The "N" Word?

Context is everything. A few more examples in music. Patti Smith - Rock'n'roll n-gger. Bob Dylan - Hezekiah Jones, "Readin' ain't no good, for n-gger is n-gger". Bob Dylan - Hurricane,"And to the black folks he was just a crazy n-gger". It would never cross my mind that either was racist; but they were both most definitely intending to shock. The Dylan examples are interesting; in the first, he's putting words into the mouth of a racist; in the second, into those of black people who've reclaimed the word.

"The Wire" was full of the n-word; most of the time it just felt part of the natural speech rhythms. Only once or twice was it put into a character's mouth as a racial slur, and the power to shock was still there.

Use of taboo words is currently being debated in the UK, following the BBC's decision to censor an episode of Fawlty Towers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradiob...

In my opinion - they should not censor. It is obvious that a very unpleasant class of person is being satirised, and I don't think anyone should take offence.

I am all in favour of using the correct words for historical context. When I was growing up in England in the fifties, I was taught the counting rhyme "Eenie meenie mynie mo, catch a n-gger by his toe". It was merely normal usage - then. Any other version would be anachronistic. Rewriting history is very dangerous.

I realize that you asked a year ago and I realize that this conversation is probably dead, but I'm going to answer anyway. First of all, I appreciate your question. It doesn't happen too often that you have people consider the weight and gravity of words like this. Secondly, I'd like to address every person who answered this question: How many of you are white? Judging from your photos and your personal anecdotes, all of you. That's all very well, however, none of you know what it's like to be called a n*gger. You have knowledge of the history of the word, and you are able to put it into a nice context, but you can't truly appreciate the gravity of the word until someone has attempted to lower your social status by branding you with it.

I can understand you using the word for historical context of the situation, but at the same time... I don't condone the use of the word. Now, I'm not saying that you need my permission as a black man to write your songs, because that's trivial and you probably wouldn't listen anyway. However, there are ways around it. It's 2014, and I realize writing a song that has historical context is a task in and of itself, but at the same time, the only thing you will be getting from it is shock value.

Yes, it's dangerous to rewrite history, but does that mean that you should appropriate someone else's history and use it for a sensational factor?

Just my two cents.

****** is a noun in the English language. The word originated as a neutral term referring to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun *****, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger ("color black"). [1] Often used slightingly, by the mid 20th century, particularly in the United States, its usage had become unambiguously pejorative, a common ethnic slur usually directed at people of Sub-Saharan African descent. I would say if you're using it as reference or school work, I wouldnt see a problem...

It sounds fine to me.

John Lennon called women the ******* of the world. He was neither female nor black.

Touchy subject, it depends on who you are as a person