The N-word

"If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought" 

This quote by George Orwell rings as true as it did 70 years ago. 

When I heard one of my friend, whom happened to be a Chinese,  uses the phrase "n**** in the woodpile", he called it a joke, it made me wonder: How often does he use it? Why does he think it's acceptable? Does his choice of language reflect his own deep-seated opinions of black people? How come he felt so comfortable saying such a phrase among other of my friend whom are Africans, who seemingly said nothing in response? Will less-informed people now think it's OK to use this term after hearing a Chinese man use it so nonchalantly? 

All these questions are yet to be answered. 

Mankind has used language since the dawn of time as a means of communication and expression. We've seen words come and go. Some words have had the ability to change an entire society. The N-word is no different. 

( An incident today with BAE where I jokingly uses the N-word, and he seem uncomfortable because to him it's offensive, rude as well as racist. No matter how hard I tried to explained the jokes but he wouldn't take it any other way. I asked him to explained to me regards the history of slavery. After listening, it touched my heart so bad that I felt emotionally sad. Hence, this blog) 

So, let's look at its origins. 

According to the Oxford dictionary, its roots are found in the 16th Century as 'neger'. However, it's possible to trace it earlier than that to its Latin root of 'niger', meaning the color black. Seems harmless. 

It wasn't until the height of slavery in the 18th century that it developed into n****, to become a derogatory term. 

It was just one of the countless psychological tools used by slave traders and slave owners to mentally break the slave into submission. 

Fast forward to 2017, and in the last 30 or so years, much like the LGBT community and the word 'queer', the black community has attempted to reclaim the term in music, film, TV and other places as a term of endearment. 

I say attempt because, to many black people, every time that phrase is used in a rap song or elsewhere, it jars our ears. 

I'm guilty of using it in the past and in the present. I think many local Chinese/Indian/Malay will be. 

We've grown up watching our cool black counterparts in the US bandy the phrase around in songs and films, almost like a badge of honor. 

You start to emulate them, especially as a young person, while not really knowing or understanding the deep hurt and anguish that is irreversibly attached to that term. 

You don't think about the 12.5 million people ripped from their homelands, stripped of their language, culture and identity and transported across the Atlantic Ocean like animals, with just under 2 million dying in the process. 

You don't think about how the word was used on plantations, where slaves had to do hard labour 18 hours a day, every day. 

You don't think about the millions who would have been scared to death of their slave masters because they witnessed a fellow slave whipped, and in many cases lynched, because they dared to taste freedom. 

All of this is too painful to think about. 

In my opinion : 

Do black people really have such low self-esteem as a community and a culture that, for the sake of ownership, you would cling onto something, no matter how horrific an era it comes from? 

The term was given to you at a time and by a set of people who hated your very existence. Yet somehow, you have embraced a term that's full of hatred and continued to call yourselves by that term. That is the definition of self-hatred. 

The N-word should be discarded like the trash as it is. 

I'm not saying forget your past hurts and the injustices done to you as a people -- however, history exists so all of you including myself, can learn from it, not repeat and do a remix. 

We need to be clear: it is not OK to use the N-word in any capacity, whether as part of an old phrase or in a new hip hop song. 

The history and the lives attached to that word are too precious to throw it about in a 21st Century irreverent way. 

Irreverence has a time and a place to be applied -- but never when it comes to the N-word.