Nigga Argument

No word in the English language is as complicated as the word nigger. It became the primary word used to degrade black people sometime around the 19th century (Middleton and Pilgrim), and has since evolved into a colloquial term of endearment. Still, the harsh “nigger” retains its status as one of the strongest assets in the hate speech repertoire. Nigga, the well-intentioned offspring of nigger, also became commonplace during the 19th century (McWhorter). “Nigga” is prevalent in pop culture; listen to rap music or a Comedy Central special and find it used as often as one takes a breath. Popular arguments against the word cite that it is unfair and hypocritical of the black community to be able to use it and ask other races to refrain from

It is widely accepted that nigger is off-limits to all for its racist history, but many non-Blacks insist they have the credibility to casually drop “nigga” as easily as they would “buddy.” They cite rough upbringings and appreciation for black culture as reason enough to say it, and while their argument is backed solely by its ethos in what can be considered, in some cases, solidarity with the black community, the argument is limited by its use of stereotypes for credibility, and by its appropriation of oppression. The first and foremost issue with this argument is that white people cannot relate to the black experience. Nigga is one of the few “privileges” black people hold over white people, simply because black people have good reason to use it, and white people do not. White people, however, in their long history of being the oppressors, have created systemic racism/white privilege. For example, a black college student has the same chances of getting a job as a white high school dropout, and a college-educated white American has an average net worth of $75,000, while a college-educated black American has an average net worth of less than $17,500 (Thenewprogressive.) To relate this back to the word nigga, examine nigga’s roots: the slur nigger, which has played a key role in the creation of white privilege. Nigger was popularized by white slave owners to dehumanize black people

Simply growing up in the south side of Chicago will not equate a white person’s experience with his equally impoverished black neighbor’s experience, just as a pair of black and white neighbors in an upscale neighborhood will not face the same circumstances. The black experience cannot be defined. Not all black people are poor, choose to use “nigga”, or participate in gang-related or “street cred” granting activities, which seems to be the connotation white people give to the word nigga. The contrast of the meaning of the word to the two communities is stark: in some cases, black people consider nigga a word of empowerment; white people, on the other hand, think of it as a fun word to sometimes use when they believe they are doing something “black.” By reducing actions seen as “black” to the word nigga, a Freudian-slip is created: those who believe they can relate to the black community by using nigga colloquially have revealed that they subconsciously equate black people with the term “nigga” and all its stereotypical connotations, rather than perceiving them as people. And by pushing the simple minded argument that merely growing up in the ghetto gives one credibility to say nigga, black people have effectively been stereotyped as poor and uncivilized, and their socio-economic struggles have been diminished by a non-black