Monday, March 28, 2011

The "N" Word, Revisited

I teach a business course and have two men in my class. I had my husband bring in some of our mouth-watering, homemade pizza to surprise my group. We had been having deep discussions about race (my entire class is African American), and the fact that I'm in an interracial marriage never came up. My husband delivered the pizza, and they saw him for the first time. 

Later, toward the end of class, one student asked if the word "nigger" ever came up in my house. I explained that I use the word almost every day, and that didn't seem to sit well with him. The student asked what I would do if my husband ever called me a nigger. I replied that it would definately cause some problems. The student then wanted to know why I used it if I didn't want him to. I explained that I use it as a term of endearment, and don't see it as a problem. The student seemed a little perturbed; but do I care? NO! 

Do you think the word "nigger" should be given so much power, or should it be a word that is freely used within our own race?

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