Ooooh Those Niggas...

I have a question I want to ask to the general public: how many of you out there are niggas? I have to ask because I feel like no one really knows. Maybe it's just a black thing, maybe it's an Asian thing too. Let's get the Samoans in on this as well. Hey, let's make the word universal! Or maybe it's just a male thing, after all, when you think of niggas you think of guys. But really, why associate yourself with such a word?

I know the argument is a classic one: is the word derogatory or is it a term of endearment (i.e. brother, friend, loved one, etc.)? I wantto know, becuase it seems like it can be a double edged sword in most cases. If I walked up to you with an excited look on my face with my hand outstretched and said, "Nigga!" How would you take that? Probably like any friend would approach another. But if I walked up to you in anger and yelled out, "Nigga!", how would you take that?

What's the difference in the word? What is it in our society that makes us feel connected and bonded to a word that was solely used to negatively classify a subset of people? If we called someone a WOP, it would immediately offend someone of European descent. They don't call themselves that. Or if you called someone of Latin descent a spick, that's not cool either. White people don't refer to themselves as crackers nor do they call each other honkeys.

What is it about the word that we find so appealing? Do it emasculate you? Does it tuck you in at night? Does it resonate deep in the hidden chambers i your mind and bring forth power to your life? No...I hardly think so. The word nigga is so deeply rooted in our minds and vocabulary, that we have embraced it and emotionally attached ourselves to it. We, as a people, wouldn't know how to function without it in our daily regimen.

Instead of righting a wrong, searching for a solution, we choose to justify the word's meaning and existence. We, as a people, are too lazy to combat an obvious problem. We have taken the word and made it our adopted brother. The brother that you stand up for, the one that no one can talk about but you. You know how no one can talk about family BUT family? I guess that's the "Nigga Rule" too. We refuse to let any other people call us niggas. We'll be damned if a white person called us a nigga (or nigger for those that want to argue). We get pissed off when Asians refer to themselves as niggas. We want to hop on them if they embrace it and love the word as we do.

We readily identify ourselves as niggas, but we refuse to let anyone else identify us as such, but really, what's the difference?

Apparently it's cool to be a nigga...except when it's not.