave masters use to call the slave “niggers,” the term “nigga” is just the slang version of the word nigger. Today the word is only respectfully used by black people to other black people. The use of the word by the white race is thought of as being highly disrespectful. Today black people use the word as form of affection or endearment. It’s common to go out and hear a black person greet another black person by saying, “What’s up nigga,” and their goodbyes will more than likely go something like “Peace out my nigga,” or “See you later nigga.” In-between the hello and goodbye the ...
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...hed his “well-crafted external persona,” which express that the nerd is running away from himself. Beatty later says, speaking as the nigga, “without me there is no you” and in that line is the truth. The truth that the nerd is scared to let through and profess but it is revealed when the doors are closed and the nerd is all alone, when the “ghetto nightmares still haunt yo dreams” and you realize that “yo mama is still black.”
So the resolution to the battle of the nerd and the nigga is that they coexist and this they can do. The nerd and the nigga complement each other and one must reveal each at their respectable times. As Beaty says, one doesn’t have to solely become a nigga, “but this one thing is true, inside you is a hard ass nigga you gotta let come through.” Don’t deny yourself of being who you truly are embrace your nerd and journey to the nigga in you.
Moreover, the racial terms can be a projection of more positive definitions and interpretations that can establish individuality. In “Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor, she talks about instances where adults of her community/race have references of the ‘n-word’ that differs from how society or individuals who may use it.
The nerd trope is ubiquitous to American media and culture. Usually, it’s an academically ambitious kid who has beyond thick glasses, tucked pants, and acne: a target. Leonid Fridman takes on this stereotype in “America Needs Its Nerds.” Fridman condemns America’s neglect and contempt for intellect. He argues that America’s perspective is self-destructive through the use of definition, example, and patriotism.
The word “Nigger” was a term used in reference to a slave. A slave meaning, you were the lowest scum of the earth, Illiterate and uneducated in every sense. Today, the usage of the word is spilt in to different context, it is used to refer to one another. A lot of children today use the word freely, not because they are ignorant to the history and putridness of the word, but solely because they are not really offended by it and the only time they hear it, it's being said by someone else who is of color. As I looks back over the years, I can’t really remember anyone distinctively ever calling me the N-word, or better yet, not in a derogative fashion. I don’t think that anyone has ever called me the word to my face or in hearing distance. Growing up in New York City, the only time I ever heard the word “Nigger” was from people who called themselves “Nigger”. I remember sitting in class daydreaming on the word, thinking to myself, “How could anyone call themselves a Nigger and be proud of it?” Yet It’s Hard to hurt me with words, but I had never heard that word used with such vengeances. What does this word mean in my everyday life?
Back to Willie Lynch, every versus tandem he has put together is that of a problem in the Black society: Old Male vs. Young Male, Male vs. Female and the age old battle of Light Skinned vs. Dark Skinned. The Old Male vs. Young Male is not so much of a problem because there will always be some type of generation clash, but the other two are somewhat of a problem. In the case of Male vs. Female due to Willie Lynch I will say that it is bitter sweet.
American culture has evolved, and Society tends to ostracize people for their intelligence, and our culture has been giving these intellectuals derogatory names like nerd and geek. Leonid Fridman believes that these anti- intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought and should stop for the sake of America. The author supports this position in the passage “America Needs It’s Nerds” through the use of rhetoric by giving definitions of terms such as geek, offering comparisons through juxtaposition, adding a tone shift, and posing rhetorical questions to the reader.
... will keep going until some change takes place. Here, however, the author provides an illustration in his ironic essay for his coolness in the face of ignorance, oppression, terror, outlining the major downfalls in this struggle. Comparing the coolness of himself to other blacks and whites, Alexander successfully shows how lacking America still stands to move towards racial equality. Alexander feels integration has not taken place, rather whites and blacks live together having their own separate cultures and whites absorb desirable aspects of black culture and leave the rest. That is far from integration, and due to his research on this topic, Alexander feels “yes, blacks are cooler than whites.” (Alexander ???)
The social expectations theory states that human groups are governed by a set of rules, customs and expectations that we attain from family, peers, our communities, and school. However, in this modern era mass media also plays a significant role in how we act as a member of a group. In the film, many of the African-American characters took on over-exaggerated personalities in the film that served to emphasize the tension within the neighborhood. However, this also exemplified the social expectations of the black community by society, due to the fact that blacks were portrayed as loud, obnoxious, and crude. Many scenes in the film demonstrate this such as the trio “Sweet Dick Willie” and his friends chattering loudly as they discuss Mike Tyson, Buggin’ Out causing a commotion in Sal’s for something as minute as not having any famous African-Americans on the Wall of Fame, and one of the kids from the neighborhood yelling at Da Mayor for being a dead-beat drunk. Moreover, the controversy following the film’s release also exemplified the social expectations of African Americans because many public officials feared that the black community would riot in outrage after viewing the film, which establishes African-Americans as rowdy, quick to anger, and quick to resort to violence. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Spike Lee lamented on the controversy stating, “…my least favorite: the reviews of David Denby and Joe Klein saying that black people were going to riot after seeing this film. That they [black people] weren’t intelligent enough to make the distinction between what 's happening on screen and what happens in real life...” It is ironic that a film focused on racism and prejudice could conjure the same reaction from people that it sought to critically
...n his dream, his grandfather tells him to open the briefcase and read the letter which states “To Whom It May Concern, Keep This Nigger-Boy Running” and he wakes up to his grandfather’s laughter (Ellison 236). Although he has his scholarship, the satisfaction of his goal is not complete. The white society are constantly making African-Americans believe they have a chance and there is still hope and so they thrive off this hope that is still in the white society’s control. White people will always be exploiting him and African-Americans and they will always be constantly struggling to achieve and be someone of social equality. He and the white society perceives him as an invisible man. It is a man vs. himself conflict and his realization that he is running from himself and will continue to keep blindly running if he keeps allowing society to demoralize his identity.
This generation’s high school lifestyle incorporates a lot of different cliques and niches. With these cliques comes many labels. The words “jock,” “nerd,” or “prep” may come to mind. Everyone has the expectation that they will find somewhere that they will find somewhere to fit in high school. What happens to the ones that do not? They seem to be in a void category, as if they are not even there or forgotten. They receive the label of an outcast. Shane Koyczan observes the way one may be labeled through his own experiences: “We were expected to define ourselves at such an early age, and if we didn’t do it, others did it for us. Geek. Fatty... I was being told to accept the identity that others will give me,” (Koyczan). We are not in complete control of who we are perceived to be. Surrounding peers decide who they think you are based on your appearance or grades but forget to look at what lies on the inside. It is all a process of categorization where you must attempt to camouflage yourself or risk being excluded.
“We are huge nerds and we are nerds that want to share that passion with other students, specifically for girls, young girls that get told being nerdy isn’t cool. We want to change that, and that starts from the bottom,” Jawaharlal said on the
Ever since I was a little kid, the word “nerd” was used to offend the children who did not fit in easily or had specific hobbies. After years of hearing the word “nerd” and even be called one myself, I realized that to me it was just a character trait that needed to be embraced. A “nerd” was the kid that was great at math or english or science, or liked collecting cards, or loved playing video games, or brought a book to read during lunch because they did not have any friends. A simple and superficial definition of a “nerd” is a person who does not fit in easily. Some words that are too nice to describe a “nerd” are intelligent, educated, scholar and some words that are too mean are awkward, weirdo, and freak. An example of a nerd is “Dexter”
The documentary hit many points that I can and cannot agree with. One point I can agree with that being that the word "Nigga" isn't going away anytime soon. People use it as a slang word in many different scenarios: to show respect, to show distaste, to show a mentality, to show friendship, etc..
In today’s society, high schoolers are split up into wide varieties of cliques. In high school, people label you in some kind of group or clique. People are either considered a goth, jock, stoner, nerd, loner etc. The reason why people are labeled as those things is because of what their interests are, what they wear, what their personality is, and the people that they associate themselves with. People tend to migrate towards certain kinds of cliques because they like to do certain things. Consider this, the jocks will hang out with other jocks and play or practice the sport they play, the stoners will hang around other stoners and smoke as an interest, and the nerds will get together with other nerds to study and practice things. High school is filled with drama and arguments, but hanging out and doing
Racial crossover is not something that is new, and to outsider's to this behavior seems perplexing (Wilkins, 2008). For the Puerto Rican wannabe defines and effaces racial boundaries, through dress, attitude and interracial dating according to Wilkins (2008). Unlike the Goths and Unity Christians, Wannabes do not share a formal space with other Wannabes (Wilkins, 2008). That wannabe identity is at a disadvantage compared to the goths or Christians, as Wannabes do not have the same community resources to rely on according to the author. Racial transgressions are communicated through the consumption and incorporation of the hip-hop culture into the Wannabes life (Wilkins, 2008). When looking at their relationships sexual and romantic relations are