Kanye West threatens to move out of the United States because too many people are racist

[Danno 1,228]

It's also a word a lot of black people heard right before they were hung until they were dead. That's the reason a lot of the older generation refuses to use it. If you say in the house of my family, you'd get told a thing or two.

What most folks won't get, is that there's a simple reason that word or any other racial slur gets the reaction it does. If someone calls you something outlandish, you can ignore it because you know it isn't true. Or, you can rise above it in other ways. That word, or other slurs for black people constantly remind us of where we stand in the social order of this country. Same thing with hispanics or any other minority.

There isn't a word in the english language that you can attribute to white people to cause the same amount of pain that the N word, Illegal Alien, or any type of racial slur for other ethnicities causes. It's saying that no matter what you achieve, how far you've come, you'll always be that. It's attacking your very identity, your core being. That's why this dude used those words, anything less and it wouldn't have provoked Kayne as much.

I get pissed when anyone says the word around me, more so when it's a person of color, because they should know better.

Actually, those Blacks which were held as slaves used the term fairly regular..... if you read those accounts I directed you to, you would know that. Apparently a closer connection to the Lynching era was no insulation from it;s common usage.

What do you suppose Whites were called in those last moments?

I support your stance against anyone using the N-word as you don't make exceptions.

[Darnell 8,478]

Kind of like when I am called a cracka or cracker. Yeah, I know, Jinx postulates it comes from "whip cracker", some will say it's from the cracking of corn as food... but I think we all know it means whitey. I have even been labeled as "saltine". Gots NOTHING to do with the whips I have carried around all my life (none). Point is, I can choose to get all up in arms about being called a cracka, or I can just smile and be nice back to the attempted offense. Kinda depends on how it's put to me, I reckon.

'cracker' comes from a whip cracker, one who interacted with slaves on the plantation, considered The Boss (many times not the Plantation Owner)

Please, not get muddled on origin of cracker - folk with laugh at you.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

It's also a word a lot of black people heard right before they were hung until they were dead. That's the reason a lot of the older generation refuses to use it. If you say in the house of my family, you'd get told a thing or two.

What most folks won't get, is that there's a simple reason that word or any other racial slur gets the reaction it does. If someone calls you something outlandish, you can ignore it because you know it isn't true. Or, you can rise above it in other ways. That word, or other slurs for black people constantly remind us of where we stand in the social order of this country. Same thing with hispanics or any other minority.

There isn't a word in the english language that you can attribute to white people to cause the same amount of pain that the N word, Illegal Alien, or any type of racial slur for other ethnicities causes. It's saying that no matter what you achieve, how far you've come, you'll always be that. It's attacking your very identity, your core being. That's why this dude used those words, anything less and it wouldn't have provoked Kayne as much.

I get pissed when anyone says the word around me, more so when it's a person of color, because they should know better.

I know man, I get it. But that was so 20 minutes ago. We need to let that go. Things change. Sometimes for the better. But hanging on to the hate and the bad memories, especially when you and I haven't had to deal with that (hangings, beatings, etc.) in our time is counter-productive.

You know the best way to get people to quit calling you names in school was to act like it didn't upset you, even if it hurt like he!!. Act bored, and the bullies stopped.

You say "where we stand in the social order of this country"... and you should be ashamed of yourself. Your grandpappy (great, maybe, IDK) had NO social standing. You have (the potential to have) TONS of social standing. I know for a fact that you have faced very little racism since being in the military; it's just not tolerated. I'm sure your family has, and for that, I'm sorry. It sucks, and it's hard to rise above it, but we as a nation have come a long ways.

Yeah, we have a long way to go for us all to just be one race. Doubt any of us see it in our life time, but we can work towards it. Jumping on racism bandwagons doesn't do much towards that goal, however. Better to turn your back on it, and move forward. Think... PROGRESS.

Which, as we all know, is the opposite of CONGRESS.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

'cracker' comes from a whip cracker, one who interacted with slaves on the plantation, considered The Boss (many times not the Plantation Owner)

Please, not get muddled on origin of cracker - folk with laugh at you.

Well, long before negroes had whips cracked at them, the term was being used in the 1500's...

The term "cracker" was in use during Elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The original root of this is the Middle English word crack meaning "entertaining conversation" (One may be said to "crack" a joke; a witty remark is a "wisecrack"). This term and the Gaelic spelling "craic" are still in use in Ireland, Scotland and Northern England. It is documented in Shakespeare's King John (1595): "What cracker is this... that deafes our eares / With this abundance of superfluous breath?"

And NO ONE has ever called me one because I (or anyone in my family) ever cracked a whip.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

Your post is another example of an alarming trend taking over this country.

Passivity.

The man used a slur word to purposely slur his wife..... why all the word games?

There is no confusion what the word means of his use of it... the only question is -

Passivity is a good thing, when it comes to being taunted. Not easy to do, and in his shoes, I may have done what Kanye did. There is usually no need to disrespect a man's wife, regardless of the words used. But... the RIGHT thing to do would be to walk away from it. Any woman who wants a man to get into a fight over her does not deserve a good man.

Talk shite about my momma, and I will laugh at you, cuz it just proves YOUR ignorance (since you don't even know my momma)... why would I get upset and get in a fight over it? Them ain't fightin' words, IMHO.

It's not a word game. I listed all the words above that the word n!gger derived from. In itself, it means black. It's HOW it has been used, the tone, the body language, etc. that makes it a slur. I can say b!tch, and if I am talking about a female dog, no one should get upset. But say it in a hateful way towards a woman, and now it's a bad word.

We are told the 1% don't pay taxes

But surely YOU are smart enough to smell this as BS?

[Darnell 8,478]

Well, long before negroes had whips cracked at them, the term was being used in the 1500's...

And NO ONE has ever called me one because I (or anyone in my family) ever cracked a whip.

none of that matters, in the USA. Usage in the USA, alas, only means one thing.

why to try to veer?

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

none of that matters, in the USA. Usage in the USA, alas, only means one thing.

why to try to veer?

I'm not trying to veer, I am trying to call a popcorn a popcorn (sounds MUCH better when you call a spade a spade, eh?)

The meaning is... whitey. Period.

[luckytxn 2,264]

There are many ignorant people in this world. Especially the younger ones.

It's also a word a lot of black people heard right before they were hung until they were dead. That's the reason a lot of the older generation refuses to use it. If you say in the house of my family, you'd get told a thing or two.

What most folks won't get, is that there's a simple reason that word or any other racial slur gets the reaction it does. If someone calls you something outlandish, you can ignore it because you know it isn't true. Or, you can rise above it in other ways. That word, or other slurs for black people constantly remind us of where we stand in the social order of this country. Same thing with hispanics or any other minority.

There isn't a word in the english language that you can attribute to white people to cause the same amount of pain that the N word, Illegal Alien, or any type of racial slur for other ethnicities causes. It's saying that no matter what you achieve, how far you've come, you'll always be that. It's attacking your very identity, your core being. That's why this dude used those words, anything less and it wouldn't have provoked Kayne as much.

I get pissed when anyone says the word around me, more so when it's a person of color, because they should know better.

[deleted-05292014 331]

N!gger is just a word. As such, it carries no physical pain when it is used, no bruising, no broken bones. That's for sticks and stones, remember? Therefore he had no legal right to pop the kid (though I can easily see why he did so. Mighta even gave him a high-five if I'd have been there)

He could have countered with something like "This black man she's with makes more in a year than you'll make your entire, miserable, racist life." and walked away. Or at least I say that from the comfort of my bedroom, not in the heat of the moment.

Neger, negre, negro, niger n!gger... all words that mean black. The undesirable meaning is either in the words as they are hurled, or felt (imagined?) by the receiver.

Kind of like when I am called a cracka or cracker. Yeah, I know, Jinx postulates it comes from "whip cracker", some will say it's from the cracking of corn as food... but I think we all know it means whitey. I have even been labeled as "saltine". Gots NOTHING to do with the whips I have carried around all my life (none). Point is, I can choose to get all up in arms about being called a cracka, or I can just smile and be nice back to the attempted offense. Kinda depends on how it's put to me, I reckon.

I disagree Dave, its a word that carries with it a whole history of pain. Like Marvin said it is and has also been used to reinforce a social order or caste.

Yes I know that the word cracker is used to call white people that but the origin of the word, what I was trying to say, is that it was not one used as a racial trait or term. I invite anyone to google and read some slave narratives. The actual words and stories of slaves recorded and you will see how the word was used in it's context - and often the n***er word that they referred to themselves as too because that was just how it was.

I will admit under certain social circumstances I have used the N word to describe certain folks but that is more a long the lines of code switching than anything else. Google code switching but generally speaking I do not use the word as part of my every day language and I find it to be fairly ignorant.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

N!gger is just a word. As such, it carries no physical pain when it is used, no bruising, no broken bones. That's for sticks and stones, remember? Therefore he had no legal right to pop the kid (though I can easily see why he did so. Mighta even gave him a high-five if I'd have been there)

He could have countered with something like "This black man she's with makes more in a year than you'll make your entire, miserable, racist life." and walked away. Or at least I say that from the comfort of my bedroom, not in the heat of the moment.

Neger, negre, negro, niger n!gger... all words that mean black. The undesirable meaning is either in the words as they are hurled, or felt (imagined?) by the receiver.

Kind of like when I am called a cracka or cracker. Yeah, I know, Jinx postulates it comes from "whip cracker", some will say it's from the cracking of corn as food... but I think we all know it means whitey. I have even been labeled as "saltine". Gots NOTHING to do with the whips I have carried around all my life (none). Point is, I can choose to get all up in arms about being called a cracka, or I can just smile and be nice back to the attempted offense. Kinda depends on how it's put to me, I reckon.

No Dave, cracker is not equivalent.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I disagree Dave, its a word that carries with it a whole history of pain. Like Marvin said it is and has also been used to reinforce a social order or caste.

Yes I know that the word cracker is used to call white people that but the origin of the word, what I was trying to say, is that it was not one used as a racial trait or term. I invite anyone to google and read some slave narratives. The actual words and stories of slaves recorded and you will see how the word was used in it's context - and often the n***er word that they referred to themselves as too because that was just how it was.

I will admit under certain social circumstances I have used the N word to describe certain folks but that is more a long the lines of code switching than anything else. Google code switching but generally speaking I do not use the word as part of my every day language and I find it to be fairly ignorant.

As I said elsewhere, cracker is only an offensive term in the USA, at least as far as I'm aware. It's certainly bigoted to use any word that evokes a person's race or ethnic identity as a negative if that is the focus of its usage. However, it doesn't have the same power to offend precisely because whites generally haven't been the subject of systematic racism throughout history.

That said, n!gger does have a lot of historical weight behind it and it has a different meaning if a white person uses it than if blacks do, though not to say that it isn't problematic even when blacks use it, as it amounts to a lexicon that blacks have exclusive rights to.

That said, if you (in general 'you', not you 'you') aren't racist - the use of n!gger in daily speech should not be an issue.

Of course when people ask where's our white history month or white only social groups, it seems clear what sort of sentiments such ideas spring from - ignorance and a dogged insistence on denying history for dubious purposes.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Papa Lazarou

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Actually, those Blacks which were held as slaves used the term fairly regular..... if you read those accounts I directed you to, you would know that. Apparently a closer connection to the Lynching era was no insulation from it;s common usage.

What do you suppose Whites were called in those last moments?

I support your stance against anyone using the N-word as you don't make exceptions.

And yet now, how many white people are called that? How many whites call other white people that right now? It's a word that went from being used to describe an ignorant person to a black person in general.

As far as blacks using it, I can see why. When you're called out of your name for so long, it's going to have an effect on you. I have to correct some people I know personally when they start using it, and I know it's hard for them since it's been ingrained into our society.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What I also find interesting is the idea that not all racism is equal. It's far more socially acceptable (though not very much) to use racist words directed at say eastern Europeans or gypsies than it is against blacks or Jews.

In fact, Jews are practically a no go area as far as that sort of thing goes since anti semitism naturally conjures up images of nazi oppression. I'd say the same holds true in relation to racism against blacks.

As I say, on paper all racial or ethnic bigotry is reprehensible yet we naturally place a lot of weight on who is doing it and the images that evokes.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I know man, I get it. But that was so 20 minutes ago. We need to let that go. Things change. Sometimes for the better. But hanging on to the hate and the bad memories, especially when you and I haven't had to deal with that (hangings, beatings, etc.) in our time is counter-productive.

You know the best way to get people to quit calling you names in school was to act like it didn't upset you, even if it hurt like he!!. Act bored, and the bullies stopped.

You say "where we stand in the social order of this country"... and you should be ashamed of yourself. Your grandpappy (great, maybe, IDK) had NO social standing. You have (the potential to have) TONS of social standing. I know for a fact that you have faced very little racism since being in the military; it's just not tolerated. I'm sure your family has, and for that, I'm sorry. It sucks, and it's hard to rise above it, but we as a nation have come a long ways.

Yeah, we have a long way to go for us all to just be one race. Doubt any of us see it in our life time, but we can work towards it. Jumping on racism bandwagons doesn't do much towards that goal, however. Better to turn your back on it, and move forward. Think... PROGRESS.

Which, as we all know, is the opposite of CONGRESS.

This isn't directed at you, but here's what I find interesting. We're one of the few countries that tries to let go of the past in that regards. When I was in Europe, no one would ever tell a Jewish person to let it go. They still treat that like a fresh wound. The ones I were around don't even joke about it. It's that serious for them.

Here's the problem with being black. No matter what you do or achieve, there will be that moment when you're reminded that you're still black. Whether it's saving your money to buy a nice belt or outfit and being arrested for it, standing on the bus stop and being harassed by police because you "look" like trouble, or being shot over 20 times because when you went for your ID, they yelled gun and a firing squad showed up. This isn't 20 minutes ago, this was last year.

Things have changed, and I know I have it way better than my parents and my grandparents. Heck he's still alive and can spin some yarns about what he went through. I thought I could handle it, but I can't. Love him, but it still makes me angry to hear it.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

What I also find interesting is the idea that not all racism is equal. It's far more socially acceptable (though not very much) to use racist words directed at say eastern Europeans or gypsies than it is against blacks or Jews.

In fact, Jews are practically a no go area as far as that sort of thing goes since anti semitism naturally conjures up images of nazi oppression. I'd say the same holds true in relation to racism against blacks.

As I say, on paper all racial or ethnic bigotry is reprehensible yet we naturally place a lot of weight on who is doing it and the images that evokes.

I just commented that in Germany, they're still reeling about this.

Black racism is unique as in it's almost to the point where it's an entity that all black folks fall into.

http://www.eonline.com/news/443534/sharon-osbourne-slams-justin-bieber-says-he-doesn-t-realize-he-s-white-and-not-black

When I heard this, it almost didn't affect me since being ignorant and acting like a brute seems to be a black only thing. It's the same thing with twerking. When it was a black dance, white people couldn't stand it. Now that Miley has taken it, it's workout videos and Helen Mirren trying to do it.

You must listen to rap, use the N-word, eat fried chicken, and be a criminal if you're black. I've had these things asked of me all of my life.