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-   -   Tell me who's racist? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=154350)

  • Nov 21, 2007, 06:55 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by excon
    Hello Home:

    In the real world, "SHOULD" doesn't happen. SHOULD happens only in the mind of dreamers and fantasizes. What HAPPENS, is what happens. To dismiss the issue as something that SHOULDN'T happen, misses the point of WHY it's happening.

    Cause it's happening all over the place.

    excon

    And just because it does, doesn't make it right. That is an ugly word, the times and reasons it was used was ugly and for people to not see a problem with calling people names based on their ethnicity is just wrong. It show insensitivity and ignorance.
    I see no reason for people especially white people to use that term except in a condescending way, and to think it's or cute t use it in a funny way is just ignorant.
    I'm black and I don't even use that word.
  • Nov 21, 2007, 07:00 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by speechlesstx
    Homegirl 50, I was not addressing the use of the "N" word, I was responding to this quote by anon699:

    I apologize for the misunderstaniging.
  • Nov 26, 2007, 08:19 AM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    I apologize for the misunderstaniging.

    Not a problem :)
  • Dec 15, 2007, 03:38 PM
    philly4458
    Hey,


    Good subject, I think it is because the N word coming from a non black is offensive unless you are a white person who grew up poor in a black ghetto neighborhood. I am a black male who's family never used that word in public. We would only use the N word rarely at home when someone was acting foolish made us angry.

    When the N word is used everyone knows exactly what race of people you are referring to. Millions of dollars are made in the music industry using the N word, I think is it absolutely discusting but it sells arcoss all racial lines.


    Most white people would only use the N word if they hate blacks or lets say if I got into a fight with a white person and slapped him, the first word that would come out of his mouth would be the N word, It is a word that can be used on impulse even if your best friend maybe black. I believe that the slave masters used that word to dehumanize and oppress a hopeless race of people who where thought to never be a part of our society.

    The only thing I can say to white people is why would you even want to say the N word to me anyway? You already use the word amongst each other I don't need to hear it from you because I have a name.

    Philly
  • Dec 15, 2007, 03:51 PM
    s_cianci
    It's what you call a double standard. Our society is full of them.
  • Dec 15, 2007, 04:15 PM
    s_cianci
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Wondergirl
    A race is sort of like a family. In my family we tease my sister about what a ditz she is or they tease me about what a smart a$$ I am, and no one thinks anything of it. But if our sils or bils or mils or even our fils start in with the same kind of teasing, all laughter shuts down and my sis or I are offended. "Blood is thicker than water," the saying goes.

    I suspect blacks, especially males, using the "N" word with each other is the same thing. We with a German heritage can call each other "krauts," but those Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans had better not call us that!

    Unfortunately this type of mentality is exactly what perpetuates racism. It's OK for a black to use the N word but nobody else can. It's OK for a German to call someone a kraut but nobody else can. That's not much different from saying that whites can sit wherever they want on the bus but blacks can only sit in the back. Or that whites can eat at Woolworth's lunch counter but blacks can't. By definition, when you grant one group a certain privilege that you deny others, that's discrimination, which is almost always motivated in turn by racism.
  • Dec 15, 2007, 07:47 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I'm black, but I don't use the word, but you comparing those using the word amongst each other can in no way be compared to barring a race of people from using public places or making them sit only in the back of the bus. It does not mean among us what it means by whites.
    This word and those actions were started by racist, continued for years because of racism. There are still blacks alive that lived during that mess. Blacks not wanting white people to use that word under any circumstances is quite understandable. I see no reason for a white person to use that word unless they harbor those feelings towards blacks.
  • Dec 15, 2007, 07:49 PM
    deathcool10
    Wat is the N word? But none of u guys actually didn't even mean to be Racist
  • Dec 15, 2007, 08:11 PM
    philly4458
    Lets say if whites were a minority governed by a majority of blacks and referred to as whitey or pale face it would certainly impact their society in a negative way, after all the N word was only used to refer to north american blacks by their slave masters.

    I agree their shouldn't be a double standard but, I can't change that. Blacks who use the N word are no better than whites who use it, but lets face it you've used it too? As I've said before why would you want to call me the N word because someone else did? A dead white man laying besides a dead black man are both equally dead it is only a matter of division between our races in the U.S.A. due to a long history of ignorance and ungodlyness.

    I can't speak for everbody but, when I here ignorant whites or blacks speaking foul language I stay away from them it doesn't matter what race you are I don't like it.


    Philly
  • Dec 16, 2007, 08:17 AM
    s_cianci
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    I'm black, but I don't use the word, but you comparing those using the word amongst each other can in no way be compared to barring a race of people from using public places or making them sit only in the back of the bus. It does not mean among us what it means by whites.

    Yes, there is a comparison. We will never have true equality for all in our society as long as we continue to allow certain groups to engage in behaviors that we prohibit for others. Whether those behaviors consist of saying certain words, patronizing certain establishments, attending certain schools, sitting in certain seats on public transportation, living in certain neighborhoods, the list can go on and on. But it's all the same principle ; as long as there is any form of discrimination then our ideal of equality for all will never be achieved. And allowing certain people the liberty to use certain words but denying others the same is discrimination. You cannot rationalize it by trying to impute different meanings to the word(s) in question depending on the background of the speaker. In fact, it isn't even so much the meaning of the word(s) in question, it's just the mere fact of saying it to begin with. If one group of people are allowed to say a certain word, then so should everyone else ; otherwise it's discrimination. You can also reverse the argument ; if one group of people isn't allowed to say a certain word, then neither should any one else be ; otherwise it's discrimination. Of course, trying to prohibit certain speech raises additional questions besides discrimination, namely 1st. Amendment rights. But that's a separate issue. Now the same argument holds true for other actions besides speech ; if one group is allowed to sit in the front of the bus, then so should everyone else ; otherwise it's discrimination. If one group is allowed to eat in a certain restaurant, then so should everyone else be ; otherwise it's discrimination. But we seem to be a "want our cake and eat it too" kind of society. We love to make philosophical arguments and even force them into law when it suits us but the minute it doesn't suit us we want to forget all about it. Discrimination is bad when we're the ones discriminated against. But it's perfectly OK if it's directed towards someone else. Hell, we even go so far as trying to change the meanings of words when spoken by different people in order to rationalize it! Or we try a more feeble attempt by saying "it's not the same thing" or "you can't make that comparison." But the fact remains that, if you want true equality for all, then the rules have to be the same for all, across the board, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, etc.
  • Dec 16, 2007, 09:07 AM
    stonewilder
    I have a problem with that too. I hate the N word and I will tell people (white) that they are entitled to their opinion but not to use the word when talking to me. A few months ago while on brake at work a black woman was talking to me and 3 times referred to her ex, her dad and I don't who else as a N. I finally told her to please not use that word and she got angry and walked away. Later she told me that she was using the word in an "endearing " way. Ok I'm not going to argue or debate this issue with her because 1 I don't need any enemies at work, and 2 she towers over me and is nearly three times my size.
    I made the mistake when I was a teenager calling a black friend of mine a N. I only did it because my brother and his friend (black guy) called each other racial names in a playful way so I guess I thought it was funny. She was a very sweet and quite girl and what I said drove her to tears. She and her friends never gave me the chance to explain why I said that or how sorry I was for saying it ( who could blame them?). To this day 20 some years later I still think about how I hurt her and since then I hate that word regardless of what color the persons skin is who uses it.
  • Dec 16, 2007, 10:30 AM
    Homegirl 50
    I think what it boils to, is the reason the word came about in the first place. It was based on racism. I don't think anyone ought to use that word. Given it's history, I think it's ignorant.
    Why would a person with any intelligence and knowledge in US history think that word would not bother black people? Why would you even want to use it but to mean something negative?
    Yes we have freedom of speech, but people ought to use a bit of common sense and sensitivity. I don't like any negative terms used to describe groups of people and I do't use them, but giving the history of slavery and racism I the country, I think it a hoot to say "don't discriminate against us, we should be able to call black people "N" if we want to." That's kind of like the South telling the North, "we should be able to own slaves and treat black folk like animals if we want to, don't discriminate against us"
    But I guess people have the right to be ignorant and rude, just don't get bent out of shape when someone calls you on it.
  • Dec 16, 2007, 12:23 PM
    Stringer
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anon699
    i'm not just talking about black people and white people. im not just talking about race. expand your mind...think about racism against people because of religion and culture as well. im black and im sick and tired of the whole black white thing. it's getting old fast..and jesse jackson and al sharpton have made black people look even worse...and that's why i want to talk about different kinds of racism. with asians, mexicans...arabians...ect. why do people automatically think every arabian is a terrorist? isn't that stereotyping? it's ridiculous to me.

    With all respect... we need the original thread poster to respond.:confused:
  • Dec 16, 2007, 12:36 PM
    Stringer
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by stonewilder
    I have a problem with that too. I hate the N word and I will tell people (white) that they are entitled to their opinion but not to use the word when talking to me. A few months ago while on brake at work a black woman was talking to me and 3 times referred to her ex, her dad and I don't who else as a N. I finally told her to please not use that word and she got angry and walked away. Later she told me that she was using the word in an "endearing " way. Ok I'm not going to argue or debate this issue with her because 1 I don't need any enemies at work, and 2 she towers over me and is nearly three times my size.
    I made the mistake when I was a teenager calling a black friend of mine a N. I only did it because my brother and his friend (black guy) called each other racial names in a playful way so I guess I thought it was funny. She was a very sweet and quite girl and what I said drove her to tears. She and her friends never gave me the chance to explain why I said that or how sorry I was for saying it ( who could blame them?). To this day 20 some years later I still think about how I hurt her and since then I hate that word regardless of what color the persons skin is who uses it.

    Stonewilder; excellent post...
  • Dec 16, 2007, 01:42 PM
    Homegirl 50
    It really amazes me when people get bent out of shape when someone calls a gay person a fag; didn't some actor get fired from a show from doing that? (BTW I think it was a totally stupid thing to say), but we want to "stand up for our rights" to call a black person n****r. What's up with that?
    The reason it bothers so many is because there are a lot of us that lived during the pre civil rights movement era. We remember what it was like. We remember the word andw hat it means and people using it and treating us like animals with no repercussions. We remember being discriminated against and nobody giving a hoot. And now for a white person to say "you're discriminating against me by saying I can't call you a ni**er is pathetic.
  • Dec 17, 2007, 11:41 AM
    ETWolverine
    As others here have mentioned, what bothers me is the double-standard. It's okay for one group to use the N-word, but not for another group. That's a double-standard regardless of which groups we are talking about.

    From my point of view, if someone calls me a "Kike", it is a racist term, even if the word is being used by another Jew. And knowing the origin of the word (it was actually a name for a jacks-like game played by Jewish children in Europe called "kigelach") doesn't make it any less racist. So the fact that the "origin" of the N-word is racist and Blacks have today taken that word and "made it their own" doesn't really convince me that it isn't a racist term... even if Blacks only using it amongst themselves.

    Seems to me that what's good for the goose ought to be good for the gander.

    Elliot
  • Dec 17, 2007, 01:13 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Not all black use that word and given the history behind it, there is no excuse for anybody to use it. It is a racist word, why else would a white person use the word?
    If people want to be ignorant , that's their right, but I will not give whites permission to call me a n**ger and not be offended.
    We have lost all sense of decorum in this country. We want to be free to insult people do all kinds of ignorant things and not have anyone tell us it's wrong.
    I come from a generation when there are some things you just don't do. You don't call people out of their name. It is insensitive and rude. I also grew up in the time before Civil Rights. I grew up when I could not go where I wanted to go, when you were called that word and white people thought they had every right to and a black person had no say over anything. There is no way I'm going to give someone permission to use that word, or say "it's OK if you say that" I know what the word means and I know what white people mean when they say it.
    I have lots of white friends and none of them I know would even think of using that word. They know what it stands for.
    I have no respect for anyone who uses the word, white or black. It shows ignorance, but for a white person to claim descrimination because they can't call a black person ni**ger beats all. That is down right comical.
  • Dec 18, 2007, 06:23 PM
    s_cianci
    It's not a question of giving a white person license to call a black person "ni*ger." It's the idea of one particular group having license to use the word while others cannot. It's the existence of the double standard that's discriminatory, not the fact that a white can't call a black "nig*er." I agree that the word is despicable and should not be used by anybody ; I repeat, ANYBODY. But a number of posters on this thread have tried to rationalize that it's OK for blacks to call each other "nig*er" but nobody else can call them that. And that mentality is very troubling as it is ultimately degrading to blacks to think that way. Another post on this thread was by a German-American who compared it to the use of the term "kraut." She suggested that it's OK for Germans to call each other "kraut" but woe to anyone else who tries it. Again, that's a very troubling and dangerous mentality. As long as you allow even one exception the sense of decency and respect that is sought by not using the term in question will not happen and the group referred to by the term in question will continue to suffer degradation and dehumanization as a result and it is a direct antithesis to the sense of equality and dignity for all that we as a society have long prided ourselves on.
  • Dec 18, 2007, 06:34 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I would not call a German a kraut Period. If they want to call each other that, I really don't care, it's on them, between them. I would not feel discriminated against if I were told not to use the word because it is just not a part of my mentallity to use it any way.
    I think the reason it matters to others is because they use the term themselves or think negatively about Germans. Same with the N word.
    If you don't have that mentality, why would you even care?
  • Dec 18, 2007, 08:44 PM
    stonewilder
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by stonewilder
    A few months ago while on brake at work a black woman was talking to me and 3 times referred to her ex, her dad and I don't who else as a N. I finally told her to please not use that word and she got angry and walked away. Later she told me that she was using the word in an "endearing " way.

    Had I turned this lady in for using racial slurs I'm sure they would have said no more to her than," We don't use that word in our work place" and she may have got a written warning (maybe). If I had used that word I would have no doubt been fired. Why because I'm white and she's black? That's just not right.
  • Dec 19, 2007, 06:43 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I'm sorry, but a white person has no business calling a black person that. I am just not getting why white people are getting bent out of shape because they are called to task for calling a black person "N". Why would you say it in the first place?
    You guys have been able to use that word and do what ever else you want to do for centuries with no repercussions. Now it is deemed wrong. Deal with it. You should not be using it regardless of who else says it.
    I'm not understanding what the problem is.
    There is a double standard in a lot of things. Men get away with things women can't and wemen have been able to get awat with some things men would be thrown to the lions for. Is it wrong, yes, but the thing to do, is just not do what you're not supposed to do. We are talking about not using racial slurs. I'm not seeing what is so hard about that, unless you're a racist.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 08:11 AM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    I'm sorry, but a white person has no business calling a black person that. I am just not getting why white people are getting bent out of shape because they are called to task for calling a black person "N". Why would you say it in the first place?

    I haven't read back through all the posts but is someone all bent out of shape over a white being taken to task using the "n word" toward a black? It seems to me we all pretty much agree that's a no-no.

    Quote:

    You guys have been able to use that word and do what ever else you want to do for centuries with no repercussions. Now it is deemed wrong. Deal with it. You should not be using it regardless of who else says it.
    You're going to have to be a bit more specific here. Who is "you guys?" What exactly have "you guys" been getting away with recently?

    Quote:

    I'm not understanding what the problem is.
    Let's hear from a few prominent blacks:

    Quote:

    "Let me tell you something," Cosby, one of America's most admired men, told the group. "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other [the N-word] as they're walking up and down the street. They think they're hip. They can't read. They can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."
    Quote:

    "It's the same thing I've been saying since 1976," said Jesse L. Jackson, the president of the Rainbow/PUSH group, who was at Cosby's side on Thursday. He criticized rap-music artists who liberally use derogatory terms for blacks and women, as well as black and white listeners who blithely repeat the words. "It's unacceptable," Jackson said.
    Without a doubt, whites referring to blacks by that term is unacceptable (just like calling me "cracker"), but it seems to me if blacks want to do all they can to eliminate it's usage they should stop using it. Should they be offended if one of their white hip-hop fans sings along with 50 Cent? Seems rather ludicrous to sell all these albums to white listeners, run around calling each other 'nigga' and 'ho' and then get all bent out of shape when some white guy somewhere utters the words. If you don't want it used remove it from the culture, rise above it, instead of thinking like the Rev. Al who only half-heartedly supported Cosby and blamed us white folk:

    Quote:

    "I agree that we have to do something about the internal contradiction of our community," said Sharpton, who ran against Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the presumptive Democratic nominee, in the presidential primaries. "But we also must be careful not to relieve the general community of what they've done to our community."
    That's the problem Al, as long as you keep the blame on others for victimizing the black community - and people actually listen to you - we're going to go nowhere. To me what he said is thousand times more offensive than some white guy using the "n word" because I've done nothing to his "community" and I'm not going to take the blame or feel one smidgen of guilt.

    Quote:

    the thing to do, is just not do what you're not supposed to do. We are talking about not using racial slurs. I'm not seeing what is so hard about that, unless you're a racist.
    I agree. I also think the terms "racist" and "racism" should not be thrown around so loosely and irresponsibly.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 10:47 AM
    Homegirl 50
    You should go back and read all the post, or at least alll that I have said. I have said no one should use it. I'm getting tired of hearing "rappers use it" Rappers are not all black people, they are a very small minority. Al Sharpton is in the news, Jessie Jackson is in the news because that's where the media wants them, to get people to think they represent all black folks. They do not. They show this stuff to give white folks a reason to say "see they call each other that, why can't we call them that" These people are not black America, they are a small portion that is purposely shown because it perpetuates an image. And these ignorant rappers out there make this trash because white producers know there is money in it and this mess sells. These companies are white owned, just like the rappers are.
    Racial terms are wrong. My beef is given the history in this country, why are people getting bent out of ashape because they are told they should not call a black person a N? If you are not racist, if you don't use the word, why does it even bother you.
    I don't used the word, I grew in in the day when it was used and we were used and abused. I hate the word and I hate that people think they should still be able to use it and no one should be offended.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 11:30 AM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    You should go back and read all the post, or at least alll that I have said. I have said no one should use it. I'm getting tired of hearing "rappers use it" Rappers are not all black people, they are a very small minority.

    I quoted Cosby as saying "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other [the N-word] as they're walking up and down the street. They think they're hip. They can't read. They can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere." Doesn't sound like he was talking about rappers but every day kids. I'm still interested in an answer to my question though, should blacks be offended if one of their white hip-hop fans sings along with 50 Cent?

    Quote:

    Al Sharpton is in the news, Jessie Jackson is in the news because that's where the media wants them, to get people to think they represent all black folks. They do not.
    Amen to that.

    Quote:

    They show this stuff to give white folks a reason to say "see they call each other that, why can't we call them that" These people are not black America, they are a small portion that is purposely shown because it perpetuates an image. And these ignorant rappers out there make this trash because white producers know there is money in it and this mess sells. These companies are white owned, just like the rappers are.
    Oh I know plenty of rich white folks make a ton of money off rap and hip hop, but you still seem to be missing the point. Blacks that make use of these terms need to take responsibility for the seeds they've sown, don't put it off on white people making money. What does it say about those in the black community that would give some white owned company that kind of power over them anyway?

    Quote:

    Racial terms are wrong. My beef is given the history in this country, why are people getting bent out of ashape because they are told they should not call a black person a N? If you are not racist, if you don't use the word, why does it even bother you. I don't used the word, I grew in in the day when it was used and we were used and abused. I hate the word and I hate that people think they should still be able to use it and no one should be offended.
    I don't believe they're bent out of shape for being told not to use the word, they're bent out of shape over the seeming double standard. If it's offensive for whites to use it should be offensive for anyone to use it.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 12:12 PM
    Homegirl 50
    What does it say about those in the black community that would give some white owned company that kind of power over them anyway?

    Again, this is not the black community. This is only what you see. This is about image and money. An image society wants portrayed and money people will sell out to make. Large companies have power over just about all of us, they hold the purse strings and we buy into what they want us to by into, so this is not just about black people. But again I am talking a small minority of black folks. We are not all rappers and all of us don't listen to rapp.
    I'm still interested in an answer to my question though, should blacks be offended if one of their white hip-hop fans sings along with 50 Cent?

    Black folks are offended because not all black folks listen to rap. We don't all buy into that stuff. I don't listen to rapp, have never heard anything 50 Cent has done. I have no desire to give my money to anybody that uses the word in such a flippant manner. I feel sorry and pain by those who don't have sense enough to know what that word means, and the people who suffered and bled so that word could not be used flippantly.
    So yes, I am offended by ignorance from both white and black people.
    There are many different images of white people portrayed in the media. I have sense enough to know there are many of white folks. You all think differently, behave differently, have different points of view.
    Media seems to only want to portray one image of blacks so people can think this is the way we all are. So Rap is what people see, the negative is what people see and so we are all lumped together.
    I am offended that people feel they have a legitimate excuse to continue to use the word.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 12:15 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I don't believe they're bent out of shape for being told not to use the word, they're bent out of shape over the seeming double standard. If it's offensive for whites to use it should be offensive for anyone to use it.
    It is. I have said so. But like I said I don't undertsand why they even care unless they use the word themselves.
    I am not offended by someone telling me not to use a term, whether they uses it amongst themselves or not. If it's bad, it's bad.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 12:34 PM
    ETWolverine
    Homegirl 50,

    We seem to be in agreement that nobody should be using that word regardless of ethnicity.

    However, the double-standard comes about when only one side gets taken to task for it.

    Imus used the words "nappy-headed hos" and got fired for it. He was rightly taken to task for his language and racial comments.

    On the other hand, when a rapper uses similar language, not only does he not get taken to taks for it, he ends up earning huge money and various awards for it. The 2005 Oscar winner for best original song was "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". This song featured use of the B-word at least 7 times, the N-word once, and the use of the term "snow-bunny" to describe a white prostitute.

    Yes, you are correct that nobody should use such words. But when one group gets fired for using such terminology while the other group wins Oscar awards, we need to examine why that double-standard exists.

    The racism isn't in the use of the words... everyone is in agreement that the words are bad and that nobody should use them. It's in the consequences for using those words that the racist double-standard exists.

    Elliot
  • Dec 20, 2007, 12:45 PM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    Again, this is not the black community. This is only what you see. This is about image and money. An image society wants portrayed and money people will sell out to make. Large companies have power over just about all of us, they hold the purse strings and we buy into what they want us to by into, so this is not just about black people. But again I am talking a small minority of black folks. We are not all rappers and all of us don't listen to rapp.

    Well, I did say "those in the black community." You're right, you aren't all rappers - and this goes to my point - it is what we see. I believe that's goes to Cosby's point as well, that if the black community wants us to see more, show us something else. Take back your culture, take back your power, take back your families from these blacks that are modeling a negative image for us to see.

    Quote:

    Black folks are offended because not all black folks listen to rap. We don't all buy into that stuff. I don't listen to rapp, have never heard anything 50 Cent has done. I have no desire to give my money to anybody that uses the word in such a flippant manner. I feel sorry and pain by those who don't have sense enough to know what that word means, and the people who suffered and bled so that word could not be used flippantly.
    So yes, I am offended by ignorance from both white and black people.
    I think we're more on the same side than you think. I don't lump you all in together, I know the difference, but beyond taking those to task who really deserve it, don't get upset with us. Get mad at those in your community that drag your community down. Get mad at the record and movie producers, the rappers, the race hustlers, etc. I've been ready to just get along for years :)
  • Dec 20, 2007, 01:29 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Well, I did say "those in the black community." You're right, you aren't all rappers - and this goes to my point - it is what we see. I believe that's goes to Cosby's point as well, that if the black community wants us to see more, show us something else. Take back your culture, take back your power, take back your families from these blacks that are modeling a negative image for us to see.
    You see the negative image because that is what the media wants you to see. What you see is not the majority. Mr. Cosby is saying we should not be behaving in such a manner and that is true, but there are white folk that are doing despicable things. Your teens are having babies, using drugs, molesting kids but that image is not portrayed for the world to see. If there is someone telling white kids to stop doing such things, that is not portrayed for the world to see.
    As far as taking back our culture, we lost our culture when we were brought over in slave ships. We were doctors and lawyers and teachers and it took the civil rights movement to allow us to continue to live and have a culture and power.
    We continue to be are doctors and lawyers and teachers and hard working families raising kids who marry and have kids. We have hard working decent people just like white folk, but you don't see that because it is not the image the media wants you to see.

    I think we're more on the same side than you think. I don't lump you all in together, I know the difference, but beyond taking those to task who really deserve it, don't get upset with us. Get mad at those in your community that drag your community down. Get mad at the record and movie producers, the rappers, the race hustlers, etc.

    I am angry with those people, I don't support them and I do take them to task. I don't care for anyone who drags our cummunity down. But again, that is only a segment of our community. I also get upset at the media because that is the only image shown, like that is all there is to black folks and none of this exist in the white community. But that is still no excuse for a white person to call a black person the N word.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 01:45 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ETWolverine
    Homegirl 50,

    We seem to be in agreement that nobody should be using that word regardless of ethnicity.

    However, the double-standard comes about when only one side gets taken to task for it.

    Imus used the words "nappy-headed hos" and got fired for it. He was rightly taken to task for his language and racial comments.

    On the other hand, when a rapper uses similar language, not only does he not get taken to taks for it, he ends up earning huge money and various awards for it. The 2005 Oscar winner for best original song was "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". This song featured use of the B-word at least 7 times, the N-word once, and the use of the term "snow-bunny" to describe a white prostitute.

    Yes, you are correct that nobody should use such words. But when one group gets fired for using such terminology while the other group wins Oscar awards, we need to examine why that double-standard exists.

    The racism isn't in the use of the words... everyone is in agreement that the words are bad and that nobody should use them. It's in the consequences for using those words that the racist double-standard exists.

    Elliot

    And who gave that award? The white media. That is the image they want portrayed. They want it to look like we (black folk think that is so wonderful)
    There is no way that should have gotten an award for anything. They will give an Oscar for some triflin mess like that, but will cheat a good black actor out of one. They are not doing us a favor. They are doing nothing but perpetuating a negative image.
    The double standard exist because the powers want it to, they perpetuate it, to keep the s**t hitting the fan, to keep the image going.
    I think the double standard is wrong as well, I don't use the word, don't like my people using it, and when I hear one of mine using it I call them to task, but I'm still not understanding why some white folk get upset about not being able to call black folk that. If you don't think that way or use the word yourself, what's the problem?
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:04 PM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    You see the negative image because that is what the media wants you to see. What you see is not the majority. Mr. Cosby is saying we should not be behaving in such a manner and that is true, but there are white folk that are doing despicable things. Your teens are having babies, using drugs, molesting kids but that image is not portrayed for the world to see. If there is someone telling white kids to stop doing such things, that is not portrayed for the world to see.

    Come on Homegirl 50, nobody is saying there aren't despicable white people, or problems in our community, there are. If you don't see that being portrayed for all the world to see you haven't been paying attention.

    Nobody is saying all blacks are hip hoppin' thugs, they aren't. And if you think that's all the media wants us to see you're being very naïve in my opinion. The media is complicit in playing the victim card on behalf of the black community, imposing guilt on white America not only for sins of the past but alleged sins of the present. I remember the Katrina coverage, don't you? I remember the Jena six coverage and the Duke LaCrosse case coverage, don't you? That's what the media wants us to see, racism and bigotry in white America, not a negative image of blacks.

    Quote:

    As far as taking back our culture, we lost our culture when we were brought over in slave ships. We were doctors and lawyers and teachers and it took the civil rights movement to allow us to continue to live and have a culture and power.
    We continue to be are doctors and lawyers and teachers and hard working families raising kids who marry and have kids. We have hard working decent people just like white folk, but you don't see that because it is not the image the media wants you to see.
    [B]
    You know, I'm on your side so please, no slave ship lines. "We" weren't brought over in slave ships. There hasn't been a slave ship bringing blacks to this country in how long? Isn't it time to get past that? I don't know about you but I was born an American, I have no connection to Europe where "we" are "from." What good does it do to raise the issue of slave ships today? Besides, Walter Williams granted us amnesty:

    Quote:

    Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon Granted to All Persons of European Descent


    Whereas, Europeans kept my forebears in bondage some three centuries toiling without pay,

    Whereas, Europeans ignored the human rights pledges of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,

    Whereas, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments meant little more than empty words,

    Therefore, Americans of European ancestry are guilty of great crimes against my ancestors and their progeny.

    But, in the recognition Europeans themselves have been victims of various and sundry human rights violations to wit: the Norman Conquest, the Irish Potato Famine, Decline of the Hapsburg Dynasty, Napoleonic and Czarist adventurism, and gratuitous insults and speculations about the intelligence of Europeans of Polish descent,

    I, Walter E. Williams, do declare full and general amnesty and pardon to all persons of European ancestry, for both their own grievances, and those of their forebears, against my people.

    Therefore, from this day forward Americans of European ancestry can stand straight and proud knowing they are without guilt and thus obliged not to act like damn fools in their relationships with Americans of African ancestry.

    Walter E. Williams, Gracious and Generous Grantor
    Quote:

    I am angry with those people, I don't support them and I do take them to task. I don't care for anyone who drags our cummunity down. But again, that is only a segment of our community. I also get upset at the media because that is the only image shown, like that is all there is to black folks and none of this exist in the white community. But that is still no excuse for a white person to call a black person the N word.
    I don't believe anyone here is giving a white person an excuse to call a black person the "n word." We just don't think blacks have any excuse to call each other that, either. That's consistent.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:14 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Granting amnesty and changing attitudes are two different things, and what this guy wrote has nothing to do with racism.
    It's been a nice topic.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:15 PM
    ETWolverine
    Quote:

    They will give an Oscar for some triflin mess like that, but will cheat a good black actor out of one.
    I seem to remember Denzel Washington (Training Day) and Halle Berry (Monsters Ball) winning Oscars at the same time in 2001.

    Jamie Foxx won for Ray in 2004.

    Sidney Poitier won in 1963 for Lillies of the Field.

    In fact, here is the list of all the African American Oscar nominees, including the winners.

    Year Nominee Category
    1958 Sidney Poitier Best Actor
    1963 Sidney Poitier Best Actor
    1979 James Earl Jones Best Actor
    1972 Paul Winfield Best Actor
    1986 Dexter Gordon Best Actor
    1989 Morgan Freeman Best Actor
    1992 Denzel Washington Best Actor
    1993 Laurence Fishburne Best Actor
    1994 Morgan Freeman Best Actor
    1999 Denzel Washington Best Actor
    2001 Denzel Washington Best Actor
    2001 Will Smith Best Actor
    2004 Jamie Foxx Best Actor
    2004 Don Cheadle Best Actor
    2005 Terrence Howard Best Actor
    2006 Forrest Whitaker Best Actor
    2006 Will Smith Best Actor
    1954 Dorothy Dandridge Best Actress
    1972 Diana Ross Best Actress
    1972 Cicely Tyson Best Actress
    1974 Dihann Carroll Best Actress
    1985 Whoopi Goldberg Best Actress
    1993 Angella Bassett Best Actress
    2001 Halle Berry Best Actress
    1969 Rupert Crosse Supporting Actor
    1981 Howard Rollins Supporting Actor
    1982 Louis Gossett Jr. Supporting Actor
    1984 Adolph Caesar Supporting Actor
    1987 Morgan Freeman Supporting Actor
    1987 Denzel Washington Supporting Actor
    1989 Denzel Washington Supporting Actor
    1992 Jaye Davidson Supporting Actor
    1994 Samual L. Jackson Supporting Actor
    1996 Cuba Gooding Jr. Supporting Actor
    1999 Michael Clarke Duncan Supporting Actor
    2003 Djimon Hounsou Supporting Actor
    2004 Morgan Freeman Supporting Actor
    2004 Jamie Foxx Supporting Actor
    2006 Djimon Hounsou Supporting Actor
    2006 Eddie Murphy Supporting Actor
    1939 Hattie McDaniel Supporting Actress
    1948 Ethel Waters Supporting Actress
    1959 Juanita Moore Supporting Actress
    1967 Beah Richards Supporting Actress
    1983 Alfre Woodard Supporting Actress
    1985 Margaret Avery Supporting Actress
    1985 Oprah Winfrey Supporting Actress
    1990 Whoopi Goldberg Supporting Actress
    1996 Marianne Jean-Baptiste Supporting Actress
    2002 Queen Latifah Supporting Actress
    2004 Sophie Okonedo Supporting Actress
    2006 Jennifer Hudson Supporting Actress
    1961 Duke Ellington Original Musical Score
    1967 Quincy Jones Original Musical Score
    1971 Isaac Hayes Original Musical Score
    1978 Quincy Jones Original Musical Score
    1984 Prince Original Musical Score
    1985 Quincy Jones Original Musical Score
    1985 Andrae Crouch Original Musical Score
    1986 Herbie Hancock Original Musical Score
    1987 Jonas Gwangwa Original Musical Score
    1967 Quincy Jones Original Song
    1967 Bob Russell Original Song
    1968 Quincy Jones Original Song
    1968 Bob Russell Original Song
    1971 Isaac Hayes Original Song
    1981 Lionel Richie Original Song
    1983 Irene Cara Original Song
    1984 Stevie Wonder Original Song
    1984 Ray Parker Jr. Original Song
    1985 Lionel Richie Original Song
    1985 Quincy Jones/Lionel Richie Original Song
    1987 Jonas Gwangwa Original Song
    1988 Lamont Dozier Original Song
    1993 Jimmy Jam Original Song
    1993 Terry Lewis Original Song
    1993 Janet Jackson Original Song
    1994 James Ingram Original Song
    1995 James Ingram Original Song
    2005 Jordan Houston Original Song
    2005 Cedric Coleman Original Song
    2005 Paul Beauregard Original Song
    2006 Siedah Garrett Original Song
    1972 Lonne Elder III Adapted Screeplay
    1984 Charles Fuller Adapted Screeplay
    1972 Suzzanne de Passé Original Screenplay
    1989 Spike Lee Original Screenplay
    1991 John Singleton Original Screenplay

    I left off the technical awards like Costume, Cinemetography, Short Film, and Documentary.

    For the past 20 years, Blacks have definitely been represented at the Oscars. I don't think it's fair to accuse the academy of cheating blacks out of awards because of their color.

    Elliot
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:24 PM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    Granting amnesty and changing attitudes are two differnt things, and what this guy wrote has nothing to do with racism.
    It's been a nice topic.

    Actually, his 'amnesty' has everything to do with changing attitudes. Think about it. ;)
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:28 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I never said we were not represented. My point was they gave the award fro that trash, for what they thought was ar. That does us no favors. I couldn't care less what Hollyweird thinks of anything.
    Anyway, it' been a nice dicussion, but I'm rather out done by it. As a black person who does not use the word, who lived during a time when it was used all the time and it was OK, and we had no recourse against it, I don't undertsand why it is a problem. I'll admit there seem to be a double standard (and I say that because the word is still being used, it's just that when it is used by people in the public eye it draws attention) but like I said unless it is a word you use, or an attitude you have, I don't undertstand why it would even concern you.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:36 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by speechlesstx
    Actually, his 'amnesty' has everything to do with changing attitudes. Think about it. ;)

    You'll have to explain that one to me, because I'm not getting it. His proclamation IMO is a crock.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 03:39 PM
    speechlesstx
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    but like I said unless it is a word you use, or an attitude you have, I don't undertstand why it would even concern you.

    It's simple, we're ready for it to go away, too, so we can just be friends and neighbors.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 04:47 PM
    Homegirl 50
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by speechlesstx
    It's simple, we're ready for it to go away, too, so we can just be friends and neighbors.

    Many of us are friends and neighbors, some even family members and if nobody uses it, it will eventually go away, but I doubt that would happen. Like I said before, that word is used a lot but you don't hear about it unless it is someone in the public eye using it. There are people who are used to saying what ever they want and don't want to be told there are things they can't say or shouldn't. I have heard people use the word and think nothing of the act that I heard them. Racism is still alive and well. People just can't be as flagrant with it.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 06:36 PM
    s_cianci
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homegirl 50
    but I'm still not understanding why some white folk get upset about not being able to call black folk that. If you don't think that way or use the word yourself, what's the problem?

    The problem is that it's such an ugly, horrid word that we don't want anybody using it, whether it be black on black, white on black or whoever on whoever. And you're not one of them but if you've been reading through the posts on this thread you'll see that a number of respondents have suggested that it's OK for members of given racial or ethnic groups to call each other derogatory words which refer to the group in question ; blacks calling each other the N word, Germans calling each other "kraut", etc. But as long as that mentality exists we'll never be able to rid ourselves of the use of such words in what's supposed to be an advanced, civil society. And for one to say that one dislikes such words but then to shrug one's shoulders and say "Who cares, why get upset, as long as I don't like it and don't want to use it?" sounds like a bit of doubletalk and missing the forest for the trees. If you detest the word as much as you suggest you do then you need to hop on that same bandwagon and protest the use of it by anyone towards anyone and denounce those who feel it's OK to use it, even if such belief is limited to within a particular homogeneous group. Otherwise you're defeating your own purpose.
  • Dec 20, 2007, 06:45 PM
    Homegirl 50
    I have no problem with that, and do denounce those who use it within my own race. I agree with you, I just don't understand what white people's beef is. They started the word and many of them still use it. I think they have a lot of nerve to be outraged and cry double standard.
    But I do understand what you are saying.

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