When did we become a society in which it is okay to be physically and verbally abused and bullied? Why have we become so comfortable with disrespecting each other and with being disrespected? How does not allowing others to be racist just for the sake of being racist via hipster irony suddenly mean that you're soft?
These are questions I asked myself as I had a conversation with a friend last night. There is a chat room we both frequent that recently made it a rule that members will be banned from the room if they spout racism in any way, which includes calling people racial/ethnic slurs. My friend was actually UPSET by this new rule, and basically equated it to the chat moderators becoming "soft".
And this is where we have the conflict. Now, we're both raised in the South Bronx, so "n*gga" is thrown around every 0.2 seconds in a sentence for the most part. Unfortunately it has become a part of our slang, and some people look at it that way to take away the power of the word. But what they don't realize is that words have different meanings to different people. It may not have as much effect on a brother from the block who isn't racially and culturally sensitive, but to a brother who's from the South, has experienced racism more, and is more racially and culturally sensitive, what makes you think he's not angered hearing and being addressed by that word not only from a bigot, but from his own people as well? And also, when you step out of the bubble that is your neighborhood, there ARE other races who just MIGHT be more racially aware than YOU, who don't feel comfortable with you addressing others and yourself as an ethnic slur, and wonders why the fuck YOU feel so comfortable with it. Ever thought of THAT???
Probably not. And it's your limited thinking that will be your downfall.
To be continued.
