08-03-2003, 11:25 AM
Quote:I disagree. Exposing them to the offensive word may cause them psychological stress. All it does is force them to deal with it, it does nothing to alleviate the offensiveness of the word. That's one reason why people are forced to play private games on Diablo. Griefer activity follows this reasoning. "I can PK you, deal with it". Many of us consider that inconsiderate and socially irresponsible behavior. The actions are harmful to someone else, and the actor in this case shows no remorse about harming that individual.
not unsurprisingly, I disagree. if hearing "niggas triangulate" causes you psychological stress, then you've lived an insanely sheltered life and would probably be better off if you'd been offended a bit more often in the past. indeed, all it does is force them to deal with it. and that might be a good thing.
if you have something worthwhile to say, then I think you should say it even if it offends the ones with the very thinnest skins. maybe they'll learn something eventually.
and a good joke is always worthwhile. "niggas triangulate" is funny because of the juxtaposition between nigga (urban slang) and triangulate (insane math). can you hear DMX saying damn, y'all niggas be triangulatin'? ;)
Quote:Words evolve. The latin root for n*gger is niger for black. Ever used niger ink? The English language evolves. I attribute the change from n*gger to n*gga with the modern act of dropping the last constanant in the pronunciation of colloquial speech. Hanging turns to hangin', proper turns to propa, motherf***er turns to motherf***a, and thus n*gger turns to n*gga. To some people, it's simply a pronunciation difference, or does motherf***a have a different connotation as well?
indeed, words evolve. indeed, nigga evolved from n*gger. I don't see where that rebuts anything I said. I've never heard "nigga" used as a derogatory term -- when it's meant to be offensive, people use the real N-word. and vice versa, those members of the black american population who are using the word colloquially aren't going around calling each other n*ggers.
which is why I think "urban slang" when I hear nigga and "really derogatory term" when I hear n*gger. even though the word was used without any context in Ignatz' first post, I still think it'd be a long jump to conclusions to assume that anything demeaning was meant with it.
Quote:You contradict the preceding sentence with this one. "Major difference" versus "basically the same word". Welcome to the strange case of the N-word.
sorry if I was unclear, when I said "basically the same word" I meant etymologically, not that they have basically the same meaning.
Quote:I'm sorry, I can't tell if you or Ignatz are African-American. I've heard other ethnicities say it to black people that are their close friends and to friends of other ethnicities as well. I'm fairly accepting of the colloquial usage of the word. Where I don't want to hear it is in an environment where you are unaware of whether or not people are going to get offended. This is a forum. We can't tell what kind of people are behind the keyboard. Are you going to hop up on a podium in front of an audience of unknown factors and say something potentially offensive? Not a Richard Pryor stand up routine audience either...they're ready for it...but a random sampling of the populace...are you really going to hop up there if you're not of African descent and say "N*ggas triangulate"?
no, but then again the Lounge isn't a random sampling of the population. for one thing, "males 18-30" are going to be a much bigger group here than in a random sample. :) that's also why I'd expect more people here to be "hip with the lingo", so to speak, and not be offended by "niggas triangulate".
Quote:It still carries luggage. Does calling a homosexual person a "fairy" make it any less offensive than calling him a "f*g"? It carries less luggage!
the point I was trying (and apparently failing) to make is that "nigga" carries luggage precisely because it isn't normally used in an insulting manner. in your example, both are used as insults. can you imagine a cranky bigotted texan saying to his grandkids "now, I don't want you to play with those niggaz that moved in here last week, got that?"
Quote:Good for you, now respect the people who don't, and respect the rules of this forum.
:blink:
did I disrespect the people who didn't find it funny? I thought my post was rather polite, other than the "bollocks" part. and where oh where did I break the forum rules?