Why is one NBA owner STILL allowed to use the "N" word???l

[One Brow]

According to whom?

The etymology of the word. The way they are used in mainstream culture. History. Personal experience.

Each and every time I say, ...

You and your friends are welcome to play whatever sort of Humpty Dumpty games you wish. In another 40 years, the word may have lost all it's sting. Words are not inhyerently evil, but the connotations society has attached to them can make them unfit for polite company.

Either way, it will still be the same word.

 

[One Brow]

KRS One aka the teacha aka blastmasta cleared it up though. But it's clear One Brow didn't watch it.

Feel free to link it (in PM or email if the link would violate board rules). I'll let you know how much it impresses me.

 

[Jerry Lundegaard]

Feel free to link it (in PM or email if the link would violate board rules). I'll let you know how much it impresses me.

It's on page 1 or 2 of this thread.

 

[TroutBum]

Moe - KRS One can clear it up for you, and everyone in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2FxZfPRrAU

There you go, OneBrow. I hadn't watched it until Chi brought it up again -- it's not bad.

 

[One Brow]

There you go, OneBrow. I hadn't watched it until Chi brought it up again -- it's not bad.

It has an amusing idealism you often see from the young. I recall Richard Pryor, for example, supporting his usage as a young man on similar points, than rejecting those same points later on.

I didn't see anything in the video that actually was different from what I said.

 

[TroutBum]

It has an amusing idealism you often see from the young. I recall Richard Pryor, for example, supporting his usage as a young man on similar points, than rejecting those same points later on.

I didn't see anything in the video that actually was different from what I said.

You didn't? Care to watch it again, this time with your computer turned on?

Also, nothing beats the, "Awww, these damn youngsters and their new-fangled ideas!" diatribe. Sure, "the young" have their fairshare of bad ideas and causes, but any reasonable person doesn't discount something just because it was presented by a youngster.

 

[One Brow]

Also, nothing beats the, "Awww, these damn youngsters and their new-fangled ideas!" diatribe.

Actually, as I pointed out, it's not a new idea (hence, the Ricard pryor reference). It's at least 30 years old. It didn't work in the 70s, and it doesn't work now.

... any reasonable person doesn't discount something just because it was presented by a youngster.

I agree. It's not a bad idea because it was presented by a youngster. It's a bad idea because it adopts an overly idealistic view of language and culture, and the ability of humans to separate their use of a word from the connotations fo the surrounding culture.

Considering all the additional words thrown into th emix, what in the video do you see as refuting this observation:

The first is more typically used to emphasize the difference between the speaker and the referent (as in, 'you are a ******, and I'm not'), the second is used to emphasize commonality between the speaker and referent ('we're both just ******'), but these are connotations, and don't change the basic meaning of the word.

 

[Jerry Lundegaard]

One Brow - the main point KRS One made is that his meaning, and those of his ilk (including myself and Trout Bum), is completely different than your meaning. Therefore, there is no correlation between the two words. One word is a term of endearment, the other is an inflammatory racial slur.

 

[One Brow]

chitownjazz,

Could you please tell me how that difference is not reflected in the last quote of the comment I made immediately above yours? Because using something as an expression of commonality, as opposed to an expression of difference, does not actually change what the word means. You're changing the connotation, but not the meaning.

As I pointed out, I've seen KRS One's logic being used for decades now. I used to think there was something to it. I was wrong. The reasoning is based on an unrealistic notion of language and culture.

 

[Jerry Lundegaard]

chitownjazz,

Could you please tell me how that difference is not reflected in the last quote of the comment I made immediately above yours? Because using something as an expression of commonality, as opposed to an expression of difference, does not actually change what the word means. You're changing the connotation, but not the meaning.

As I pointed out, I've seen KRS One's logic being used for decades now. I used to think there was something to it. I was wrong. The reasoning is based on an unrealistic notion of language and culture.

***** is not the same word as the slur. It was created well after the slur was established and has a completely different meaning. It's obvious in the context both are used in. Not sure what you're missing. If your argument is if that an old white man or woman went up to a random group of black dudes on the street and said, 'what up my *****? (with an A)' the reaction would be the same as if they said it with an ER than you are way off.

 

[carolinajazz]

If your argument is if that an old white man or woman went up to a random group of black dudes on the street and said, 'what up my *****? (with an A)' the reaction would be the same as if they said it with an ER than you are way off.

....personally, in either case.....they'd be capped within seconds!!!

 

[Gameface]

....personally, in either case.....they'd be capped within seconds!!!

Why is that?

Are you assuming every group of young black men on the street are in possesion of guns?

Are you assuming that every group of young black men on the street are violent and hostile?

I dislike when people cry racism when what you've written is not racism all by itself. I dislike it because they are making assumtions and placing their own meaning on your words. So here you've made a statement that I will not call racism on its own, but that I'd like you to explain. I dislike it because it seems you are making assumptions about the nature of a group of young black men.