Racism in Sports

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I hope he said that with derision, or else he is just egging the racists on...

 

African americans have earned the right, of course.

 

Solely based on their colour?

Drew, you're a hypocrite or possibly a racist. Which is it?

And besides, "African Americans"? What about blacks not American? What about blacks not African?

 

Excuse me, Drew, but how does one 'earn the right' to use racial abuse on somebody? Just because someone of the same race says it, doesn't mean it's not racist.

 

The term "Nigger" isn't racially abusive when it's used by the people it is suppose to denegrate; actually it becomes quite the opposite then. The address becomes of way of empowering themselves against racism.

 

Context changes the meaning of a word, people. When I call a man a "bitch", it means I'm calling a pansy (or, on occasion, the reciever of a homosexual act....but in a playful, generally inoffensive way) and it isn't a derogatory term. Used towards a woman, it doesn't mean "pansy", and it sure as hell is derogatory. When a white man calls a black man a "nigger" he is invoking the label of white superiority and oppression...... When a black man calls another black man a "nigga", he invokes the bond created by shared suffering....and it is not derogatory for that reason. It is not hippocritical or racist to acknowledge that the meaning of a word changes depending upon the context in which it is used. Simply put.....this is a matter of linguistics, not race.

EDIT: Ilmater's Suffering clearly beat me to it and put it much more succinctly than I did to boot.

 

Sorry lads, but I disagree.

Do Asians go around calling each other 'paki'? No, they don't. Because the word itself is highly offensive. The same goes for the word 'nigger'. I don't care who uses it, I find it offensive because of what it stands for. Why should be only black people who are offended by racism?

I say again, if you separate society into 'this group can say this, but that group can't... this group can do this, but that group can't' then you create divisions, then the whole point of the battle against racism is to bring everybody together without difference.

 

... side by side on my piano keyboard .....

All hear the word of Barmy Army.

 

What it stands for to you. Many black Americans find it offensive, too. Still more others do not. African Americans use the word in an attempt to own the word......to empower themselves against it. I used to live in a "black" neighborhood. When I would drive out of my crime-free apartment complex, the police (who constantly canvassed the neighborhood) would glare at me threateningly until they noticed I was white. Upon seeing the color of my skin, their expression would soften and become friendly. It happened over and over and was the most sickening thing about living in that neighborhood. I saw how my black neighbor's were treated by my lanlord and by the police and, in stark contrast, the way I was treated purely because of the color of my skin. Given the racism and discrimination that black americans still are subjected to this very day, I think it is a little petty to begrudge them the use of the word "nigger".

 

All everyone wants and deserves is just to be treated the same as everyone else, regardless of colour, race or creed. I think we've pretty much approached that stage now... at least in my highly multi-cultural country. I don't mean to be argumentative (thought I usually am) or regurgitate the same thing over and over, but I don't see how the use of a term that is racist (regardless of how some blacks use it, the word is racist) is acceptable, regardless of who uses it.

@ Harbs, don't upset my rhythm man, I need an outlet after Englands shambolic cricket performance

 

I was agreeing with you, man!

People are the same wherever you go. There is good and bad in everyone.

 

We learn to live, we learn to give each other what we need to survive together alive.

That's the first and last duet I'm ever doing with you so savour it

 

No racist chanting at all in the World Cup, and hardly any trouble at all .

I guess this idiot - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwpO-nnFY9g&search=Racism - is feeling a bit of a tool now. What a load of generalised crap.

 

I think the point is not to tell yourself that all people are equal, so if a black man calls an other black man a nigger, then a white man should be allowed to do so, too. That's just childish. "If he can, than I can too".
You will have to ask yourself if you're showing respect. If you know or are not sure when someone is offended by something, you don't say it or choose your words wisely.

Friendship can often make a difference. In much cases, friends don't show the respect they have, because they know their friend is not offended.
Two of my friends are gay. I can call one of them a fag, and sometimes I do so because he knows I am just joking. The other is slightly offended by that. So if the 2 of them would be together, I won't call any of them a fag, because one is offended.

'Nigger' is a nasty word, imo. And I won't call anybody a nigger, except for those I know are not offended, if nobody else is in earshot who might be offended.

 

It depends. It's like that scene in Rush Hour. It's okay for Chris Tucker to call his friend "my nigger" because 1) Chris Tucker is himself black and refers to himself as nigger 2) The 2 are friends and most importantly 3) The guy doesn't mind if it's Chris Tucker calling him that. But he goes ballistic when Jackie Chan does it because since Jackie isn't black it sounds like he's being disrespectful.

I've seen this phenomenon in real life. Many of my best friends are Chinese and they have a stereotype of being good at business and being real pennypinchers so when a chinese friend of mine does something really cheap, my other friends sometimes say stuff like "You really are Chinese" but it's okay because it's not intended as a racial slur because they themselves are Chinese. Kind of like self-deprecating humor.

This is probably the best way to go about things though.