I've seen this topic come up multiple times recently on this website upon the colloquial use of the word "nigga" in completely unrelated threads.
Some say it no longer carries its former meaning thanks to pop culture and the fact that time heals all wounds. They argue that it's great that black people have taken ownership of the word amongst each other so that it can't hurt them anymore. And some say it's now becoming acceptable for young whites, for example, to call their black friends "nigga" as a joking term of endearment much like some young males may nonchalantly call their friend a "faggot".
In 2015, is the N word still racist no matter what? Or do intent and form ("nigger" vs. "nigga") determine if it is offensive or not?
Personally, I object to the notion that it can ever be a purely harmless word. The continued presence of the word in society's consciousness does nothing positive for race relations and the pursuit of equality. When a black person (particularly a young, impressionable black person online) sees it used and accepted in this "joking" way, knowing full well all the negative societal connotations of it, the meaning gets internalized and creates a lens through which they see themselves. It's sad to hear celebrity role models and even people I see at the grocery store addressing their children, siblings, friends and all, using that word. When those kids learn the hate behind that word and hear it in that context, how can they be expected to differentiate between a family member's off-hand comment and a bigoted stranger's disdain and negative expectation? It's a cycle of negative self-perception. The easiest way to keep a people down from generation to generation is to control how they see themselves, and I think that's what the normalization of this word is doing. I'm not advocating censorship or anything like that, but gradually phasing this word out of our vocabulary would help race relations in the long run. That goes for both blacks and everyone else.
What do you think?
