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The Nigger Poll

Started by Admiral Yi, June 06, 2009, 03:36:53 PM

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Is the word beyond the pale?

Yes, never use it, don't like it when others do.
23 (28.8%)
Sort of, can be used ironically once in a blue moon.
40 (50%)
No, more nigger all the time yeah!
17 (21.3%)

Total Members Voted: 79

Martinus

I certainly wouldn't use it in real life communication. I think the "trickiness" associated with the word and its proper use comes from the fact that there is a self-depreciating/"trashy" sub-culture within the black community that also uses it, which probably confuses the outsiders - it's similar to certain queens using the word "faggot" or "fag" in the same way. This is obviously an attempt to reclaim the word and thus can be empowering - but has the side effect of making it seemingly acceptable in some contexts.

Minorities with no such subcultures do not seem to have this problem (e.g. Jews - noone really considers the use of the word "kike" funny or appropriate - it's just a slur).

garbon

How is it that sometimes Martinus shows up with cogent analysis*?


*the caveat being that I'm drunk off my ass after a night on the town and possibly...nay likely, no longer the best judge of anything
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

The Brain

Quote from: garbon on June 07, 2009, 04:18:45 AM
How is it that sometimes Martinus shows up with cogent analysis*?


*the caveat being that I'm drunk off my ass after a night on the town and possibly...nay likely, no longer the best judge of anything

I don't know which word to choose when addressing you. :(
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Tamas

Quote from: Martinus on June 06, 2009, 04:33:19 PM
The poll sucks. None of the options describes my opinion.

Which is: "the word should only be used when it positively describes gays"

Neil

Quote from: Martinus on June 06, 2009, 04:33:19 PM
The poll sucks. None of the options describes my opinion.
We're not going to start adding a 'has nothing to do with gays;  who gives a fuck?' option to every poll.
I do not hate you, nor do I love you, but you are made out of atoms which I can use for something else.

Eddie Teach

To sleep, perchance to dream. But in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?

Razgovory

Quote from: Neil on June 07, 2009, 07:43:14 AM
Quote from: Martinus on June 06, 2009, 04:33:19 PM
The poll sucks. None of the options describes my opinion.
We're not going to start adding a 'has nothing to do with gays;  who gives a fuck?' option to every poll.

:lol:
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Josquius

Only to be used when mocking gangsta.
And never with a black person present.
██████
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Sheilbh

Quote from: Martinus on June 07, 2009, 03:43:00 AM
I certainly wouldn't use it in real life communication. I think the "trickiness" associated with the word and its proper use comes from the fact that there is a self-depreciating/"trashy" sub-culture within the black community that also uses it, which probably confuses the outsiders - it's similar to certain queens using the word "faggot" or "fag" in the same way. This is obviously an attempt to reclaim the word and thus can be empowering - but has the side effect of making it seemingly acceptable in some contexts.
I don't think this captures the difficulty.  It's one of those words that we've become wired to not say.  I find it physically difficult to say, 'fag', 'fuck' and the rest trip off my tongue.  This is like 'cunt' but even more offensive.  And my response to it is like I think people 30 or 40 years old saying 'cunt'.  It's become a swear word.

Although fag in this country isn't that bad.  We've our own perjorative terms for gays that have, more or less, been reclaimed (because gays used them from the start), while fag's a very recent import.  It's only really been around for about 3-4 years and people use it ironically a lot.
Let's bomb Russia!

garbon

Quote from: Sheilbh on June 07, 2009, 01:37:49 PM
I don't think this captures the difficulty.  It's one of those words that we've become wired to not say.  I find it physically difficult to say, 'fag', 'fuck' and the rest trip off my tongue.  This is like 'cunt' but even more offensive.  And my response to it is like I think people 30 or 40 years old saying 'cunt'.  It's become a swear word.

I say cunt all the time. :Embarrass:
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Sheilbh

Quote from: garbon on June 07, 2009, 01:44:00 PMI say cunt all the time. :Embarrass:
Yeah I'm pretty liberal with it too, but I think people more than 20 years older than us are very different.
Let's bomb Russia!

PDH

I had a girlfriend in the olden days who hated anyone using the word "Cunt."  Of course, when she was driving she used it repeatedly, loudly, with gestures toward female drivers.

She took a dim view of my pointing out the dichotomy of her actions...
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
-Umberto Eco

-------
"I'm pretty sure my level of depression has nothing to do with how much of a fucking asshole you are."

-CdM

Barrister

Quote from: Sheilbh on June 07, 2009, 01:55:34 PM
Quote from: garbon on June 07, 2009, 01:44:00 PMI say cunt all the time. :Embarrass:
Yeah I'm pretty liberal with it too, but I think people more than 20 years older than us are very different.

My wife isn't 20 years older than you but she takes an incredibly dim view of that word.
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Martinus

Quote from: Neil on June 07, 2009, 07:43:14 AM
Quote from: Martinus on June 06, 2009, 04:33:19 PM
The poll sucks. None of the options describes my opinion.
We're not going to start adding a 'has nothing to do with gays;  who gives a fuck?' option to every poll.

Alright, bitch. That was funny.  :lol:

Martinus

Quote from: Sheilbh on June 07, 2009, 01:37:49 PM
Quote from: Martinus on June 07, 2009, 03:43:00 AM
I certainly wouldn't use it in real life communication. I think the "trickiness" associated with the word and its proper use comes from the fact that there is a self-depreciating/"trashy" sub-culture within the black community that also uses it, which probably confuses the outsiders - it's similar to certain queens using the word "faggot" or "fag" in the same way. This is obviously an attempt to reclaim the word and thus can be empowering - but has the side effect of making it seemingly acceptable in some contexts.
I don't think this captures the difficulty.  It's one of those words that we've become wired to not say.  I find it physically difficult to say, 'fag', 'fuck' and the rest trip off my tongue.  This is like 'cunt' but even more offensive.  And my response to it is like I think people 30 or 40 years old saying 'cunt'.  It's become a swear word.

Although fag in this country isn't that bad.  We've our own perjorative terms for gays that have, more or less, been reclaimed (because gays used them from the start), while fag's a very recent import.  It's only really been around for about 3-4 years and people use it ironically a lot.

Yeah, consider what I said about "fag" to be applicable to the US, rather than the UK. In the UK, the similar word would be "queer" or "fairy".