This is not a comfortable topic for most people. But why?
So, let’s talk about the “N” word. I know what you may be thinking. This is not a comfortable topic for most people. But why? A little while ago, I made an interesting discovery while bringing up this topic to my history class. It turns out that when people are asked to share their opinion on the word, they seem to shut up and act like they’ve never heard it.
But the thing is, it isn’t something that should be pushed under the rug. Now that I have had time to reflect on that class discussion, I realize that all of those people who were quiet and seemed nervous were the very same people who continue to use the word on a daily basis.
Before I dive into my thoughts on the word, I would like to enlighten you with my prior knowledge on where the word originated from. The word “nigger” was a name for all African American slaves, used by the white slaves master (and pretty much every other white person during that time period). The word was used, and is unfortunately still used, in a demeaning manner that was and is very disrespectful towards the black community
Now, you may be wondering why so many black people are “allowed” to say it and why all other races cannot. Here’s the tea folks, no one should be using the word on such a daily basis anyway! It doesn’t matter if someone’s using the term “nigga” instead of the original word; nobody should be incorporating these words into their vocabulary. Yes, I am well aware that many people in the black community use the word among their friends as a greeting. Even in Hip-Hop/Rap music, many artists use the word “nigga” throughout their songs. This doesn’t make it okay for everyone to be throwing the word around in their conversations.
My goal is to honestly change people’s perceptions of the word and to let all of them know that it is not a term that should be carelessly used. Black people have a long and rough history in this country, and the use of the word can be very painful to most. The word, for a very long duration of time, was used to bring an entire group of people down, solely because of the color of their skin. I truly hope our society will begin to understand the importance of all that has been said.
