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The Unacceptable Asterisk — 10 Comments

  1. Your spellchecker seems surprisingly lacking. My Mac (designed by California snowflakes) allows me to select a word and look it up in the computers dictionary.

    The result?

    nigger | ˈnɪɡə | noun offensive a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person.

    ORIGIN late 16th century: from earlier neger,after Latin niger ‘black’ (see Negro).

    USAGE The word nigger has been used as a strongly negative term of contempt for a black person since at least the 18th century. Today it remains one of the most racially offensive words in the language. Also referred to as ‘the n-word,’ nigger is sometimes used by black people in reference to other black people in a neutral manner (in somewhat the same way that queer has been adopted by some gay and lesbian people as a term of self-reference, acceptable only when used by those within the community).

    Surprisingly neutral from software produced in California.

    • There are many words that are considered “racially offensive”.  It amuses me how [as your smell checker points out] that the word “nigger” is frequently used by blacks Africans People of Equatorial Descent themselves.  How can it be racially offensive if they use it?  Are they not offended by their own use of the word?

      Personally I don’t use such terms except [as in the case of the good Professor above] to make a point.  It does really amuse me though that if a word is used by an “outsider” the offended are quick to call the race card yet if they use it, it’s fine.  We have the same problem here in Ireland with Tinkers Knackers Pikeys Travellers!

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