DominicCobb said:
I only have a problem with some of your views, thank you very much!
You have to acknowledge the historical significance, is what I was saying. You can't leave it out of your argument (the first post I responded to) and pretend like it's not a factor so you can more easily get across your point. I'm glad you have rectified that with your most recent post.
Listen, I understand your argument and I've heard it many times. It makes sense. The problem is racism still exists. The mentalities that gave the n-word its horrible connotation can still be found in all too many people. Perhaps in a hundred years we can live in a world where that connotation no longer exists, but not now. We don't get to choose what does and doesn't offend cultures that have a history of oppression. So we need to understand that, for many people, the n-word is an unfathomable insult. I cannot completely understand it, as I am white. I don't need to worry about oppression, about police brutality, about being stereotyped, about not getting a job because of the color of my skin, about any of the number of things African American people have to fear on a daily basis. I don't have to worry about that because it doesn't affect me. The n-word doesn't affect me. But what it does do, to the people who are being put down, who have to constantly face bigotry, even if it's subconscious, is to further the culture of discrimination that has mistreated them for far too long.
I have never said anything about thinking little of you. I can disagree with you without questioning the content of your character.
I appreciate this post, because I thought your recent comments meant more than you now tell me they did. I hope you think well of me, because I certainly hope for a better world without racism. I, like you, am not subject to the same persistent racism in society today. I do not use that word anymore, not even typed, though I felt comfortable with that friend at the time in high school. But I do feel that using it in appropriate context, not in an insulting manner (and I think Possessed really did not mean to offend a soul), but in order to illustrate. I hope one day this word's insulting value becomes deflated, because I think it does more harm than good to anyone.