Albany State fraternity wants to ban the "N" word

[NinjaPoodle]

I actually agree with abolishing the word. If people want to use it among friends in private, fine. The word was never used in my home growing up (and my parents still don't use it). I don't use it and quite frankly, just because I'm Af-American I'm supposed to say it's ok? Don't think so. Re-appropriation is what groups of people do to take something negative, absorb it and try to turn it into something positive. Some things will work, like the mammy image. Black people who know the history, KNOW black women were more than that IMAGE. It's a difficult image but it was easier to turn it around and re-claim it and find strength in knowing the truth, which was not a negative thing. Ni**** has never had a positive connotation. EVER.


It's more that trying to make it okay, it's trying to put a band-aid on a 200 year old wound that no matter how hard we try, (and we do) will never heal.

[nate2512]

I don't understand how you would abolish a word, and enforce it. I also don't understand why blacks use the word to refer to each other, but when a white person says it, its racist and derrogortory(sp?)?

[DSTRen13]

Originally Posted by nate2512

I don't understand how you would abolish a word, and enforce it. I also don't understand why blacks use the word to refer to each other, but when a white person says it, its racist and derrogortory(sp?)?

This article is talking about trying to keep everyone from using the word. The APhiA chapter in question would appear to agree with you that it's not acceptable for black people to say it either.

I second the confusion about enforcement - how do you abolish a word? I can see how you could campaign against a word, discourage it, etc. --- but abolish it? I don't know how that would work, and I don't really even think that it would be a desirable way to approach the problem.