There's nothing preventing any white person from saying it. The freedom to speak is an inalienable right. A lot of people still choose to be offended by it, so you'll still have to face possible negative consequences, but I imagine that eventually "nigga" will make its way off the list of taboo words over time just like the countless other words that have. How long that will take, I have no idea.

I’d be fine with the word being taboo if it was for everyone. Not sure how people don’t seem to realize that making whites and other ethincities hear the word regularly, and then telling them that they can’t say it, is going to cause reoccurring issues.

chronic is right about one thing—the question isn't whether white people are "allowed," because at least in america, you're allowed to say pretty much whatever you want, racial slurs included, and nobody can stop you

but in turn, because free speech isn't a one-way street, people are allowed to censure you for it

and they should, because nobody (of any race) should use those words in non-clinical or personal contexts—even black people, in my worthless opinion, because i've always thought that the concept of "reclaiming" words was a little silly, because it leads to stupid and tedious debates like this

Verb, there's a significant difference between saying Nigger and punching somebody in the face.

yet there is no difference in the way we react to things that we perceive as slights against us, physical or verbal

it's all the same cortisol, and you can't really "choose" that

and you can't "choose" to be offended by something any more than you can choose not to be upset if i punch you in the face

You can literally teach yourself not to be upset. I'm not saying it's easy, but most people have just accepted the idea that they aren't in control of how they are offended when you absolutely can be.

It's actually one of the core teachings of Zen. Learning to keep your mind still, including your emotions, and being un-phased so you can basically maintain a continuous flow state. The vast majority of people aren't ever going to achieve that kind of mindset, however, so I'm not going to ever actually expect it from anyone.

Some people have even been able to block physical pain and not just emotion, through meditation. Like the guy who was able to have dental surgery without any anesthetic/analgesic or the famous incident of the monk in the 60's who immolated himself in protest and sat there unflinching until his body crumbled away after he was dead.

Also, I don't imagine that in a thousand years, if our society is still around, the word nigga would still have maybe even the same meaning as it does now much less the same impact. If I could somehow see the future and find out I was wrong then I would eat my words.

You can literally teach yourself not to be upset. I'm not saying it's easy, but most people have just accepted the idea that they aren't in control of how they are offended when you absolutely can be.

Well, I wouldn't be upset about that, I would merely return punch back...

It's actually one of the core teachings of Zen. Learning to keep your mind still, including your emotions, and being un-phased so you can basically maintain a continuous flow state. The vast majority of people aren't ever going to achieve that kind of mindset, however, so I'm not going to ever actually expect it from anyone.

..like a mirror. Have you been teaching yourself Zen? That's probably would be difficult by yourself, since you can't easily surprise yourself.

n word

..like a mirror. Have you been teaching yourself Zen? That's probably would be difficult by yourself, since you can't easily surprise yourself.

I used to practice meditation years ago, but I haven't tried in a long time. I probably should again since consistently doing it is actually really good for your physical well-being as well. The farthest I've gotten with Zen is achieving temporary flow-state when gaming or working on art. I sure as hell could use a lot more practice.

I've heard that a good way to practice alone is to practice meditating while playing some really loud and distracting music until you learn to no longer be distracted by it.

Quote from: Aether on May 07, 2020, 03:23:49 PM

Quote from: Verbatim on May 07, 2020, 01:10:25 PM

and you can't "choose" to be offended by something any more than you can choose not to be upset if i punch you in the face

I'm not saying it's easy

then it shouldn't be said at all

just comes across like a worthless potshot at people who are only trying their best to be respectful people

This seems kinda hypocritical seeing how you said that people should rise above natural instincts and here you're saying people shouldn't question their emotional responses at all

Quote from: MarKhan on May 07, 2020, 03:37:26 PM

..like a mirror. Have you been teaching yourself Zen? That's probably would be difficult by yourself, since you can't easily surprise yourself.

I used to practice meditation years ago, but I haven't tried in a long time. I probably should again since consistently doing it is actually really good for your physical well-being as well. The farthest I've gotten with Zen is achieving temporary flow-state when gaming or working on art. I sure as hell could use a lot more practice.

I've heard that a good way to practice alone is to practice meditating while playing some really loud and distracting music until you learn to no longer be distracted by it.

I used to play fighting games back when I had good wired internet connection to practice reflection and at night after I go to bed before I fall asleep I clear my mind and I hear how mouse eats cat food in kitchen, how clock ticks and how my cat snorts. It's simple things that bring me joy and that's how tea ceremony come to exist.

There seems to be a weird double standard with “black” culture where if you bring up negative differences (higher crime rate, single motherhood, school dropout, etc), you’re racist but at the same time you’re expected to acknowledge and respect positive aspects of “black” culture (hip hop, civil rights movement, the use of the word nigga)

This is going straight into my "shit racists say who don't think they're racist" folder.

Quote from: Ingy on May 07, 2020, 04:01:13 PM

This seems kinda hypocritical seeing how you said that people should rise above natural instincts and here you're saying people shouldn't question their emotional responses at all

when did i say they they shouldn't question them

That was the implication I got when you were refuting the point that people should teach themselves to not be offended

Quote from: Mordo on May 07, 2020, 04:18:13 PM

Quote from: Ingy on May 07, 2020, 10:53:09 AM

There seems to be a weird double standard with “black” culture where if you bring up negative differences (higher crime rate, single motherhood, school dropout, etc), you’re racist but at the same time you’re expected to acknowledge and respect positive aspects of “black” culture (hip hop, civil rights movement, the use of the word nigga)

This is going straight into my "shit racists say who don't think they're racist" folder.

Kinda easy when you’re already assuming motivations

There's nothing to assume. You just reduced an entire ethnicities identity into one monolithic, inseparable entity by categorizing it as "black culture". Pretty racist if you ask me.

What exactly is "black culture" by the way? Is this including Caribbean culture? African culture? Black British culture? Or do you just think the hippety hop music and gang banging encapsulates everything.

Quote from: Verbatim on May 07, 2020, 04:17:08 PM

Quote from: Ingy on May 07, 2020, 04:01:13 PM

This seems kinda hypocritical seeing how you said that people should rise above natural instincts and here you're saying people shouldn't question their emotional responses at all

when did i say they they shouldn't question them

That was the implication I got when you were refuting the point that people should teach themselves to not be offended

i don't think it's unreasonable to point out that not everybody has the time or patience to do whatever zen mumbo jumbo that chronic just loves to babble about

people should obviously be less sensitive, but to call it a "choice" is just extremely reductive and unfair

like, that's all i'm saying

I was born and raised in New Orleans until I was 19 as white guy, and it really just is an acceptance thing I've found. When my friends started using it amongst themselves I kinda knew better as a pasty white kid, even though we were close. In retrospect ,I don't think they would have cared, but even when we were in high school I only said it when one of my buds did something fucking stupid or we were all just hanging out.

Granted this is when you ARE basically the minority. Most of my friend growing up were black, and I'd only do it with someone I was comfortable with (i.e. them). We were all raised in similar circumstances of poverty and shitty home-lives, so there's no racial barriers between us because we've basically been through it all together.