Hence the "complication" that NoirMan says isn't that comlicated. Blacks can use the word to insult and be cordial, you just have to figure out the intent which may not always be so clear.
The solution? If you want White people to stop using the word, maybe Blacks should stop it too.
Originally Posted by HedonistForever
I believe I acknowledged that no one should use it. However,, I don’t think the intent when used is that hard to discern. I can say honestly that when I’m angry at white people my instinct isn’t to go calling them racist names or have racist epithet running through my mind. Same with blacks, Asians or Hispanics. If that’s where your mind goes, maybe you have some racism in you (not directed to HF, speaking generally). To claim “well I was angry” is definitely a bullshit excuse.
A lawyer I know whose about my age is black and married to a white woman. He recently recounted how he’s used the word regularly (he says it’s a result of his small town upbringing in the back woods of central Louisiana) and his kids who are preteens started using it as well. The wife went ballistic (he says he’s never in 14 years heard her use the word even when listening to rap music) after she was fed up, having told him on numerous occasions that she didn’t believe he should say it, regardless of his blackness. He stated that he finally got it. Realizing that no matter the situation, she has not done it and abhors it’s use. We should all hope to get to that point.