[GiRTh]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

Its mainly an American thing due to numbers and history but noone has stated its exclusive. No one said that rappers using it mattered only that they did.

oh and having a rather "obvious" avatar doth not make you the resident MLK round here

My Avatar has got nothing to do with anything. My avatar is an iconic image of the 20th century why do you say differently?

You acted like it mattered that rappers use it now you say it doesnt. OK then why mention it in the first place? Surely cuz you thought it was a relevant point to make. You've confused me.

[Z]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

This thread is getting ridiculous now tbqh, I'm baffled why any white person feels the need to even argue about it, it's not like you would ever use that word anyway, why do you care if black people do or not, how does it effect you in anyway

Because people constantly using the word without properly redefining what it means when they say it means that the word is still around, therefore we can't move on from it as a collective society until either the word stops getting thrown about or it means something else and it becomes okay for people to use it in the new meaning without people thinking they mean it in the old one. I don't necessarily mean white people - plenty of black people hate to hear the word because of what it conjures up. So either the word is eradicated altogether or its meaning needs to be changed. Having it in this weird limbo stage where it sort of means something else, and can only be used by a small section of society, but is used in mainstream media accessed by people of all backgrounds, means that it can't be discussed by the world at large even though it affects all of us.

I don't want to use the word but I want to be able to discuss it without the conversation turning immediately to black people vs white people and getting into a discussion about racism. That is precisely why the word needs redefining. When it's used in songs that reach a global market, people are not using the n word to slur black people, are they? But if a non-black person used the word, the assumption would be that it is a slur, even though they're intending it in the way that it's being used in music. That's a problem, in my opinion.

[MTVN]

'We' don't have to do anything tbh, if black people want to have a discussion about what it means and so forth that's up to them, but it isn't up to white people to set the terms for the use of a word that they used to oppress black people for years and treat as their inferiors

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by MTVN

'We' don't have to do anything tbh, if black people want to have a discussion about what it means and so forth that's up to them, but it isn't up to white people to set the terms for the use of a word that they used to oppress black people for years and treat as their inferiors

Some white people did, not white people

[MTVN]

Perhaps so yet all white people received the benefit of it, considering it was accepted and official practice for white people, as a race, to be treated better and receive privileges that black people didn't

I'm sure there were cases where some white people were worse off than a small minority of black people, but it isn't really worth the distinction

[Kyle]

Just how much time has to pass before the 'shame' of slavery can stop being thrown in the faces of white people?

[Me. I Am Salman]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Just how much time has to pass before the 'shame' of slavery can stop being thrown in the faces of white people?

maybe people will stop their criticism when white people stop trying to control what black people say. or maybe when white previlege is abolished

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Salman!

maybe people will stop their criticism when white people stop trying to control what black people say. or maybe when white previlege is abolished

I am not sure Obama would agree with you there

[Brother Leon]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Just how much time has to pass before the 'shame' of slavery can stop being thrown in the faces of white people?

It's a vital part of history. One that isn't discussed anywhere near as much as it should be in schools or even in general if anything. Compare it to the coverage Holocaust etc gets. No one is telling White people in 2014 to be "ashamed", but it's never going to be forgotten really is it?
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Not sure why the thread has so many posts anyway.

[Z]

Originally Posted by MTVN

'We' don't have to do anything tbh, if black people want to have a discussion about what it means and so forth that's up to them, but it isn't up to white people to set the terms for the use of a word that they used to oppress black people for years and treat as their inferiors

'We' can't do anything, you're right, but it's a word that is used in mainstream culture so 'we' can't ignore it either.

[Jake.]

Originally Posted by Brother Leon

It's a vital part of history. One that isn't discussed anywhere near as much as it should be in schools or even in general if anything. Compare it to the coverage Holocaust etc gets. No one is telling White people in 2014 to be "ashamed", but it's never going to be forgotten really is it?
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Not sure why the thread has so many posts anyway.

I agree to a certain extent, but it's not as if classes are filled with nazis.. I get that children of all races should be educated on such parts of history, but the age is a vital factor. Younger children might not be able to grasp the concept of how things have changed since then.