Nigger

NIGGER

There are many racial slurs out there. Each of them was invented or evolved into a way of degrading, dehumanizing, or demoralizing a person or a people of a particular ethnic group. What is the most infamous of all slurs? Nigger. Nigger, at least in this country, has the most history, and has the most hurt attached to it. It is the most stigmatized word in our vocabulary, and so it, along with one other epithet, will be the center of our discourse. Another word, though, is in close contention with Nigger. It is a very ugly word. It degrades, dehumanizes, and demoralizes its target. That word is Cogger. Together, the terms Nigger and Cogger comprise the ugliest of racial dynamics, and they will be discussed further.
First is Nigger. It is a bastardization of the word Negro. Negro comes from either Spanish or Portuguese origin, meaning black. Now, while the word Nigger is not linguistically correct, how did this simple term for a color become America’s number one most despised, dreaded, and taboo slur in our language? This question will be answered shortly, however now we will turn to our other terrible epithet.
The author researched as many racial slurs as could be found. Their definitions and histories have all been checked, and there is one slur that is about the most despicable as possible. As mentioned earlier, this word is Cogger. While it is somewhat unfamiliar to us and of unknown origins, one thing is clear: If someone uses this word in attack of someone else, that person is a racist, prejudiced bigot with no regard for human dignity or the value of another person. Those who use this word prove only the malicious and ugly content of their character. Cogger means this: absolutely nothing. You won’t find it in any dictionary, website, or list of racist terms. This word has been made up by the author. It has now, however, been attached powerful, albeit vague, meaning, and made into a detestable term.
And here we find the answer to the first question. How did a simple word for the color black become America’s most hated and taboo racial slur? The answer is that at some point, somebody attached meaning to it. The word was used to describe someone of African origin with ‘black’ skin. Here in our country, it was then generally used to describe a slave, as Africans comprised the majority of those subjected to involuntary servitude in America. The word was often used in a derogatory manner, to describe those of African origin as property, animals, less than human, wild, immoral, and so on. This definition continued from pre-Civil War days on to the present, for some individuals.
Another aspect of the word Nigger, is that at some point, it became more than just a definition. At some point, it came to symbolize all of the brutality, dehumanization, plight, peril, enslaving, selling, buying, beating, lynching, rape, segregation, Jim Crow Laws, unfairness, stigmatization, perpetuation of poverty, penetration of mind and body, and perpetration of crime against the African people generally, and African American people specifically. All of this is wrapped up in the word Nigger.
Then, in the recent past, the word has undergone another change. It has morphed yet again into the word Nigga. A way of taking something negative, and turning it into something positive, Nigga has become a term of endearment, generally around African American youth. With exclamations such as, “My Nigga,” the African American community takes ownership of the word, embraces it, and uses it with ease and comfort. With the intention of de-stigmatizing the word, and empowering the users of the word, African Americans have performed a feat that has never been seen before, at least not in this dramatic of a reversal. This achievement is due much admiration and respect.
However, while this exchange of meaning is quite laudable, there is an aspect of the phenomenon that is hurting more than it is helping. As mentioned earlier, in a parallel with this connotative transformation, the African American community has taken ownership of the word ‘Nigga’. Along with this, the community has taken ownership of the words “Nigger”, “Colored”, and “Negro”. These words are all considered completely off limits to Caucasian people specifically. In the eyes of most African Americans, it is completely, and irreversibly untenable for Caucasians to use any of the above words. “Well, Caucasians had it for long enough,” may be a common response. While this is true-- and in the state of collective Caucasian ownership the word was used in a horrific manner-- to make a word off limits to one ethnic group is just as racist as if this author, as a Caucasian American, was to address an African American thusly: “Hey, Boy!”
Now, back to the word Cogger. This word is made up, and it has had meaning attached to it. By linking it to a detestable concept, it has been made something to fear. In reality, however, it is neither detestable, nor something to fear. Like all words, Cogger has no meaning until we give it meaning. Nigger has been given many meanings. It has grown from a color, to a person of that color, to a less-than-human piece of property who is that color, to a symbol for everything that has gone horribly wrong in racial America, to a term of endearment and brotherhood. This word, like few others, is chock full of meaning. At this point in its evolution, the word Nigger can mean just about anything, and so it once again means nothing. Or at least it should mean nothing. It should become a simple part of our collective consciousness. It should become a dispassionate, detached, diffused artifact of our troubled history. Once it gets to this point, it will no longer cause harm, fear, tension, or malice.
So how do we get it to that point? As stated above, it is an illegitimate claim that only one ethnic group should be allowed access to a word. It is just as illegitimate as the notion that white people are somehow superior to black people, or vice versa. To take ownership of this word codifies into existence all of the meaning and power that has ever been associate with it. It allows Nigger to remain important. It attaches the word permanently to African Americans, and the community as a whole will never be able to fully grow beyond it in the word’s current state. However, Nigger will not one day just disappear, never to be uttered or heard again. And so, instead what we must do is to open its gates. Caucasians should be allowed just as much access to it as African Americans. In a professional, academic, or just plain intelligent discussion, the word Nigger should be able to escape the lips of the fairest of fair-skinned people with absolutely no fear or guilt. Leave “the N-word” to children, just as we leave “the F-word” and “the S-word” to children. Adults who are interested in rational, constructive discourse with the intention of dissipating all of the stigma and malevolence associated with it, should not say “the N-word”- they should say “Nigger”. The course of events that gave so much power to this word was a terrible one, and we as humans and Americans should not allow it to scar and divide us. Leave its awful connotation to the fringes of America, as time will cure them of their ignorance soon enough.
The term “Black Plague” once struck fear into the hearts of millions. If there was word that the Black Plague had come to town, people would run far and fast. Today, it is little more than a historical artifact. While “Nigger” is definitely at the forefront of the issue of racial slurs, all words that have been given like meanings should be openly discussed. We should desensitize ourselves from them, and thereby strip them of their power and malice. They should all progress to the point of having as much meaning as the word Cogger. They should be combinations of letters, perhaps allowing them a history- though only a history- and no modern, operational meaning. If we remain on this course, at some point in the future we can expect for the word Nigger to be followed by, “Yes, I think I’ve heard of that.”