I see many hispanic and asian people on facebook and in real life who throw around ni#### like its no big deal

Is it less offensive than when a white person uses it?

It make me uncomfortable, but when a black person says it I dont even blink

You hear people in real life use the "N" word? Really? I cant remember the last time I heard someone say "n#####".

MANY in Wisconsin attach an 'er' to the end. It's unfortunate.

I wonder what makes the two so different?

I guess the white equivalent is honkey. Or honky. However it's spelled.

I've never been offended by that word as it's just such a ridiculous word to begin with.

The gap between the N-word and the H-word is beyond signifcant. I wonder what makes the two so different?

I understand much of it, but it's a little amazing people can go from possibly wanting to hurt others after hearing 'er' to possibly wanting to hug or fist bump one another by replacing 'er' with 'a'.

If the 'er' version is so offensive, me personally would find a completely different word to show my adoration for others.

I understand much of it, but it's a little amazing people can go from possibly wanting to hurt others after hearing 'er' to possibly wanting to hug or fist bump one another by replacing 'er' with 'a'.

If the 'er' version is so offensive, me personally would find a completely different word to show my adoration for others.

A sociologist might tell you that young brothers have co-opted the word, in an attempt to rob it of its power to hurt. I'm not sure if that has worked or not..

MANY in Wisconsin attach an 'er' to the end. It's unfortunate.

Is it less offensive than when a white person uses it?

Either you guys are sheltered or I find myself in low class situations because I hear racial/ethnic slurs just about every day.

It seems to me it really isn't meant in a racial way more just a way to personalize anger than the general FU.

why are you limiting the discussion to one race

My friends sometimes call me a pollacka. I don't get angry as long as they add the a at the end.

...but ethnic descriptions with negative stereotypes is a little different than a completely different word created in hatred against a specific race.

That's absolutely true. But I think dolphin's point is that I can call him a Polack and it doesn't mean I hate Polish people.

It's totally unacceptable. The only reason to use a word like that, or even a derivative, is to further portray the same type of ideals that have been ingrained in previous generations. I doubt these same people would call a black person that with or without changing the one letter.

To put it another way, if you don't hate black people, why use a word designed to hate black people?

Where did the N word come from? One good old boy in Alabama just made something up that stuck?

Agree with this entirely, the thing that bothers me the most about the word is the fact that black people still use it. Makes absolutely no sense to me. Never understood that.

I'd ask the brothers here if such a viewpoint is as offensive as using the word. You may be just another white guy trying to tell the black man what he can and can't say.

Where did the N word come from? One good old boy in Alabama just made something up that stuck?

I'm not telling anyone what to say or not say, just saying that my opinion is that perpetuating a word that is derived from hate doesn't make any sense to me.

I'm not an etymologist, but I would imagine it comes from Niger. I think BRick may be wrong in saying it was a word designed to hate. I don't think it took on its derogatory connotations until some time in the 1800s and the word is much older than that.

If you want to get technical, I'm sure the name derived from the river in Africa. That's just how words work though. Most of the time, there is some reason why those collections of letters showed up.