My daughter (who is 12) asked me yesterday to pose this question here and I honestly don't know the answer or how to answer.
It has to do with the N-word. I have told her in the past that it is not a word that she should ever utter and why she shouldn't utter it. Due to that she was wondering why black people call each other that. Anyone here have an answer for her?
Note: She WILL be reading this so please keep it civil and respectful.
I would also tell my daughters not to use the word, mainly for safety reasons, so that is good advice. I said the following to my daughters, and hope this helps yours:
Hello there. You’re lucky to have a dad who cares about your knowledge and learning.
In the Western world the N word comes from the Latin word for ‘black’. You can go to Google
Translate and type the word ‘black’ on the left side under ‘English’. Pick Latin for the right side and click ‘translate’. You can do the same with Catalan, Esperanto, Romanian, Galician and Spanish.
However, that represents white people’s Western language. They thought blacks were unusual so they used their color to define them. There was nothing unusual about being black to Africans, so they didn’t
need to use the word ‘black’ to define themselves. Back in Google’s translator you can type ‘human’ or ‘person’ on the left side, and select ‘Zulu’ on the right. The word for ‘human’ is ‘abantu’. The word for ‘person’ is ‘umuntu’.
Blacks in the West learned that we called them ‘blacks’, and likewise, they called us ‘whites’. During the time of slavery some slave owners were kinder than others. Some were aggressive and cruel. When angry slave owners chided their slaves they might use the N word with a sneer and with malice, as though it was an insult. Blacks would realize that, to some whites, the word itself
was an insult. Remember, it was not originally their word to describe themselves. Over time blacks came to hate the word, and eventually began objecting to its use. Eventually it became a major issue. If someone used the word a violent fight could break out, so people stopped using it.
Now, to answer your question...
Old habits die hard; they are
hard to break. For that reason some blacks and whites continue to use the N word. The whites that do this usually do it in private so you won’t see it much from them. The blacks that do it are more open as they don’t see a problem with that.
My advice is that both sides stop using the word, to be fair. That is what most black leaders say too. Saying it, while expecting whites to not say it, will only antagonize whites and cause further trouble.
Those are my thoughts. It’s a confusing old world, isn’t it? Good luck with everything.
