Court Case Involving the N word

[CrimsonTide4]

NIGGAS SUCK! or NIGGERS SUCK!

Is There a Difference?

by Davey D

A major WACK Award goes out to those who insist and continue to use the N word. Whether you spell it NIGGER or NIGGA, you still get the WACK Award. This past weekend the ridiculous logic of using this word came back to haunt us. A San Jose judge allowed a white guy who committed a hate crime against his Black female teacher off the hook. His defense, the white guy did not commit a hate crime when he vandalized school property because he spelled the N word N-I-G-G-A and not N-I-G-G-E-R. The white guy used the friendly version of the word.

Editors note: The above headlines is not what was sprayed painted on the walls. Dude wrote 'Thanks Nigga' and had an arrow pointed to the teacher's name. For those who are still shaking their heads in disbelief, here's what went down. A white student at a San Jose high school got upset with his African American teacher for suspending his white friend. In retaliation he spray paints a school wall with the teacher's name and the N word which was spelled N-I-G-G-A. The police were upset. The
teacher was upset and the community was appalled. Dude goes on trial for this hate crime and his defense attorney brings in some witness to testify to the judge that there's a difference between the two spellings of the N word. The judge listens and lets the white dude off and says no hate crime was committed and thus a dangerous precedent is set.

San Jose's Black Police officers association were extremely upset over the ruling. After all, they know all to well what this will lead to. Next time some cop pulls you over and hurls the N word he can get off by saying he said N-I-G-G-A and not N-I-G-G-E-R. Should you be careful before you file a racial harassment suit against a coworker or an insensitive boss? After all, he or she may actually be using the NIGGA spelling of the word. I couldn't help recalling the speech that Minister Farrakhan gave at the most recent Hip Hop Summit in LA. He emphatically warned us..'if we keep putting something out there we will one day have to answer for it'. This recent court interpretation of this hate crime and the use of the N word was proof. Think about it..

[Steeltrap]

The lesson from this court case, IMO, is pretty clear. We have to cease using the word among ourselves.

And those rappers, et al, who use it really need to check themselves. There is no "friendly" interpretation of that vile slur.

[Honeykiss1974]

Thanks for the article CT4......

It really made me think but IMHO, that judge was a punk and straight sell-out for his ruling. NIGGA is just as bad. And on what grounds/documentation is there that says that NIGGA is the user-friendly version? Just because it is used in the everyday language of some? Does that mean that if me and my friends use the word WETBAC or CRACKA (no offense meant to anyone...this is being used for example purposes ONLY!!!!!) in my everyday conversations, that it is not a hate crime if I use it to deface someone's property and to demean them? I mean come on!!!!! Let's call a spade a spade.

I think I will find out the San Jose judge that ruled on this case and send him a nice email. Maybe it will start off like this...

Dear Cracka..........

Do you think this will still be considered a hate letter since I spelled it differently?

Once again, I DO NOT use any of these words in my everyday language and I DO NOT look kindly upon those people that do. No matter how you dress it up you can't put syrup on chit and call them pancakes!!!

[Honeykiss1974]

Interesting article from the book Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.

From www.blackamericaweb.com


Though flatly defined in a current printing of Webster's Dictionary as "1. Negro - usually taken to be offensive. 2. A member of any dark-skinned race - usually taken to be offensive," the word 'nigger' remains America's most emotionally charged racial insult. There have always been considerable social consequences attached to the use of this noxious, hurtful epithet. For many generations, the term was primarily invoked as an oppressive tool by bigots interested in preserving the privileged status associated with white skin. Thus, the N-word, historically, has represented a defining taint in this country's cultural legacy.
'Nigger' is the only vile vulgarity white rapper Eminem won't use. Meanwhile, Jennifer Lopez caught hell for song lyrics containing it, although in some circles she might be considered a sister. Obviously the word is offensive when intended as injurious. But should one be criticized for applying it in an arguably uplifting fashion? Isn't it possible that an intended positive message might be misconstrued and end up as emotionally damaging?

Mark Twain has been long-heralded as a satirical, anti-slavery folk hero, yet it is hardly debatable whether children might catch the underlying message in this exchange found in Huckleberry Finn between Huck Finn and Aunt Sally:

"Good gracious! Anybody hurt?"

"No'm. Killed a nigger."

"Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt."

It is this ongoing debate at the heart of nigger that makes it a fascinating read, despite the elusiveness of a satisfactory resolution. Unlikely to be eliminated through either eradication or regulation, the N-word deserves no place in contemporary language. Yet, this once contemptuous curse flourishes like never before in a dangerous atmosphere of African American acceptance, a phenomenon more likely to backfire rather than enlighten or liberate future generations.