• ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m a school bus driver and by far the weirdest experience (which I have regularly) is driving a busload of middle school or high school girl athletes (almost all white) somewhere and listening to them sing along to music with the n-word in it. They do not skip the n-word.

  • Fr❄stb☃️te@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Black guy here:

    I give all you motherfuckers the Nigga Pass. I hereby bestow you all the title of Honourary Niggaz.

  • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Honestly, this is why I don’t listen to music with the n-word in it. If I’m not allowed to speak that word, I don’t want it in my subconscious.

      • Sylvartas@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I still don’t even dare to say it even when I’m alone in my car and singing along because I don’t want to slip if I ever sing it in public

    • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      I do the same, but this is really the issue with words some people are allowed to say but others aren’t. Hearing something all the time and not saying it just isn’t something we’re built for. So it’s kind of like encouraging a cultural separation.

      • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If I recall correctly, many organizations that advocate in the interest of black people prefer no one use the word.

      • credit crazy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s for that reason why I advocate for everyone to be allowed to say it just like we do with cracker yea one is more prominent than the other but man if we are equal than shouldn’t it be easy to decide if slurs are allowed at all or not yet again I advocate for all slurs to be allowed by everyone because banning them just gives them power via significance

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I mean, it’s not that difficult. I listen to plenty of rap and I don’t think I’ve ever spoken the word, certainly not in public. I don’t see it as cultural separation but as cultural respect. Eminem has gone an entire rap career without saying it, and he doesn’t seem very fussed about it.

        Edit: He has said it before earlier in his career, but not now for quite a while. The general point I’m making is the same though.

        • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          For me when I hear someone speak my internal monologue patterns itself after their speech for a while, and I’ve heard others describe the same. Accents shift over time if you move somewhere with a different accent. I think it’s possible to have your words follow a set of rules, but for most people that will take active filtering that will make their speech less off-the-cuff and might slip if they are tired or drunk or something.

          • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            You know it’s interesting, because I’m the same way, but I haven’t had that happen for me. Not saying you’re wrong, it’s just interesting how the phenomenon varies. If I have one long listen/exposure, multiple hours long, then I’ll it happen to me. That isn’t a common occurrence though.

            I get your point though. I suppose it just comes down to how someone’s brain is wired, and to what level they can separate it from their own speech.

    • MrGerrit@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      If it’s in the song I like I just go along with. Me doing that isn’t in any negative way. If the artist don’t like some people say it, they shouldn’t put in there.

      Skipping it or bleeping it out is like censoring art.

      This reminds of when Kendrick Lamar got a white girl on stage and let her sing along with him. As soon she drops the n-word he stops the song and she got shit from everybody there.

      He did give her a second try on the song.

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          He actually mentions this on his new album in the song Auntie Diaries, which is about him learning to understand his trans aunt and cousin. He uses gay slurs throughout the song as an example of what he’d say when he was younger. There’s a very poignant moment I’ll paraphrase:

          “I said those words but I didn’t know any better. I was taught that words were [just words].” - Kendrick

          “Kendrick, ain’t no room for contradiction. [Let’s look at it from a different perspective]. F* F* F* we can say it together, but only if you let a white girl say n–” - Cousin who’s trans

      • TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        “If the artist don’t like some people say it, they shouldn’t put in there.”

        I think I’ve heard the response to this from creators, the idea is that it isn’t made for you. They create media informed by black experiences and tailored for black audiences. They don’t feel like they should have to change that to accommodate white/non-black audiences, and not doing so shouldn’t be a free pass for people to turn bigoted language back at them.

        Take what you will from that, and consider that I cited a vague “they” with no clear reference or origin. I’m going off shoddy memory, and as a non-black person.

      • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I know. When I made that choice I got rid of some songs I really liked. That’s the price I’m paying for keeping my mind more free of words I am forbidden from using.

        • TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          yeah I get this. part of ADHD for me is having a lot of impulsive words floating through my head. I try to avoid things I wouldn’t want falling out later. I remember in high school I had a revival of “aw, gay” that kept popping up in my head, even though it had already died out socially years ago and I hadn’t said it (in that manner) in years. I probably saw it again on TV or something and it just stuck. it took a lot of conscious power to just stop saying it reflexively when I died in a video game or whatever.

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I don’t know how to say this in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m shit talking so I’ll just put this here and say I mean it without sarcasm or insult.

          That’s a hell of a sacrifice, and I wouldn’t make it, but I do respect your commitment.

    • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What do you mean you’re “not allowed to speak” it? lol. Y’all are so weird about being racist.

    • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      You’re ridiculous. You have that much trouble not saying nigga that you have to pretend the word doesn’t exist?

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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    1 year ago

    I once worked with a black dude who said the word all the time. One day we were talking hella shit about our boss and all kinds of n words flying out of his mouth, and I let one loose too, froze, and looked at him and he didn’t even give a shit.

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      People joke about the hard R but there really is a huge difference. And besides, people know there’s a big contextual difference. Homies aren’t going to mind if you’re just hanging out with them … probably.

  • Rosco@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I’m curious, is there another word that have the same taboo status as the n-word? I’ve never heard of another word that can only be uttered if you have the right shade of skin. What a stupid world we live in, seriously.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      I’m not speaking from any position of authority here, but I think it has more to do with being in the right culture, not the right skin color like some people imply.

      There are urban white kids who grew up in the projects who use the same language as their black peers, and I think generally no one cares. However, when someone outside that culture uses that language, it’s not something they use for normal speech and there’s probably some other motivation behind it. It’s just like in a lot of people’s speech they say “bro” but it doesn’t mean brother. To people outside the culture it means black person, but they use it like others use “bro”. It doesn’t really mean anything.

      Reiterating, I have very little experience with this. It’s just my observations. I’ve known black people who it’d be weird for them to use this language and seen white people who it’s just a normal part of their speech.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          You’d likely know where they grew up by the manner of their speaking. The white kids from the projects are going to sound “urban” and the black affluent people are going to sound stereotypically “white”. I wouldn’t be offended (I’m white) but I would be surprised if the black people I know who do not use that language started using the n-word suddenly. It’s not a part of their normal language, so what caused them to suddenly start using it? Probably nothing good I would assume.

          It also depends on the time and place. Those white kids from the projects would probably need to code switch when going to a job interview or something, for example, just like their black peers do. That language is context-dependents on whether it’s acceptable. It’s more than just being black.

      • Rosco@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        That makes a bit more sense if that’s a culture thing, but how do you define someone who belong in that culture? Is a black person born from a very wealthy European family still allowed to say it, even though he might have nothing to do with the culture? It just seems weird to me how you clearly define this, I mean even clearly defining what a black person is, is pretty much impossible.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          The point is it isn’t clearly defined. It’s situational. Not all black people will or should say it, and some white people feel comfortable saying it and use it in situations where it doesn’t offend anyone. There is no “correct” race, skin tone, culture, etc where it’s always OK. There’s just situations where it’s OK for some people. I’m sure if you know it’s OK then you know it’s OK, and that’s the only time it’s OK. If you’re wondering if it’s appropriate, it probably isn’t.

      • KarmaTrainCaboose@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Maybe some well off black people wouldn’t use the word, but it certainly would not be acceptable for any white person to use it in any context. Even if they grew up in “the hood” it would, at the very least, be frowned upon for them to say it. In many places it would earn them an immediate beat down.

      • Rosco@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        That’s fair, my only issue is clearly determining what makes someone a member of the group. I guess for LGBT it’s more clearly defined, but it becomes a lot harder to determine if you’re from X ethnicity or if you belong to Y culture (or I guess the hard part is to make people accept you in their club…)

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Faggot used to be a school yard insult but it’s being fast tracked to “The N Word for Gays”

    • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      My guess is that the N word has pretty much no historical use outside of referring to darker skinned people in as derogatory of a way as possible. The F word for gays is about the only other one, unless you’ve got a British pal who smokes, but just about every other slur is either so obscure that it’s only heard rarely, or has other legitimate uses, so you have to apply context to figure out what the situation is. N word was almost always bad, until they decided to blunt the blade, so to speak, by adopting it as a part of their own vernacular.

    • randon31415@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Y * * lo, r * d, and m* * * to skinned are also taboo, but you don’t see people with those skin colors using the terms and keeping it popular.

  • Underwaterbob@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Unless you’re Korean. “Ni ga” (니가) literally means “you” in Korean. With the not-so-recent surge in popularity of Kpop globally, I know there’s been more than one outraged person accusing Korean rappers of racism for saying “you” in their own language.

      • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I worked a job where I’d often be driving people speaking Mandarin on conference calls. I had this exact thought while driving them around. I remember hearing this special around that time n laughing my ass off.

          • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Ha, it was a black car company with a lot of corporate clients. Those people would be on calls all the time.

      • Underwaterbob@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        That was pretty hilarious despite some jokes that definitely wouldn’t fly today. And were iffy then, too.

        • Stamets@startrek.websiteOP
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          1 year ago

          Oh absolutely. I remember laughing at that when I was a very young teenager but was cringing just a little while rewatching it yesterday. It’s not nearly as bad as some other stuff but it’s a little yikes. Wondering if thats why I haven’t seen Russell Peters in over a decade.

          • Underwaterbob@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I just checked his Wikipedia, and it looks like he’s mostly been acting in some dubious looking comedy films with some TV on the side.

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Oh man I remember this in college. I was grabbing some stuff at a Walgreens and this Korean lady was on the phone saying that. When I got home I told one of my roommates and he was “No, no, they weren’t being really racist, that’s a common phrase in Korean!”

      Incredibly unfortunate false cognate.

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It reminds me of a problem with Japanese let’s players, how they’ve been playing more and more Western games lately, who have been playing Grand Theft Auto V.

      See in Japanese culture, onomatopoeia is a bigger thing, and it’s not uncommon for people to sing an onomatopoeia or for them to be accounted for in the dialogue for media, especially in anime.

      So a notice actually had to be given to Japanese Grand Theft Auto fans to stop playfully singing the N Word (as is done at the end of the infamous Franklin Roast)

      Many fans mistook it for a playful onomatopoeia and just began singing it on stream in the most innocent way possible.

      There are compilations of famous Japanese Vtubers doing this and it is as adorable as it is uncomfortable

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Or as League of Legends personality “LS” says

      Just call people 니가 and they literally cannot punish you

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I think “homie” would work too actually, and feels more correct since it’s slang. Like:

      “Got my brothers in Paris, and we goin gorillas”

      Vs

      “Got my homies in Paris, and we goin gorillas”

      But I mean it just comes down to which sounds better to you.

  • Bleeping Lobster@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I just make a record-scratch sound instead of say the word if it’s in a song I’m singing. If people think that’s lame then I’ll live with that. I do NOT want to get comfortable saying that word; I’m the same shade as printer paper.

    I had a friend get very comfortable with the phrase “yeaaahhh, ma nizzle” (substitute nizzle for the word it’s code for, because I can confirm after using a perfectly acceptable word similar to snickering it will be removed and also I don’t wanna type it).

    One day, we’re at a very rough pub in Digbeth. Lots of drinks had. We’re all sat at a table outside, behind my friend are two very large, very black bouncers. One legit looked like the Hulk and capable of casually ripping my friend’s head off. The other wasn’t as muscled but still well-built and very tall. Then… my friend… says the words. Everyone at the table kinda freezes and goes quiet. The very tall guy goes “What did he say?!” and the Hulk just shakes his head sadly and says “something stupid”. Thank you Hulk for not ripping my friend’s head off.

    And that, boys and girls, is why you don’t get comfortable saying words that aren’t for you.

  • swagamuffin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Okay but if I’m doing karaoke I’m gonna sing the song like it is. I’m not the guy who’s just gonna skip the word or say “neighbor” or something, sorry.