Naylor explains how a word can impact differently depending on various factors such as your race, age and the environment where you grew up in. In Naylor's essay she describes the effects of the word “nigger” in society. Naylor never really thought about the meaning of the word nigger till it was used in a negative way towards her by one of her white classmates. Personally I don't like the fact that she had to wait for a Caucasian person to start feeling offended. I ask myself, what if the classmate that used the n-word against her was black, would she have read so deeply into the word? Probably not because Naylor tells how her family uses the n-word and it meant something else to her. I have used the n-word before in my life. I'm not proud …show more content…
of it, it's simply the environment which I grew in which made it okay to use such a word. In the hood we don't use the word “nigger” because that's considered racist, but the word “nigga” is okay to use. I have never used the word in the form Naylor describes to discriminate a person of color. In music rappers throw around the n- word tones of times and this makes the black race and people of other races okay to use the n-word.
A very popular rap song with the n-word is Niggas in Paris by Jay Z and Kanye West. When you go to their concerts you see white people singing along to the song and even saying the n-word. These people aren't using the n-word to belittle black people, but more in a term of endearment and their love towards liking the song. Since I made out the hood I realized I have a very tough layer than most and perhaps people should just accept the n-word if people aren't using it in a negative tone. At the end of the day words are just words they can't physically hurt you. Many people in the U.S. are to sensitive to words in my opinion. Don't get me wrong I think it is important to know the history behind words and because of this I believe Naylor gets offended. What Naylor also needs to learn is that words change with time and just because a person of a different race uses, it shouldn't be reason enough for you to get offended. In life we are going to hear people say not just words but whole sentences with things that we strongly disagree, but we can not over stress ourselves by allowing our emotions to be hurt. You can't spend your whole life telling everyone how they should or should not speak is a losing
fight.
In both their essays, Naylor and Leong introduce a word that is meant to humiliate, hurt and ridicule. Naylor, being of African decent, was introduced to the word nigger at a very early age. Naylor asked her mother what the word meant, but she knew it meant something terrible. Black people raising their children in America would have to explain what nigger meant sometime in their childhood. Naylor's mom explains that the word
Moments after Lil Dicky and Chris Brown switch bodies, the song begins. The first couple lines of the song, Lil Dicky realizes he is Chris Brown’s body. Chris Brown is an African American rapper, so Lil Dicky wonders and asks “Wonder if I can say the n-word (wait for real?) / Wait, can I really say the n-word?” (11-12). Lil Dicky takes advantage of being in Chris Brown’s body in order to use the n-word in a song. The desire of wanting to use the n-word is wrong because it ignores the historical context of the word and how it is still a demeaning word for African Americans. Lil Dicky apparently believes that there are no repercussions for reappropriating a hateful slur. This misuse and misunderstanding of the n-word is something as a civilization we see all too often; there is no sense of sensitivity in this
They were using this word in a positive way. The word nigger came from an African American person directed at another doesn’t have a negative meaning,for them it is form of greeting.”There must have been dozens of times that nigger was spoken in front of me that nigger was spoken in front of me before I reached the third grade. Gloria Naylor has only heard the word, 'nigger ' around her family and friends of family. She has never heard it said by a white person or with a different tone of voice or context. The way the boy said it, made it sound like a 'nigger ' was something to be ashamed of.She defines the word 'nigger ' as "the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be."--speaking of men in the black
Joseph Conrad is nothing short of a genius. His writing technique is eloquent, and surreal and yet after having completed “The Heart of Darkness,” I couldn’t help feeling a little insulted by the oft used word nigger. My feelings lead me to do a little research on this word nigger. I checked three dictionaries: (1) the “Oxford Concise Dictionary,” (2) the “Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary,” and (3) “The American Heritage Dictionary.” They all had in common one definition, “a member of any dark-skinned race.” In addition, they all said it was “offensive.” Webster’s went one further and said “a member of a socially disadvantaged class of persons.” Now this last definition was closer to what my parents had told me the meaning of the word nigger was, an ignorant person. I tend to like my parents’ definition much better than all the rest combined!
Gloria Naylor begins her essay “The Meanings of a Word” with an analysis of words, their meaning, and why the power placed behind a word is more important than the word itself. This entire essay seemed to be about the weight a word can carry, and how no matter the permanent structure of the word itself, the weight can be shifted and transformed into something completely different. Specifically, the essay is about the word nigger, which feels as though it’s italicized constantly as some sort of defense mechanism for the writer. She goes on to describe the first time she heard the word, but by the end of the essay, we understand that this is only the first time that she recognized a hint of the cruel meaning behind it, because it is likely she heard the word many times before. This solidifies the idea that it is not actually the word that contains the power, nor the definition, but the connotation that the word
It’s no secret, the word “nigger” in today’s society is one of the most offensive, controversial, and racist things that can come from someone may say. The word right away brings up a dark past in the United States that few can be proud of, a time where African-Americans were segregated against due to their skin color. To this very day it remains one of those words that are rarely said in public because of the hurtful and derogatory meaning that it processes. But what about the word “nigga,” some may argue that our language is changing and the meaning has changed. There has been an ongoing argument over this subject for the last forty years, from when the word was first used in another context, whether it is fine to use the term despite it sharing a
The words he used started to become sensitive in the aspects of who were allowed to say the N-word but Mr.Pryor believed that people were allowed to say anything they wanted too. Instead of using the word nigger he uses the slang version, nigga. He considers the original N-word created by white slave owners in the 1800s to be dead. As for the slang version, he used it not assuming it had a racist connotation behind it. In paragraph 6, Juan Williams records a quote from Richard Pryor: “Mr. PRYOR: I think that people should say what they feel. I mean, you know, I don't give a (censored) if it's racism or whatever ism it is. I mean, whatever, man. Just to be yourself is such a nice thing. I like to be accepted.” “He refused to tiptoe around controversy, preferring to dive head first into the previously uncharted waters of racial commentary”(Collier
African Americans tend to use the “n word” freely but tend to find it offensive when individuals of other backgrounds do the same. Africans Americans use white privilege as a way to victimize themselves when it comes to the workplace, education, and society. McWhorter introduces the idea that black Americans would rather be victims. It is easier blame others than to actually address and solve the issue. The odds are not the favor of African American students and this is exactly what should fuel the fire rather than be a safety blanket to hide in whenever something goes terribly wrong.
To begin, the word ‘nigga’ is a colloquial term from African American Vernacular English. It is derived from ‘nigger,’ which originated as a neutral descriptor for black people, but later became highly pejorative (Kennedy, 2011). Both ‘nigger’ and its derivatives have been historically used as established derogatory terms, and have retained their association with discrimination against blacks in their modern day use, which remains pejorative (Middleton & Pilgrim, 2013). However, in recent years, the form ‘nigga’ has been reclaimed to some extent, particularly among the younger generation of African Americans, although this is almost always limited to its use in an intra-group context and its reappropriation remains controversial. As is the case with other instances of reclamation, the reappropriation of ‘nigga’ and ‘nigger’ has been influenced by several social factors, including a history of racism and other forms of discrimination, issues of black identity, and
The only reason people seem to have a problem with being called a Nigger by someone outside of the African American race is simply because they are still holding on to the past. How can we expect someone to not call or use a certain word towards us when we use it towards each other every day? It is a double standard in the world we live in and it’s getting ridiculous. So I believe that the word Nigger should not be replaced with the word Slave. Another reason he shouldn’t have replaced it is because being called a slave is completely different. The meaning of the word slave is a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. So it shows you just how clueless the African American race is. Why would you want someone to call you a name that carries such a meaning? Why would you want to be known as someone who is owned by another man or person? So I feel that the word Nigger was a good if not perfectly suitable word and replacement of the word Slavery. Some may argue that the word Nigger is the worst possible word that you could use because of the history and depending on the usage or the tone of voice that is exhibited during the use of the
My response to that would be, “was it fair for white men to refer to African-Americans as niggers?” In my opinion, a white person saying nigga is just as bad as using the word nigger. “Straight Talk About the N-word” talks about the complexities of the N-word. It seems as though there are two prevalent perspectives on using the N-word in the white community. On one side, “some are so comfortable with the n-word because they’ve grown up on and been nourished by hip-hop.” Therefore, as white kids rap along to songs, the N-word loses its meaning. For them, nigga becomes a cool word- just another term in today’s culture. However, when black kids say nigga to each other a sense of brotherhood and understanding overcomes them. From another perspective, there are many white Americans who were taught never to say the N-word. Therefore, they spend their entire lives refraining from saying nigger, nigga, or any other forms of the word without a second thought. This may seem like a positive first step to becoming an ally to the African-American community-but it’s not. When white kids are programmed to never use the N-word without asking why, they lose the history behind the N-word. I believe that teaching white America more about the answer is what we need to put an end to the cycle of
Naylor disagrees with the fact that "Nigger" is a internalization of racism. Which brings us to wonder if this term should really be racist.We learn that she is colored, and has family that is the same race as her, but they address one another by this term. Its not until a boy calls Naylor out after seeing his test grade where she actually hears this term be used negatively, even though she had no idea it was used for a bad term. She fount out later when she asked her mother.
Jeremy Clarkson who was renowned as a host on a very popular BBC show Top Gear, had gotten himself in a lot of trouble because of him saying the original rhyme on air. The show aired on February 2013 and in the episode Jeremy found himself deciding between two cars. So the only was he thought to pick between them was to sing Eenie, meenie, miny mo (Halliday). While singing the nursery rhyme he mumbled the original line to the song. The result was that everyone thought of him as a racist old man who shouldn’t be working on the show anymore. He came out to say it was his bad, but people still don’t think it was okay for him to get away with it. In today’s culture it is still very unacceptable to be even using the [N-Word] especially if it was in an old racist nursery
consistent use of the N-word does not degrade the education that is within the literature itself. If
All in all one can also put into perspective what positive factors not using the “N-word” could've caused. It can be thought of as, if kids were not taught about it at all would it really be something negative. Yes, it still does making people ignorant on the factor is inevitable. It is used everywhere , for too difficult for that to happen. Along with the same ideal that it is only acceptable if people of that race say it , it is like saying only I can say “faggot” be i'm a homosexual. The real question is who gets to justify what is the correct thing to do. Who gets to justify if those are the correct mentalities. No one does in a way it has to do how one is brought up that allows one to configure if it correct. Yet, even if one is born