I think it was television news personnel--you can't call them journalists anymore, they are all just actors who spoon-feed the public infotainment now--who started this whole 'N word' thing. Most of them are white and are afraid to use the word 'nigger' on national TV, hence the poorly application of brevity. Even the non-white or mixed race members of these programs are using this word, because they are forced to toe the same line as their white colleagues while on air. So we are all clear before I go any further everyone should know that I despise racism. I have physically removed people from my home for saying words like nigger. I hate it when someone sidles up to me and says something incredibly stupid like, "There are two kinds of black people," or starts to nervously tell what is commonly known here in the South as a 'nigger joke,' all while glancing in every direction to make sure no one with skin darker than theirs is within hearing range. It's like they assume I am a member of some kind of white people's club with them or something, and that piece of idiocy is what they use in lieu of a secret handshake.
However, stupid white people aren't the ones who piss me off the most when it comes to using the word nigger. That is reserved for the people that racial slur is meant to designate. Why black (or fill in your own PC term) people would want to call themselves niggers is beyond me. It pisses me off just like when anyone else says it, though. Here's why. The use of the epithet 'nigger' seems to only be insulting if it comes from someone who isn't black. I am confronted with this hypocrisy on a daily basis, but the most recent case was when I was walking my son into a local store. Two young black males were standing outside the store, singing a song they were apparently both very fond of. Every other word seemed to be 'nigger.' As I could not get into the store without passing these two people by, and their language was inappropriate not only in that place but also in front of my child, I felt compelled to ask them both why they kept using the word nigger. Both young men immediately became hostile and indicated that they thought me calling them niggers was an invitation to violence. I pointed out that I had not called either one of them a nigger, and reiterated my initial query amended to also ask why, if this was their reaction to the use of the word nigger, they were both using it. That stymied them both for a moment, and they looked at each other uncertainly. Then I pointed to my son and asked them how I was supposed to teach him not to use that word when they wouldn't stop using it themselves. That ended the situation, although not satisfactorily for any of the parties involved. So, now I would really like to ask that question of all black people everywhere. If you have such hatred for the word, why do so many of you use it so much?
I would really like a serious answer to that question. I would be nice if that particular behavior would stop. And before anyone tries it, "It's okay because we're black," is not an acceptable answer.
In a later post I will talk about why people of mixed race aren't called half white, instead of half black or Asian or whatever. I will also explain how the US Marine Corp handles the issue of race, and suggest how we as a nation can do the same.
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