Niggas and Nappy Headed Ho's

"Sticks and stones may break my bones/ But words will never hurt me." We've all heard this nursery rhyme one time or another. And we've all had it recited to us by our teachers when we've been teased by our friends. But do we heed those words? Obviously not. In the wake of Michael Richards and Don Imus--one being ostracized the other losing his career--it is quite clear that we are not over these particular words. "And rightfully so." My black brothas' and sistas' would say. But let's take a look at these words in light of this little rhyme and history. Let's apply this back when whites would actually tell a black person "coloreds ain't allowed in hea'."

STICKS AND STONES PRIOR TO THE 80's

I don't think I need to inform my readers of the atrocities that occurred during the times of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and Reagan's trickle-down economics, which I think was a good idea philosophically, but pragmatically it devastated the black community. Blacks were trodden down...stepped on like dirt on the ground. I was going to link pics of those atrocities, but it would be redundant and unnecessary. However, what sticks in my mind is the story of Emmett Till. A 14yr boy who whistled at a white woman in Money, Mississippi and later found out that lookin' at a white woman was a death sentence let alone whistling at her. The murders, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, were acquitted after 67 min by 12 white male jurist. One jurist was quoted as say they took a soda break to "make it look good." What made me even more angry was the fact that after the trial, both men confessed to the crime, but because of our double-jeopardy law they couldn't be tried again. If he did it, O. J. wasn't that brazen. Now we see why whites and blacks were so divided.

WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME PRIOR TO THE 80's

Along with those atrocities came labels to describe those blacks that were being lynched. Nigga was given to blacks to further put them down as if death wasn't enough. Naw, they had to rub it in while they executed their unholy judgment. That word has HEAVY connotations. Remember, my white brothas' and sistas', the next time you say, "why don't blacks just get over it." It maybe easy for some to forgive, but very hard to forget, especially when you have whites that continue to use it!

STICKS AND STONES AFTER THE 90's

I believe the last lynching occurred in the 1960's, but we all remember the Chris Byrd case in 97 when he was dragged behind a pick-up truck by three white men, whom he had reported to know on a personal level. We don't see these kinds of atrocities anymore. However, some say that the police are doing all the "lynching" in their so called justifiable shootings. One case that comes to mind is Amadou Diallo who, when reaching for his wallet, was shot in a hail of 41 shots by 4 white male NYPD officers. Still others say that "lynching" is covert in that blacks are barred from making a living. In other words, they are not given the right compensation that their white colleagues are given, effectively disenfranchising the black community.

WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME AFTER THE 90's

Now we see why blacks have a problem with the word nigga. "But, you guys say it to each other all the time." I have a few arguments that may help us understand why it is different when whites say.

1. We could always argue that two wrongs don't make it right. You would have to be a TOTAL and COMPLETE IDIOT to say nigga or call a black woman a nappy headed ho, if you were a white person in a black persons face. So, why would it be right to say on stage (with malice--which is what Richards admitted too, and you will find that a majority of black comedians will agree that a comedian must be allowed to free speech, but made to make us laugh) or on the radio? To say Richards and Imus used poor judgment is an understatement. They are (expletive) stupid to say the least.
2. We could make the argument that whites bring back those HEAVY connotations because of the history they have wrought. They're the ones that committed those atrocities and used that word to further denigrate blacks. So that when a black person says it to another black person, those connotations just aren't there. Something else is happening, which I don't have time to explain, perhaps in another post.
3. We could argue this is a relatively new phenomena. In talking with blacks who have actually lived in the "bad" times of our racial history, they have said that that word would have NEVER come out of their mouth as a term of endearment--never. So, these rappers and youngsters, who have never lived in those times, have no idea of the HEAVY connotations that are brought. Or, have a warped view of it, which propagates it.
   

My wife is white, as you may have noticed. And, my last name is of Hispanic origin (my dad is Hispanic). She hates the word and won't let me say it even in an academic since (except for this post). But I must confess that I don't hold blacks accountable for saying it like I do whites. And, I think it's because of what I just described in #2. Look, Imus and Richards should not be civilly punished for what they said, but being ostracized and losing ones job, I think, is the correct response.