{"id":93,"date":"2011-01-18T21:23:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-19T01:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/?p=93"},"modified":"2012-04-20T00:26:42","modified_gmt":"2012-04-20T04:26:42","slug":"the-word-nigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/?p=93","title":{"rendered":"The Word Nigger"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been thinking about the word nigger<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, nigger; <\/em>the name European settlers in North America gave to enslaved Africans. It’s a word they used instead of calling the Africans people<\/em>, humans<\/em>, man<\/em>, woman<\/em> <\/em>. It’s the word for an invented category between animals and human. (This thinking ignored the reality that people, “human beings,” are animals too. Some people don’t accept that even today.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I think nigger <\/em>is the worst curse in American English. It’s not merely an insult. It’s a dehumanizing<\/a>1<\/sup> adjective. And it’s a very sensitive \u201cissue\u201d here in the States.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Because of the historical import and current misgivings behind the word nigger<\/em>, even dictionaries give it special and sensitive treatment. The Unabridged.Merriam-Webster.com, like many dictionaries, treats it with discretion and delicacy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Usage: <\/span>often attributive<\/span><\/em>
\nEtymology: alteration of <\/span>neger <\/span><\/em>or <\/span>1<\/span><\/sup>niger<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>1 a<\/strong><\/span>: NEGRO<\/strong><\/span> — usually taken to be offensive <\/span>b<\/strong><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> a member (as an East Indian, a Filipino, an Egyptian) of any very dark-skinned race — usually taken to be offensive
\n<\/span>2<\/strong><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> any of several dark-colored insect larvae (as of some ladybugs and of the turnip sawfly)
\n<\/span>3<\/strong><\/span>: COTTON SPINNER<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/span>4<\/strong><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> a steam-operated capstan for warping river steamboats over snags and shallows
\n<\/span>5<\/strong><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> a long-toothed power-propelled lever arm used to position logs on a carriage (as in a sawmill) <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dictionary.com includes a substantial usage note in its entry for nigger<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The term nigger is now probably the most offensive word in English. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. Definitions 1a, 1b, and 2 represent meanings that are deeply disparaging and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. Definition 1a, however, is sometimes used among African-Americans in a neutral or familiar way. Definition 3 is not normally considered disparaging\u2014as in \u201cThe Irish are the niggers of Europe\u201d from Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments \u2014but the other uses are considered contemptuous and hostile.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u2013noun
\n1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive .
\na. a black person.
\nb. a member of any dark-skinned people.
\n2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive . a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
\n3. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks; a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised.<\/span><\/p>\n

Origin: <\/strong><\/em>
\n1640\u201350; \u00a0< F n\u00e8gre \u00a0< Sp negro \u00a0black<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you notice the adverbs used to soften the blow of the topic? \u201cUsually taken to be offensive.\u201d \u201cNow probably the most offensive word in English.\u201d Are they trying for political correctness?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn’t matter to me how you use, spell, or say nigger<\/em>; much less whether you try to deny it altogether by calling it the n-word<\/em>.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to say nigger<\/em>, say it. <\/span><\/span>Write it however you want. <\/span><\/span>The great First Amendment secures you the right to.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I invite you to use it so that <\/span><\/span>I <\/strong><\/em>know who you<\/strong><\/em> <\/em>are, because every single thing you do shows me who you are.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>1dehumanization <\/em>is the process by which members of a group of people assert the “inferiority” of another group through subtle or overt acts or statements<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think nigger is the worst curse in American English. It’s not merely an insult. It’s a dehumanizing adjective. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[61,165,62,60],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ive-been-thinking-about","tag-first-amendment","tag-gess","tag-n-word","tag-nigger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.writtenGESStures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}