Caption: "Chink? Gook? You're lucky you didn't call me Jap, else I would've kicked your ass!"
I saw an interesting interview of JAY-Z on TV the other day. The interviewer said that Barrack Obama thinks that blacks should stop calling each other ‘nigga’. Jay-Z disagreed, and said it in another interview as well:
“People give words power. For our generation, what we did is that we took the word, and we took the power out of that word. We took a word that was very ugly and hurtful into a term of endearment,” Jay-Z said Thursday.
Jay-Z is referring to the fact that brothas will call each other ‘nigga’, kind of like they used to say ‘homie’. He thinks by doing that, they have somehow taken the power out of the word. ?????
I totally disagree. If your buddies call you ‘nigga’, and that’s how you greet each other, then you might be all cool with it. But, if some angry redneck called a black guy ‘nigger’ out of the blue, you know that brotha is gonna be mad as hell! Same goes for Jay-Z; he’d be furious, and start throwing punches!
My point is that Jay-Z hasn’t taken any power out of the word. He’s just using the word in a different way amongst his peers, but once it’s used by a non-black person, it has all the vitriol and power and racial tension that it did in the past. It still carries weight. He and his homies can call each other ‘nigga’ till the sun come down, but they still won’t negate that word. Words are just a medium for feelings and emotions, and if a word is used with hate, then that hate will empower the word. I have respect for Jay-Z as a rapper, but in this situation, he doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. I assumed he’d be more logical about it. He’s just wrong.
Personally, I don’t like racial slurs. I remember when a Japanese American classmate in high school came up to me and said, ‘What’s up Jap!’. We were the only two J-Americans in school. I was thinking he was such a dumb ass. He might of thought it was all cool, but I still remember that shit, so it wasn’t cool to me. I know what that word means and how it was used and originated. So, if somebody says that shit to me, I get annoyed or pissed. I’ll go ballistic if they say that shit to me in a club. And, they can call me gook, chink, or whatever. It don’t matter cuz the meaning is the same.
- Ref
October 20th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Ah, I know why non-blacks can’t say the N word. It’s pretty simple. This N word along with the other N word, were what whites and white slave owners used to refer/address/call black slaves. You know, like our founding fathers, like TJ. So for blacks, historically speaking, the N words is a very sensitive touchy subject, one that others can’t really use as a punchline, gag, or slang. It’s unique to blacks because they come from slavery. So in a way, non-blacks can never earn the right to use these words. Because if they do, they die. haha, kidding. Granted, slavery is gone, in the sense of slave owners and cotton farmers, etc, but it’s still rooted in history, and american history is very short. so it’s still very much alive and in your face for blacks especially. so in a sense, it’s a way for blacks to remind them and others, to never forget. never to deny it or ignore it. it happened. so it has become a privilege of sorts for blacks – a reparation if you will minus the economics. so non-blacks can’t say the N word because we never were slaves by white slave owners, now or ever. I mean, of course asians were exploited and were slaves in general historicaly, but we asians didn’t have a N word like the blacks did. except maybe chink, gook, chinaman, or whatever they called AA back then.
So i don’t agree with Obama. I know where he and Orpah are coming from, but i disagree. I think it’s cool that the blacks have this right/privilege and i think it’s very cool that white people are sooooo scared/afraid to even utter the word in front or around blacks. they are scared to death! they wouldn’t dare! but once the white people are alone, you know they use it like they’re hard, ghetto, and have street cred, like a wannabe thug.
For white people, the N word is a gimmick, to be cool or reckless, and a punchline. For blcks, it’s very very personal and real. So i agree, white people should not have the right to use it. only blacks.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
The main reason i don’t like racial slurs or name calling done in public is that if other whites/non asians hear that, they may think it’s ok for them to say it too. and that’s not what i want.
But see, the blacks are brilliant. they’ve somehow set it up so that only they can use the N word in public even, in front of whites and non-blacks, and get away with it…because they have it set up so that whites/nonblacks can’t say the N word at all, whatsoever. that’s genius in my perspective.
because i guarantee you, if AA started to call each other AA “chinaman”, in public and in front of whites, if you do it enough times over a period of time, the white will start to think ti’s okay and even funny and they’ll start to do it.
But somehow, the blacks have it so that whites CANNOT say the N word at all. ever. that’s some baller shit!
October 21st, 2009 at 12:02 am
My point is simple, really. Does the N Word lose power by black people using it? Not really. If some white person says it, no black person is going to ignore it and brush it off. Hellz No! They’re gonna start fightin’ and pullin’ out guns! So, basically, if they are above a word, then they should be able to ignore it, and not react to it. But they can’t. I’m sure of it. And, that’s why Jay-Z is wrong.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:23 am
To me it all depends on the context. I wont be offended if someone calls me a racial slur and its one of my friends of my same culture trying to be an ass. I view that differently from someone who is a stranger and is trying to put me down. So from that point of view I can understand what Jay-Z is trying to say.
I am also of the thought that slur words really are used by the ignorant and uneducated. Rather than get offended and sad if someone uses them against me I just think of the person as a lesser being that doesn’t have any real arguments against me other than hate. So instead of letting an ignoramus hick put you down with a word, realize that the person putting you down is a ignoramus hick.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Outstanding El Drouyn!
This is pretty much how I feel regarding this matter too. I couldn’t have said it any better. Good job.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Power? his comment is a little vague. does he mean they took the negative “power” out of the N word and made it more endearing/brotherly?
October 28th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I just can’t think of a good racial slur for us asians to call other asians. none of the typical ones really sound all that good. chink, gook, etc. none are as powerful as the N word. i kind of like “chinaman”. or “chan”.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
how bout ‘ol yella’, like Old Yeller. or “lemon”, but pronounce it “lem on”.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The blacks should stop using “nigger” among themselves, because the remaining racist will never forget it as long as it is still in use.
I am white and find the Ebonics, RAP stuff to be largely disgusting and would much rather talk to educated African Americans or Africans than these rude, obnoxious, and often druggies/drunks.
I don’t hear the derogatory Asian slang anymore like when we were in Vietnam. So I guess avoiding wars, getting educated and getting assertive are best bets. Stop the negative.