DSTCHAOS,

I think you have the right approach here.

In your post you speak about your personal tolerance for the use of the word when it is said within earshot, but say nothing about legislating people's right to say it aloud.

Making a rule to ban the word- or any word- is not only stupid but a violation of free speech.

The power the word carries is born out in the reaction it can inspire in certain circumstances, and those who utter it must face the freedom of expression and feeling of those who hear it and react in turn.

What is interesting is how the term Black has evolved. Now it is okay and even preferable to be called Black over sya Nego. We took the word and changed it into a positive.

The "n" word is a little different, since it was the derogatory slur of Negro.

I am also guilty of using the term in an affectionate way (with an "a" at the end,) but having my ire raised if I hear a non-Black use it. But I am also ticked off if I hear an African American use it in a derogatory manner at another Af Am. So I have decided to drop it from my vocabulary.

Ironically, I overheard two young Native Americans joking and laughing and one said to the other"you are my "n" (with an a.) They then bumped fist and hugged. So is it becoming an acceptable term among others as a term of affection?

I've seen this too. With white kids. I think some of them are just so young and/or improperly educated they don't have a clue what they're saying.

:confused:

Certain words can be banned from publications or discourse in certain arenas.

They can't be made "illegal" on a larger scale.

Or maybe they find it acceptable and ok to use because of the word's incessant use by blacks in mainstream pop-culture.

Okay...and...?

Actually...... I dunno.

That's it exactly.

When it comes to workplaces, internet forums and other arenas for public discourse that are funded by one or more persons- there is every right to determine what is acceptable in the combination of the best interests of the public and that organization's obligation to society.

But when it comes to anonymous encounters on the street as one man to another- it is an issue of freedom of speech pure and simple.

When a person uses the N-word in a combative sense, that person is being immature and intentionally creating an emotional argument where an intellectual argument could be in play. In such instances either the person saying it is incapable of putting forth a coherent intellectual race-based argument on the topic at hand or is using the term to cover for a lack of any intellectual argument (far more often the latter.)

But an excessive negative reaction to the use of the word- in other words an African-American reacting in an emotional or physical manner that breaks the law- is equally unacceptable.

In the long run, I think the fuss over the N-word is a bad thing. It gives the word an added value that allows the "bad guy" to use it as a weapon and incite a reaction from some African-Americans that will only do harm.

The political and power realities of today- led by the mass immigration from Mexico- creates legitimate concerns for African-Americans in this country that require serious consideration.

The legality, and the legally acceptable reactions to the use of, the N-word are an unnecessary and harmful distraction from some very real long term economic and opportunity issues that really matter!

Just my opinion as someone who is done with college; has lived, worked and hired in the real world; and knows a lot of very good people who I treasure and who do not fit the "Angry Black" stereotype perpetuated by the media and who share my hopes and dreams for our lives and our children.

Maybe!