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1. In case you missed it… at Addicted to Race on 08 Dec 2006 at 1:51 pm

   [...] Damon Wayans fined $320 for using the n-word at the Laugh Factory: Said Wayans: “I’ll be damned if the white man [Michael Richards] uses that word last. …This is part of our culture now…don’t take that from us.” [...]

Comments

1. Kaywil wrote:

   THANK YOU!

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 11:11 am ¶

2. inciquay wrote:

   ha anyone read Esquire Magazine’s new article about the nigger phenomenon: “The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger”?

   http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2006/061105_mfe_December_06_Essay_1.html

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 2:10 pm ¶

3. S wrote:

   Ugh! I just KNEW some silly black person would get up on that stage with that played out coon statement “it’s a part of our culture now…don’t take that from us”. I am not at all suprised that it was Damon’s silly self. Didn’t he have a hand in that offensive movie “White Chicks”?

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 3:16 pm ¶

4. ChrisChambers wrote:

   John Ridley’s essay is a must-read.

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 3:24 pm ¶

5. Jim wrote:

   Heh, Axl Rose didn’t understand why it was OK for black people to say nigga either.

   No, it’s not hypocrisy. It obviously doesn’t have the same meaning coming from a black person. Context has significance. Damon Wayans was clearly not denigrating black people, whereas Michael Richards was telling hecklers they’d be lynched in the past.

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 3:28 pm ¶

6. Jennifer wrote:

   See, this is the problem within the black community. We are divided between those like me who feel no one should use the word, and those like Damon who feel only blacks can use the word. The Wayans family are ignorant, every one of them. None of the work they do are respectful or of true artistic merit.

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 4:50 pm ¶

7. H. Lewis Smith wrote:

   BOOK CRITICAL OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO USE THE N-WORD

   Los Angeles, CA., – Author H. Lewis Smith has written a thought provoking, culturally divided book that will not only spark heated conversation, but can also bring about real change. The N-word is often used in the African American community amongst each other and is generally not a problem when spoken by another African American. However, once the word is used by a Caucasian person, it brings on other effects. The question is “who can use the word and why?” Smith believes it is a word that should be BURIED!!!!

   The book is written in a manner that all can understand. The points are well-taken and the wording is easy to follow. There are quotes from great people in our history including Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin and many, many others. Smith has mixed history with honesty, love with life, education with effects. This is a great book for educators, parents, managers, professionals, newsmen, and anyone else wanting an in-depth look at the N-word, the effects and the solutions. A MUST READ!!!!

   To learn more about Bury that Sucka, please visit http://www.burythatsucka.com

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 8:09 pm ¶

8. Y. Carrington wrote:

   “This is part of our culture now…don’t take that from us.”

   Brotha, please. They can take it and KEEP it.

   Posted 07 Dec 2006 at 9:14 pm ¶

9. Maxjulian wrote:

   In response to someone’s statement that ‘nigger is a tool of the oppressor…’ I said:

   Actually, anything – shopping at the GAP, attending grad school or buying gasoline – are tools of the oppressor, if mindlessly indulged in. We live in the oppressor’s house, eat his food, buy his creations. We pay his mortgage. So spare me the “tools of the oppressor” hambone. This computer is a tool – on his behalf or ours. Its how you use it.

   The real problem is twofold: black and other people of color are ‘functional niggas’ in this society and globally. And we let the so-called oppressor get away with it. We allow it by our failure to work collectively and oppose – except with rhetoric – his behaviour. Complaining to and about the white man only enshrines his superiority. (I would add complaining about and trying to ban words also enshrines the white man’s superiority)

   Two, WE are addicted to symbolic, shallow demonstrations of our ‘discontent,’ be it perpetual marching, letter writing, banning words, whateva. That, as opposed to actually dealing with and healing our own black selves and our communities.

   Erasing a word – which is an impossibility – ain’t gonna heal nobody. The kind of healing we need is a healing that makes one impervious to ‘harsh words’ or ‘nasty opinions’. If somebody can rock you with a word, I’d say your healing is incomplete.

   We have a lot of hard work to do that we as a people are afraid to do – on an individual and group level. And we can’t shirk our responsibility to do this inner work. But, its far easier to indulge in ghetto histrionics. The masters of superficiality always crop up with ‘explanations that don’t explain and solutions that don’t solve.’

   If you think you can ban a word, God bless you. Does the fact that its an impossibility persuade you ya might be on the wrong track?

   Posted 08 Dec 2006 at 3:03 pm ¶

10. Sombra wrote:

    Boy, my ears are burning these days!

    We know the word in question is really unsavory, and we know that using it doesn’t dilute its consequence, especially when used most oppressively. And ok, we won’t look to the Wayans to inform our critical anti-racism, but there are some even more pernicious offenders, who truly fail to comprehend the finer points on usage and context. That Esquire article highlights the worst occasion–that is, people who should and claim to know better are using the term derisively against black people!!!

    “Smart” people who use powerful words irresponsibly are, in my opinion, doing more damage than naive people who attempt to reclaim and re-deploy these words through humor or everyday use.

    Posted 13 Dec 2006 at 7:08 pm ¶

11. mtevc wrote:

    Wayans is an idiot. If all he can think of to say is that the word is now part of our culture, that is sad. I surely hope people realize just how offensive that statement is…that black culture is all about using a derogatory term like that. What a moron and a loser! But should we expect anything different…he is the modern coon show performer.

    Posted 15 Dec 2006 at 9:20 pm ¶

12. --Tieiasha wrote:

    HAHA!..wow they really think that we gonna stop using that word because it’s illegal?. I use the word constantly the music i listen to steady says it. My homies that i’m close to i consider “my niggas”. So they think because the white folks ain’t got shit to call each other we should stop saying a word that we were raised around. Y’all got things twisted….

    Posted 01 Feb 2007 at 11:37 am ¶