• Cabrio@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes. We can talk about racial slurs without directing them at anyone. We can talk about the history and origin or racial slurs like spic and wog and (dare I say it in the hopes that people actually understand my point) removed. (edit: Lol, fuck censorship, but this helps prove my point below because you don’t even need to see the word but you know what it was and what it represents due to context)

      We can talk about these words, the concepts and hate they represent, the pain they are meant to inflict and all of that context without being offensive or using those words in an offensive manner.

      Here’s a little secret to offensive words, you can make any word offensive because as stated in my previous comment, it’s not the word itself that’s offensive it’s the intent it’s used with.

      Fairy princess is offensive if it’s used to derogatively represent someone, and endearing when your 3 year old daughter wants to be one. Does that mean ‘fairy princess’ is a slur? Yes, but only when it’s used that way.

      The difference that racial slurs have over other offensive language is that they are specifically created words for being derogative, unlike other derogative speech which reappropriates existing words and medical terms as insulting metaphor. But even then you can talk about racial slurs without being offensive as previously explained. Like we’re doing right now.

      Ask yourself, is there anything in this comment you find “offensive”? Or maybe offensive words just make you uncomfortable. I’m comfortable around offensive language because I understand it and can recognise the difference between objective use of language and directed insults.

      • CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The word is ugly with and without the “a”. It is a word that was used to terrorize enslaved people and is still used to this day to dehumanize black people. Anyone especially black people should not be using that word.

        • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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          1 year ago

          It’s still a word like any other. How it is used is what matters, not the word itself; and saying black people should also not use that word is pretty racist, unless you’re also black…

          Also looking at the decimation of the comments in here, the mods and users are overly sensitive over words. Fucking pathetic.

          • CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I’m black and I don’t use the n-word. It’s a word of hate and oppression, and I don’t want to be associated with it. I don’t think it’s possible to “repurpose” the word, and it should be buried in the footnotes of history. That being said there is a side bar with clear rules if you have any difficulty abiding by them please let us know.