Current Events > Do you think the n word with an a has cheapened or empowered the slur

(+) Yeah! (+)

The n word with an a is user as a term of endearment and is used by whites and blacks alike.

I personally don't say it because I think it's a dumb word but do you think it has empowered or cheapened the slur version of it

It's the same word though, just spelled phonetically by people who pronounce "er" as "a"

like, if someone pronounces "driver" with an a sound at the end, is it a new word?
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Sephiroth1288 posted...

It's the same word though, just spelled phonetically by people who pronounce "er" as "a"

like, if someone pronounces "driver" with an a sound at the end, is it a new word?

They are two separate words with different meanings at this point.

One is a racial slur and the other is a synonym for friend

Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Mal doesn't know dropping the hard R is still an insulting among blacks
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Authentic_fan posted...

Sephiroth1288 posted...

It's the same word though, just spelled phonetically by people who pronounce "er" as "a"

like, if someone pronounces "driver" with an a sound at the end, is it a new word?

They are two separate words with different meanings at this point.

One is a racial slur and the other is a synonym for friend

It is different.

That said I'm not even remotely clear on what you're really asking.
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Remember when Jackie Chan said it
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It is different.

That said I'm not even remotely clear on what you're really asking.

I'm asking if you think the casual use of the a version has made the r version weaker

Obviously changes in society has made the slur hold less power but I'm asking do you think the changing of the word has as well

Or do you think that black people referring to themselves and thus keeping the word alive has given the slur more power when it is used

I don't think it's changed it at all.

Like you said it's basically two different things entirely.
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CanuckCowboy posted...

I don't think it's changed it at all.

Like you said it's basically two different things entirely.

Well think about it from the point of view of a racist asshole

A racist asshole hearing people use the a version may think to himself

1. Haha they're calling themselves that because that's what they are. Got em

2. They're calling themselves that so maybe they don't take me seriously

The repeated usage of the softer version helps keep the meaner one in everyone's vocabulary. I understand it was originally to take the power away from the slur but that hasn't worked out.
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Funbazooka posted...

The repeated usage of the softer version helps keep the meaner one in everyone's vocabulary. I understand it was originally to take the power away from the slur but that hasn't worked out.

This, exactly. I get the intent behind it, but the unfortunate reality is that the soft version keeps the hard one alive, and at the forefront of everyone's mind. Doesnt help that so much popular media throws it around so often that its keeping it cool while also making it taboo. A combination that rarely ever works well.
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White people can't even say the soft version without being attacked.
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taking ownership is fucking stupid
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Why is it that its only the racists here who have a problem with black people saying it
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SauI_Goodman posted...

Remember when Jackie Chan said it

Everyone accepts that it's actually pretty funny when Asians say it.
Nobody knows why though
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ASithLord7 posted...

Why is it that its only the racists here who have a problem with black people saying it

Talking about issues is what adults do.
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ASithLord7 posted...

Why is it that its only the racists here who have a problem with black people saying it

"rabble rabble racist racist"
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