tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post5660124090301638354..comments2024-03-24T23:57:28.687-07:00Comments on Undercover Black Man: Roundtable: The 'N' Top 10 (pt. 3)Undercover Black Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-79080743172113787302009-04-07T16:58:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:58:00.000-07:00I think the hysteria over this word (the word bein...I think the hysteria over this word (the word being nigger. nigger nigger nigger.)is crazy.<BR/><BR/>Where is this discussion about the use of the word bitch by men?<BR/><BR/>its a degrading term used in reference to a traditionally oppressed section of he population.<BR/><BR/>whats the difference?<BR/><BR/>the difference is people don't go on and on about it... <BR/><BR/>not that im saying its ok to call people these offensive terms (or that it's not!) <BR/><BR/>I'm just saying.. any one who uses or consumes art the term Bitch (or fag or chink whatever) doesn't really have much to complain about when some one says nigger...<BR/><BR/>Yet it's only the "N bomb" that people seem to have these never ending conversations about.<BR/><BR/>Peaceaustinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-27771357457946785992007-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:002007-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00The corner folk on the The Wire throw the word "ni...The corner folk on the The Wire throw the word "nigger" around in the same way that the dirty folk on Deadwood use the word "cocksucker". It's almost neutralized in its expression. Omar (who almost never swears) humbly calls himself "a nigger with a plan". But then you'll have scenes with Colvin, Daniels, the Commissioner, Freamon or the Bunk and it's a different language being used. Because it's a different class. And Stringer demonstrates that shift in language and class when he goes back and forth between the corners and the politicians and the real estate developers in S3. And then you got a character like Brother Mouzone who declares the most dangerous thing in America to be "a nigger with a library card". And in that statement the word has more impact because Mouzone gives it more impact. <BR/><BR/>Another interesting example of usage can be found on The Sopranos in the episode "Unidentified Black Males". Throughout this episode, you hear ppl making scapegoats out of "African Americans", "Blacks", "melanzane" ("Mulunyans") and, yes, "niggers" for various crimes. The title itself, of course, refers to police warnings.Anna Laperlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12595451374067190954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-54559447832960449562007-03-14T20:17:00.000-07:002007-03-14T20:17:00.000-07:00Oh we have another Wire writer here.David I got th...Oh we have another Wire writer here.<BR/><BR/>David I got the book today, and I noticed that one of the chapters in the book is 'Nigger vs. Nigga'. I'm hoping it's going to be a good read.SJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01245472084190224186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-83798131665293904952007-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:002007-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:00More food for thought, this time from today's L.A....More food for thought, this time from today's L.A. Times article about the Rock & Roll HOF induction re: Patti Smith's set (ellipsis is theirs):<BR/><BR/>>>Such informal elegies were mirrored by two written into the program. One, graced by a lovely vocal showcase from Aretha Franklin, remembered Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The other, by Rev. Al Sharpton for James Brown, came right after Patti Smith's performance and caused the night's oddest juxtaposition. Smith ended her set with "Rock N Roll … ," whose full title means to claim the notorious "N" word for all living "outside society." Seeing one icon of black pride memorializing another after Smith's guileless gesture of solidarity raised itchy questions about pop utopianism in light of real politics.<<<BR/><BR/>Another real-world example: Where I grew up, it was "Eeny, meenie, minie, moe / Catch a tiger by the toe." Come to find out whilst in grad school that some people learned it with "the notorious 'N' word" instead of "tiger." That one still baffles me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-45796928617057827592007-03-14T17:46:00.000-07:002007-03-14T17:46:00.000-07:00no, improved and improved, both. uttered by J.D.,...no, improved and improved, both. uttered by J.D., the actor playing bodie, who was great. I was basically just trying to get over on simon, see if he'd notice. he didn't.<BR/>I remember Reg doing that line -- a classic.<BR/>and I remember hearing that term for a brazil nut when I was a kid, and being puzzled. <BR/>and in new orleans I've heard the local equivalent for "jerry-rigged" from black, white and creole workmen -- and it seems to have a double meaning around anything improvised -- shabby and temporary and fucked up, and/or inventive and clever, making do with limited resourcesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-49282169745192644452007-03-14T14:53:00.000-07:002007-03-14T14:53:00.000-07:00Eric O: "improved it" or "improvised it"? (Or both...Eric O: "improved it" or "improvised it"? (Or both?)<BR/><BR/>It's all good. Even in a TV show about the ghetto, one can do without it.<BR/><BR/>Although, in "The Corner," we needed to use it. As it was based on real people, we had to be true to the way those real people talked.<BR/><BR/>And I remember Reg Cathey giving a great reading of this line to T.K. Carter: "Well, Gary, you the nigga with the idea, he the nigga with the truck."<BR/><BR/>Dez: Thanks for those real-world examples! I <EM>love</EM> hearing about these... like a linguistic dirty secret.<BR/><BR/>When I had my buddies over, I provided some mixed nuts. Thomas Stanley held up a particular nut and said, "You know what this is, right?" I did: a "nigger-toe." Better known as a Brazil nut.<BR/><BR/>As for the Laugh Factory... bad idea. You shouldn't straitjacket comedians that way. But after hearing about Damon Wayans' thwarted plan to put out "Nigga"-branded clothing, I won't shed any tears for him.Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-25814505164463487762007-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:002007-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00hey dave -- so my two episodes of The Wire last ye...hey dave -- so my two episodes of The Wire last year, I tried not to use the word at all, cause I thought it was kinda overused -- and nobody noticed, nobody commented -- and I was really pleased, an episode of The Wire without the n word -- and then when I saw the finished episodes, in at least one of them, one of the actors used it, just threw it in, improved it and I thought, aw man...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-57319752126944257752007-03-14T12:15:00.000-07:002007-03-14T12:15:00.000-07:00david, thank you for your response. i agree that t...david, thank you for your response. i agree that the word is an important part of American history and even though i choose not to use it, i know that plenty of people do and i respect that. and i work with a lot of college kids, mostly rich and white and they love hip hop. and i'm getting the sense that they believe that if you spell it nigga it's okay for them to use it. and some black kids even espouse this philosophy when their white friends use the word. i've always thought of it as a socio-economic thing -- maybe because i was a product of the 80's. i sense the older people, people who came of age in the 60's and 70's view it more as a social movement and not just a word. i appreciate your thoughtful roundtable and to honor the spirit of it: right on :)justjudithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13676808142729271252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-52026816884212251852007-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:002007-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:00Oops, one other thing: I used to take sax lessons ...Oops, one other thing: I used to take sax lessons from an old, white jazz musician. During one lesson, he taught me how to blow "dirty sax" by "nigger-lipping" the reed. I was shocked when he called it that, and he told me that all the black jazz musicians he played with called it that, too, so I shouldn't be upset with the name. Because the black musicians used the term, it was therefore okay for everyone to use the term. I still don't see why he couldn't just tell me to modify my umbasure. Anyway, I guess you're right that getting rid of the word is pretty impossible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-62735149862028154902007-03-14T11:38:00.000-07:002007-03-14T11:38:00.000-07:00HEARD: Yep. “New York Niggerbockers.” I remember t...<I>HEARD: Yep. “New York Niggerbockers.” I remember that. Only the white folks. White folks would call menthol cigarettes “niggerettes.” You never heard that?</I><BR/><BR/>Mexicans have a <I>pan dulce</I> called <I>cabeza de negrito</I>. It's a plain <I>pan dulce</I> with little "knots" on top; in English, it's referred to as a "niggerhead." I once asked my Nana what the real name of the bread was, and she said they're really called that. Whenever I buy them for my Nana & Papa, I never say the name, just point to them and say how many I want. One time, I asked the clerk what they were called, hoping for a new answer; she sort of giggled and told me the Spanish name. So it's not like Mexicans don't know there's something wrong with it.<BR/><BR/>UBM, what do you think of The Laugh Factory banning the use of the word in their venue, and then Damon Wayans using it several times there and getting fined for it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-91593311863346526212007-03-14T10:48:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:48:00.000-07:00Judith, I'm with you... N-I-G-G-A is not a differe...Judith, I'm with you... N-I-G-G-A is not a different word. I respect your feelings about the word, and I realize that many black folks feel the same... particularly those of an older generation.<BR/><BR/>But there's no getting rid of it from our history. My friend Thomas Stanley once did a performance piece called "You Can't Spell 'America' Without the N-Word," which, in addition to being clever, makes the point that the word will always be there in our language like a virus... Even if people stopped saying it, it would be there dormant.<BR/><BR/>The word and all its ramifications are a part of our story. We can dislike the word, but we don't have to fear it. It won't turn anybody into a pillar of salt. We can study it. We can even have fun with it. But I don't think we can eradicate it, any more than we can alter human nature.Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-21198119688705698362007-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:00i don't use the word and don't care for the word. ...i don't use the word and don't care for the word. and the fact that it can be the topic of such extended and passionate debates just reinforces my position in my mind. everybody has their own opinion of what the word means and under which circumstances they approve of it. and today's youth believe there is a strong difference between nigger and nigga -- do you think so? i do not.justjudithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13676808142729271252noreply@blogger.com