black americans’ international influence is powerful. from fashion to music to art; we set the “cool” and we purchase it too. with this power comes great responsibility. so now that we have popularized the remnants of our culture, others have outsourced our cool. seemingly flattering…the lines cross when our language is adopted by others.

nigga means many things. trust. but when used by anyone other than black descendants it only means one thing to most. it immediately re-assumes its racist & dehumanizing role in the english language, especially when used by whites. although white americans oppressively cemented the word in our language; our expressive (and somewhat glorified) use of the term has made it a racial slur phenom. so even though white americans coined the term; now they are publicly ridiculed when using it. (haha.)

so what does that mean? the word nigga has evolved in our community but has never evolved in our society. and since the black community leads the voice of the youth and popular culture around the world, the slur has began to take form in the mainstream. with no prior knowledge, lineage, or cultural understanding of the term, everyone is using it. black people included. nigga: a family term, reserved for those who’s ancestors endured the hardships of slavery and genocide in the western hemisphere, is now a worldy term. and the evolution of the term that took place in black american communities is completely different from the one taking place amongst the masses today.

some black users of the term would argue that the speaker and context means everything. that if you’re honestly apart of the culture, when spoken, the truth is felt and your realness supersedes the racist historical meaning. non-black users of the word argue that they should be able to use the term freely. that black people use it all the time and its not fair…it’s just a word.

but let me ask you this… what is fair? is slavery fair? is racism fair? is being born into inferiority fair? naw. so why do black people have to be the head of the fairness committee? and speaker and context plays a major role with all words. my sister calling me a dumbass is cool at home, but fighting words in the streets. one should always be aware of what they’re saying and who they’re saying it to. just bc ur black doesn’t mean you can randomly walk up to another black person and call them nigga and think the shit is cute.

furthermore, we are a people that share our culture endlessly and we live in a society that steals and mocks our culture repeatedly. nigga is the last frontier. and many of us refuse to budge. we ain’t trying to share that. and I don’t feel like we should have to. black people don’t owe white america anything. this mess has been made due to this nation’s sick racist past and the lack of addressing it honestly in our education system & national mediums.

but why are non-black ppl pressed to justify using a term that has no true relation or positive context in their lives? is it that serious, dude? were still being treated like 17th century niggers in 2012 but you’re arguing your right to say the word nigga like your ancestors once did. but not quite like them, eh? everything is backwards in this country.

double standards exist my friend. they exist in education, politics, sex and business. and black people are always handed the shortest end of the stick. so here *passes short end of nigga stick*. hold that, and be thankful that ur ancestors never endured the greatest crime against humankind. so while our continuous usage of the word seems to be a green light for everyone to use it, rather than an act of expression, I suggest niggas watch they mouth before they step out of pocket. because everybody ain’t gwenyth paltrow.

sidenote: black people… I wish you would go as hard on real issues that affect our community, as you did on gwenyth paltrow. focus your energy on the real and stop with the distractions. you can’t be conscious when convenient. take it from nicki. shit don’t work.

posted by knimi.