11.09.2005

To N or not to N...

Negro. Nigger. Nigga. Niggaz. Negra. Historically, these words are racial slurs aimed at attacking, demoralizing and degrading african american or black people. I bring up the controvesial point because it's been brought the my foreground of my attention in recent days. While nigger has been phased out (or at least diminished in wide scale use) Nigga and its other various forms are in heavy rotation, be broadcast from the mouths of Hip Hop artists, brothas chillin' on corners even students. From my perspective, it seems as though the word is used race wide, regardless of class. It's become a buzz word. "My Nigga" now a term of endearment stemming from a way to classify whose slave was whose...

Of course with this widespread use of a word with this negative a background has a stiff opposition. I was working with a spoken word artist last week who has a piece denouncing the use of the word Nigga and the phrases attached to it. He likened nigga to a negative individual where positive indivuals were called brothas or men, etc. His deal was "I've seen these many such and such niggas" and the tag was "but i've never seen a positive Nigga." I've been wanting to bring this up for a day or two now but i wasn't sure where to take this. So i thought about it and this is what i came up with...

first of all, I don't use any form of the word other than what i've written here to illustrate my point. anyway...

What if we as the "Nigga" denouncing people have it all wrong. If the word is so widely accepted amongst the african american race as a term of endearment, isn't it possible that this new form of the word maybe a seperate definition and ideal from it's antiquated cousin? I mean it is possible to let this word stand on it's own legs, having morphed from a negative, derrogatory remark to one that's on par with friend and conifdant.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I'd Like to introduce tonight's master of ceremony, my friend, my brotha, my nigga, sidney portier..." Could it happen? if so, can anyone be a nigga? would it be possible for anyone of any race to reach nigga status? wierd.

Just some crazy marbles rollin' around in my head. Thanks for reading.
-truth, the positive Nigga. (just kidding)

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