“Nigga please!”
JC
Oh boy — this is a gem (thanks to Joel for the heads up). Louisville, Kentucky’s WHAS11 News reported on the story of Paul Dawson, a high school teacher who got in a load of trouble for using the “N word” when dealing with one of his black students, Keyshawn Chavers. The teacher was suspended for 10 days without pay (the longest a teacher in that district has been suspended) and must now go to diversity training. The teacher claims that he uses “nigga” — the slang version of the N word, merely as a way to respond to his students, who use it all the time.
The debate over the N word rages on….this story brings up that age old question — who is allowed to say it? And in what context is it acceptable? There has been a lot of recent hoopla about the use of the N word in Aaron McGruder’s cartoon, The Boondocks, with some (Al Sharpton) purporting that it is never an acceptable term (including the slang version which has come to signify a term of endearment similar to “dude” or “man”).
Please check out the video – the best/worst part is when he illustrates the difference between “nigger” and “nigga” using his own handwritten instructional signs. He needs help — and admits it. Honestly, I don’t know if he will be able to give it up — he seems to LOVE saying it. 
Rachel wrote:
i am living in chicago, and the N word id used widely amongst the black community, by black community i mean mixed and black.
Posted 09 Feb 2006 at 3:14 pm ¶
anon wrote:
I don’t think the word should be used period. Its deregatory and disrespectful. There is a negative history associated with that term that I just can’t stomach. It funny how us black folks are always trying to “put our spin” on things. Yet you never hear Asians try to “reclaim” racial terms used against them, or Jews, or Mexicans. I’ve nevered heard a Jews refer to themselves in racists terms, so why do we do it. I think the use of this word by African-Americans confuses people such as this teacher. We aren’t n******, so why use such a term? I also think this teacher were unprofessional and should have his teacher’s certificate revoked.
Posted 09 Feb 2006 at 3:51 pm ¶
Anonymous wrote:
who gives a duck
Posted 09 Feb 2006 at 7:19 pm ¶
Zetetic wrote:
I wouldn’t believe any explanation this teacher gave. He has a record of inappropriate behavior:
http://tinyurl.com/e362u
We told you last week that Paul Dawson was suspended in 1994 for telling a student to put a sign on another students back that said “I am gay,” well now we have obtained a stack of complaints against the teacher stemming back to the 1990s. […]
In 1998, Dawson admitted calling two female students “hos.” He also admits to calling a student a “Pillsbury dough boy” in 1997 and admits pushing a student in 2005.
We also found an old article from the Courier-Journal stating that in 1990, Dawson was caught directing his students to cheat in the Governor’s Cup academic competition. According to the article, Dawson coached the team while he was a teacher at Fairdale High School. The principal from Fairdale was also quoted in the paper. She urged that Dawson be fired and said the violation was terribly unethical. […]
Another complaint filed by a teacher who worked with Dawson said she’d talked with the reporter from the Courier-Journal who did the report about the foundation.
According to the teacher, the reporter told her “she was fearful of him since he had made some rather threatening -sounding phone calls to her. She was actually quite concerned about her safety.” […]
Another teacher who worked with Dawson wrote this letter to the principal of Southern High School saying, “I am concerned and worried that Mr. Dawson is not in a stable state of mind. I am concerned that his teaching students in this state of mind and I am worried for the staff and faculty of Southern.”
So with all this, why didn’t the district fire Paul Dawson after he called a student the n-word, instead of suspending him for 10 days?
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 9:16 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
When a 3 year old thinks it’s an appropriate thing to say, because an adult they look up to says it, and/or they hear it on the radio or MTV, then I do give a “duck”.
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 10:51 am ¶
Right! wrote:
Anonymous says: “who gives a duck”
Spoken lika a genius.
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 11:45 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
>So with all this, why didn’t the district fire Paul Dawson after he called a student the n-word, instead of suspending him for 10 days?
The real question is, if this history of student harassment/abuse is true, why wasn’t he FIRED back in 1990?!?
>Spoken lika a genius.
To quote Inigo, “That word you keep using, I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 12:41 pm ¶
Marsha wrote:
Hmmm. I’m wondering if the guy is protected by a teacher’s union or something. Maybe that’s the reason he was suspsended rather than outright fired. (I am a state employee and we are all “protected” by the union and jeez- even if a state employee sexually harrasses a coworker the state won’t even fire them- they just move them to another job because of the union and the protections the union gives the workers!)
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 1:11 pm ¶
WD wrote:
Uh, I don’t think a teacher’s union is going to be clamoring to protect a guy with this kind of record. Frankly, you sound like you’re just bringing your anti-union sentiment into a thread that has nothing to do with unions.
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 2:20 pm ¶
mr guy wrote:
Funny lol.Scine the word is so dominant in things like hiphop, which has a world wide audience, we shouldn’t be surprised, or angry when other nonblack people start saying it like it’s nothing.Maybe this is a good thing.If more black people in the community see stuff like this, then maybe more people will realize how ridiculous it is and stop saying it so much.Or not.
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 2:48 pm ¶
Marsha wrote:
Frankly, you sound like you’re just bringing your anti-union sentiment into a thread that has nothing to do with unions.
No, I’m not. I’m relating an experience in which unions have gone to great lengths to protect employees that in any other “at will” work place would have had their butts kicked out on the street. I’m simply offering that as a possible explanation for why the teacher was suspended instead of fired. If the guy is a member of a union, they may not be able to outright fire the guy because he is not an “at will” employee. If you are an “at will” employee, they can fire you for any reason they damn well choose.
Zetetic’s question was, afterall:
So with all this, why didn’t the district fire Paul Dawson after he called a student the n-word, instead of suspending him for 10 days?
Posted 10 Feb 2006 at 4:08 pm ¶
Right! wrote:
I was being sarcastic. Sorry if any of you misunderstood.
Posted 11 Feb 2006 at 12:51 pm ¶
ednmary wrote:
nigga’s are all around us, white black red or yellow. If they want to act like it , treat them like it. most of them don,t even know what the word means.
Posted 11 Feb 2006 at 8:30 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
Umm, Edmary…
I’m gonna have to respectfully disagree with that line of reasoning. I have a major problem with people who try to justify the use of the word “nigger” (or any of its variants), claiming that “all races have their niggers… it’s all a state of mind… black, white, red, or yellow, if you’re ignorant, you’re a nigga.”
I’m sick of that shit, and I’m fairly certain you have a wide enough lexicon to find a more suitable word, so please do.
Posted 13 Feb 2006 at 1:35 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
How about “if you’re ignorant,” you’re just plain ignorant.
The point remains that if the people with power come up with a derogatory word for those without power, it can rarely (if ever) be reversely applied with the same power.
Calling a person of African descent N* brings 400 years of history with it.
Calling a person of European, Asian, etc. descent N* is something out of a comedy routine. (Not discounting other racial epithets, including the currently referenced (in the news, etc.) sandN* for someone of Arab or Mid-Eastern Asian descent)
So the question is, why is it “funny?” Because it’s a misapplication/unusual/surprising… which in human beings, tends to evoke the humor response. Definitely seperate but not equal.
How about we all get out of preschool and just stop calling each other slurs entirely?
Posted 13 Feb 2006 at 1:09 pm ¶
Bertrum says wrote:
Well–nigga or nigger, nigguh or even nigra is not proper language for a teacher. Even without the racist intent–a teacher shouldn’t be using that type of language around students. Sh@t, damn, or f#clk are not racist terms but they’re not proper or professional. Teaching is this guys profession, so he needs to speak accordingly.
Posted 14 Feb 2006 at 12:50 pm ¶
knaytonsoay wrote:
the term nigger has not always been seen as offensive eg Agatha Chtristie’s “10 little nigger boys” - like any word it only has meaning in its context and intent. After all it only means black. Is white or whitey offensive? In my youth they were called “darkies” , is that offensive? A colleague of mine referred to his assistant, to her face as “my black bitch” but with warmth and humour and she enjoyed it. It ain’t what you say its the way that you say it!!!!
Posted 15 Feb 2006 at 1:42 pm ¶
No! wrote:
I have to diagree knaytonsoay. N***** is a very deragotory term that can never and should never be able to escape its history. I’ll have to look up Christie’s book to see how she uses the term, but you have to remember that in her day it was common for Europeans to use the term, Euroepans discerned no offense from the term becasue they created the term and were in control of its use, but that does not mean that the term was not and is not offensive. The word connotes hatred, racism, and disrespect. There is no indiginous African term for the word N***** b/c N***** is a European creation. The purpose and sentiment behind the term (then and now) is enimical to humanity.
The term “darkies” IS offensive because it aims to undermine a person’s individuality, to define people according to their skin tone instead of their individual character, it breeds a “them vs. us” mentality which is evident in your statement “In my youth THEY were called “darkies.” (emphasis added). Who is “they”?
The term N***** does not “only mean black.” In fact it doesn’t mean black at all!!! It was applied to people who were considered “black.” It was not considered a compliment by any means, but a way by which to articulate the presumed intellectual and moral inferiority of a people. And yes “whitey” is offensive because it’s aim is to attack and reduce the referenced person’s humanity.
The assistant who allowed herself to be called a “black bitch” might have done so for monetary reasons (i.e. to stay employed). Either that, or she had low self-esteem. Because no self respecting woman would allow any employer to get that familar with her and refer to her in such a vulgar manner.
You have betrayed your age and lack of sophistication with your posting, knaytonsoay. Thankfully your generation is on its last leg.
Posted 15 Feb 2006 at 3:31 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
No!:
You’ve managed to say EV-ER-Y-THING I wanted to say after reading knaytonsoay’s post. I love the internet because it allows people to expose themselves in such a manner, without the fear of censure that stops them in real life. Of course, in knaytonsoay’s case, any and all reprimand would be justified.
Still, I respect the fact that he stepped up to ask those questions. As off-putting as his post was, I could identify a deep-seeded ignorance in it. I think it’s too late for him to learn anything (old dog, new tricks, etc), but I hope he takes something away from all of this.
Posted 16 Feb 2006 at 1:20 am ¶
knaytonsoay wrote:
I would say to “No!Says” lighten up. For instance “bastard” is a derogatory term but is often used in a friendly way in conversation. Language is not fixed but varies with time, place and context. A mother saying “you little devil” to her child is totally different than naming someone as the devil incarnate. But you are right, we people over a hundred are dying out - whats the derogatory term for them then?
Posted 16 Feb 2006 at 4:23 am ¶
Merq wrote:
you just don’t get it, do you?
As an insult, “bastard” assumes that both parties started out on equal footing, and one is only inferior because he is, yes, a bastard.
On the other hand, the word “nigger” claims that the party on the receiving end was subhuman to begin with. Your logic fails on that front.
Sadly, I misjudged you. You apparently aren’t as ignorant as you are seemingly intent on clinging to your right to say that word. This is what baffles me whenever (most often, white) people say “but if they say it, why can’t I?”
First of all, that statement in itself, lumps an entire race of people into one homogenous group based on their skin color. Very many black people abhor the word, and refuse to say it or have it said around them.
Secondly, it just perplexes me that someone would even care so much about being able to say the word. It’s like, “but why would you want to call people niggers, anyway? If you’re so terribly non-racist, and you see that this term offends a fairly sizable percentage of a population, why insist on your right to fling it in their faces?”
Your kind makes me want to hurl, dude.
Posted 16 Feb 2006 at 4:58 pm ¶
knaytonsoay wrote:
actually I never , ever, use the “N” word in speech and am not racialist. What I am saying that no word in itself is wicked. It all depends on time, context and intent as well as emphasis and other things. Language is a very complex thing. Thanks for the abuse.
Posted 17 Feb 2006 at 3:47 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Time context and intent, right?
Well, “Nigger” has never been a COMPLIMENT. It has never been used in a beneficial light. And there WERE Other historical ways to denote those of African descent in the 1600s and 1700s. (I’ve read the terms, “Negroes,” “Africans,” “Africs,” “Moors.” etc.)
If the term was so neutral and polite, then why wasn’t it used in the Constitution, or in early miscegenation laws?
Oh, and regarding your friend: If anyone called me THEIR “black bitch,” they’d have a fight on their hands. And if they were my EMPLOYER? They’d have a lawsuit on their hands.
I belong to noone but myself, I am a human being, not a female dog. To say otherwise because of ethnicity/origin IS racist.
>Language is a very complex thing. Thanks for the abuse.
You’re backpedaling and taking “offense” without acknowledging the flaws pointed out by others here. Effective debate is also a very complex thing. But if you think others here are too quick to scream “racist,” maybe you shouldn’t be too quick to scream “abuse.” No one here called you a name or cursed at you. Where’s the abuse?
Posted 17 Feb 2006 at 3:31 pm ¶
Mike wrote:
Bottom line…the word was created to demean an entire race of people just for the hell of it. Anyone using in any version (n* ger or n* gga)white, black brown, yellow …is dead wrong and ignorant. There is no way around that. Dead wrong.
Posted 20 Feb 2006 at 3:42 pm ¶
BrightWhiteLight wrote:
Did anyone ever see this movie from years ago: An Englisman and a negro are talking and the Englishman calls the negro a “nigger.”
The negro replies “Sir, if you are using the word ‘nigger’ as a slang term for ‘negro,’ and since I am not ashamed of my race, I take it as a compliment.”
All you leftist/socialist indoctrinated “kollege” students need do the same and get off your persecution kick. You’re black in a white land. Either get used to it or move back to “the motherland.” There will be absolutely no racism there and you’d have one less thing to bitch about daily.
Posted 26 Feb 2006 at 2:30 pm ¶
To BrightWhiteLight... wrote:
YAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Posted 28 Feb 2006 at 10:14 am ¶
what! wrote:
what happened?
Posted 01 Mar 2006 at 5:42 pm ¶
I've never... wrote:
I’ve never seen white land in my life. White sand yes, but never white land.
And since when did movies and fictional charaters created by persons with their own political agendas become the vessels of truth!
Wow BrightWhite Hag, you have really changed my opinion on this issue. I guess I will shuffle along now because you said so. You know its funny, when the colonists had enough of the British treating them as second class citizens no one told them to “go back home.” No one told them to “suck it up” and accept their second class status. No, the colonists fought a revolution and dumped tea in the water and are now national heros to be praised and revered by all alike. Hmmm…what a double standard we have here. Is it us “leftist/socialist…’kollege’ students” who have the problem here, or is it you BrightWhiteHag!!!
Posted 02 Mar 2006 at 4:55 pm ¶
I see dumb people wrote:
I’m white. I tell racial jokes all the time. You’re black? Fine, I’ll tell you a nigger joke. Your response determines how I treat you in the future.
If you get outraged, then I’ll treat you like the ignorant, idiotic, worthless waste of oxygen that you are.
If you take a joke as a joke, however, then I treat you like an upstanding, intelligent citizen of this planet who can tell the difference between a sword and a word. (Hint: It involves more than a dropped S.)
My saying the word “nigger” in no way harms you unless you ALLOW it to do so - and displaying outrage is the surest way to ensure the continued existence of anything.
Yes, there is a problem with what the Conservatives call “liberals” today. The problem is that you’re so wrapped up in making sure that people take offense at every single little snub, so wrapped up in ensuring that no one’s poor widdle feelings are hurt, that you don’t stop to think about the fact that you’re causing more suffering, pain, and fighting than any slurs have ever caused.
This is visible today, with the cartoons of Muhammad. I say that we proudly display all sacrilegious works, all racist works - whether they are statements against whites, blacks, chinese, japanese, jews, christians, muslims, buddhists, everything and everyone - and then place all of those who take offense on a rocket to the moon.
Posted 02 Mar 2006 at 8:53 pm ¶
I see dumb people wrote:
In addition, for the record, for those of us who live in the United States - this is a free country. EVERYONE has the right to speak and write as they please. We have been complacent for far too long with restrictions placed on the First Amendment.
“Anyone who is willing to give up a little bit of freedom for a little bit of security deserves neither.”
This would do just as well if it had been said:
“Anyone who is willing to give up a little bit of freedom for a little bit of self-esteem deserves neither.”
Posted 02 Mar 2006 at 8:57 pm ¶
I see dumber people wrote:
So, I see dumb people, by your argument the teacher was fully justified in saying whatever he wanted to say and should not be held up to any professional standards because he is an American. We should not expect our teachers to be the examples for our children to look up to, but rather should encourage them to use racial slurs and insults so that our children learn to not take offense and don’t turn into, “ignorant, idiotic, worthless wastes of oxygen” Good logic.
One thing you forget, you have the right to say anything you like, and everyone else has the right to take offense to it and not like it. It doesn’t make them ignorant, idiotic, worthless, or a waste of oxygen as you so eloquently stated. It makes them a free-thinking rational individual (as you seem to claim to be).
It’s funny that you try to portray yourself as upholding core American values by excercising your right to free speech, but claim that anyone who doesn’t like your “jokes” is worthless. We in America have a word for people who automatically reject anyone with viewpoints other than their own-tyrants.
Posted 03 Mar 2006 at 12:12 pm ¶
"I see dumb people..." wrote:
…has apparently been looking at himself/herself in the mirror.
Posted 03 Mar 2006 at 3:04 pm ¶