Not to detract from the main point of the article, but the general linguistic Puritanism of Americans it describes is very startling to British (and, I am sure, Australian) ears - here, even an old person would never be so coy as to utter "gosh darn it", and the first time I encountered the term 'restroom' (as a tourist in an American airport) I actually laughed out loud, suspecting a joke.
How the N-Word Became Unsayable
21–30 of 70 posts
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#22Not American but recently listened to the Audible edition of John Grisham's 'A Time to Kill' and the word is used dozens if not hundreds of times. Grating to hear but added to the story about race in a way that an alternative could not.
classic book, and the movie is great too
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#23[flagged]
You forgot to mention that the vast majority of mass shooters are white.
It will surprise you to hear that that’s not true, but you’re forgiven for thinking so, given the state of american media. Admittedly, blacks tend to produce more wounded rather than kills.
It will also surprise you to hear that long guns (i.e. AR-15) are involved only in a small percentage of crimes (including mass shootings) involving firearms. The vast majority of such crimes is committed with handguns, many unlicenced.
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#24In the Netherlands in the past two decades the word 'neger' (which corresponds roughly, but not exactly, to the American use of 'negro') has become a taboo word too, although it was already something you wouldn't use on its own for most of the twentieth century. The popular sweet known as chocolate-coated marshmallow treats was called 'negerzoen' in Dutch (negro's kiss) in the recent past, and it was boldly emblazone…
> To this Dutchman it comes across as thinly veiled racism under the guise of encyclopaedic integrity.
Why could it not simply be integrity or conservatism? I for one like words like `negerzoen', & I don't really understand why anyone should be offended by them. (And I don't /think/ I'm a racist.)
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#25In the Netherlands in the past two decades the word 'neger' (which corresponds roughly, but not exactly, to the American use of 'negro') has become a taboo word too, although it was already something you wouldn't use on its own for most of the twentieth century. The popular sweet known as chocolate-coated marshmallow treats was called 'negerzoen' in Dutch (negro's kiss) in the recent past, and it was boldly emblazone…
I am from and living in The Netherlands too. I have talked with about every 'neger' I know about the word 'neger' and none of the negers had any objections to word neger in itself. And I talked about it with random negers too. Just don't use it as a slur. The word is not much different than 'Belg' ( Belgian ). The only people I know who get their panties in a bunch about the word 'neger' are virtue signalling white d…
It's also possible those people you've discussed it with are done with explaining this and don't want to have the conversation with you.
Even if they are completely fine with it, you can't generalise - the fact people around you don't seem to care does not mean it is a word that does not carry offence to some, or even the majority.
All swear words and insults are "just words", but their power to offend comes from context and history.
For example, the "c-word" is almost a term of affection in some groups in England and I barely consider it a swear word when in a pub in London, but is a proper pearl-clutcher in the USA and I'd never use it in front of my parents (one in California, the other in the UK). Context matters.
Well done for being curious, but don't assume your data means you have discovered a universal truth.
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#26[flagged]
[deleted]
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
You forgot to mention that the vast majority of mass shooters are white.
It will surprise you to hear that that’s not true, but you’re forgiven for thinking so, given the state of american media. Admittedly, blacks tend to produce more wounded rather than kills. It will also surprise you to hear that long guns (i.e. AR-15) are involved only in a small percentage of crimes (including mass shootings) involving firearms. The vast majority of such crimes is committed with handguns, many unlic…
> Between 1982 and April 2021, 66 out of the 123 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by white shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 21 mass shootings, and Latino in 10. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 53 percent, 17 percent and eight percent respectively.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in...
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am from and living in The Netherlands too. I have talked with about every 'neger' I know about the word 'neger' and none of the negers had any objections to word neger in itself. And I talked about it with random negers too. Just don't use it as a slur. The word is not much different than 'Belg' ( Belgian ). The only people I know who get their panties in a bunch about the word 'neger' are virtue signalling white d…
It's also possible those people you've discussed it with are done with explaining this and don't want to have the conversation with you. Even if they are completely fine with it, you can't generalise - the fact people around you don't seem to care does not mean it is a word that does not carry offence to some, or even the majority. All swear words and insults are "just words", but their power to offend comes from con…
> but don't assume your data means you have discovered a universal truth.
I haven't claimed anything like that in the slightest.
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
You forgot to mention that the vast majority of mass shooters are white.
It will surprise you to hear that that’s not true, but you’re forgiven for thinking so, given the state of american media. Admittedly, blacks tend to produce more wounded rather than kills. It will also surprise you to hear that long guns (i.e. AR-15) are involved only in a small percentage of crimes (including mass shootings) involving firearms. The vast majority of such crimes is committed with handguns, many unlic…
It is literally true. https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in...
Re: How the N-Word Became Unsayable
#30In the Netherlands in the past two decades the word 'neger' (which corresponds roughly, but not exactly, to the American use of 'negro') has become a taboo word too, although it was already something you wouldn't use on its own for most of the twentieth century. The popular sweet known as chocolate-coated marshmallow treats was called 'negerzoen' in Dutch (negro's kiss) in the recent past, and it was boldly emblazone…
> An aside: oddly enough Dutch language Wikipedia insists on using this outdated racist word for the lemma on this treat
Ugh, yeah, the discussion[0] on this is rather pigheaded. They almost seem to go out of their way to keep it racist.