So what about the Louis "Skip" Gates affair?

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

The Gods must be with us. So much rich material to incite people into action and thinking. The President's visit to Africa, the calling of Michelle Obama a foul name by a white Christian radio host, the racial issues in Texas, CNN's Black in America Part 2 to start airing tonight, and now Louis Gates, the noted Harvard Professor, gets profiled or at least many suggest so.

No matter how hard we want it go away, after all we do have a so-called black president now, the issue and emotions associated with it linger just back in the shade, waiting for the next opportunity to show itself. It may come with black students not being allowed to sit under a tree in Louisiana, or a man getting shot while sitting in his car by so-called white police officers, or a man, after having been imprisoned for 20 years, is found innocent due to DNA tests.

Or the spark may be a world renowned professor getting jacked for breaking into his own house. I watched with interest how Eric Dyson even absent of all the facts spoke in gatling gun staccato words how it just had to be racial profiling. I'm not saying it is, I am not saying it isn't. I am saying it sure is strange that he could talk that long and that fast without any facts except the information reported by the news. What do you think?

[hannaan joplin]

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE WORKS BOTH WAYS, AND THEREFORE, I WATCH ALL OF THESE MF WITH A CROOKED EYE

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Hannaan I'm rotflmao!

Al

[Sammie James McDaniel jr.]

Sam here. Skip went to bed the night before ,a Harvard Professor and woke up the next day a nigger with a backpack. That's enough to send any body over the edge!!!!!

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Sammie, thanks for joining. That is funny. How about sharing a little about yourself with us. Oh and by the way you used the word "Nigger". Why not the "N" word? I mean I have no judgment or preference I was just wondering about your personal choice. Some so called black people find it offensive and some declare they will never stop using it.

[Sammie James McDaniel jr.]

Sammie J. McDaniel Jr. here.Member of Inward Journey,if not From it's conception , most definitely from it's birth. Member of MKP since April '94. I participated in the "Isms training. In the last few years I've been a student of "Free Thinking", as some call it . The word " Nigger" is just that, a"word". I don"t claim it . I may be identified by it And it's not mine.It can be Offensive. I did pause after I typed it and said "Well here is another fine mess you've gotten yourself into". I judged Skip Gates did not say "this Mther Fkr treating me like a common N word".

Until I do away with all the "myths of racism" that word and others feed the flames of my Enlightenment or Demise.
Aaron (Al) Lewis said:

Sammie, thanks for joining. That is funny. How about sharing a little about yourself with us. Oh and by the way you used the word "Nigger". Why not the "N" word? I mean I have no judgment or preference I was just wondering about your personal choice. Some so called black people find it offensive and some declare they will never stop using it.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Sammie, we ask this of people often in our training so I'm gonna stretch and do it here before the training. Exactly what does the word nigger mean? Anyone care to take a stab at it. Trust me you can't offend me by anything you write.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Hello Al and everyone. B. Crittenden Freeman here. The N word means "hurt & pain & exclusion & anger). I've never been into using it As for the Professor Gates/Officer Crowley incident:
1. I believe that President Obama's speaking and wording were intentional, not accidental.
2. On the dynamics of the incident?
a. Neighbor saw 2 Black men breaking into the house?
That sounds like stereotyping behavior.
b. Police came and wanted Gates to
i. Identify himself
ii. He did
iii. So what exactly happened at that point.
c. What was "disorderly" about Gates' conduct that warranted and arrest at that moment?
d. If the police officer followed procedure, why was the charge dropped?
e. Was the charge dropped because Gates was "A Harvard Professor"??? Is there a double standard
because of supposed education achievement?
d. If Officer Crowley knew and understood "Racial Profiling", it seems logical to me that he would
have understood Gates' reported/alleged emotionality.
e. Professor Gates should know, as I hope we all know, to maintain calmness when faced with
police so to NOT give them justification for "an arrest for disorderly conduct".
f. Professor Gates could have "re-framed" the situation into "well I'm glad that my neighbors
are looking out for my house and they called the police."
g. When an officer is asked for his Badge & name, he is required to give it. So, why didn't
Officer Crowley?

There are a lot of unanswered questions AND both sides should/could have used better judgement.

All this being said without knowing the full and complete discourse that occurred between Gates & Crowley when they were by themselves.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Barry, your questions indicate that you think things through. Instead of jumping to conclusion as I have witnessed the talking heads do and observed on the various news shows. As Huey P. Newton used to say, "When you are stopped by the police the first thing you want to establish is if you are under arrest. If you are do not argue. Try to get to jail as fast as you can so you get out."

As to the word nigger, my first question was what does it mean? By that I meant the word itself its origin, who created it and what it meant when it was created? How was it originally used? Who used it? Was it always a term of malcontent? I understand it is loaded and some people even load it themselves. Having grown up in the south where the word was used liberally and fused with ill intent I was the recipient a few times. However, I must examine how this word affected me. I have used the word probably hundreds of thousands of times. I still use it. I refuse to substitute 'N" word for nigger. However, it has no meaning and no meaning for me.

So if its hurtful, and painful, to whom is it hurtful and painful to? What makes it hurtful and painful? You have worked with us and you know we like to go beneath the surface of things.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

As to the resolution/ending of the Crowley/Gates conflict:
1. An authority figures (President) steps in and models maturity
2. Both sides "let go" of their hurt and anger and righteousness.
3. A political statement of "stepping to the higher spiritual ground" is made.
4. The rishing emotionality is defused.

Well done by Barack Obama. Well done!!! All of it well planned and intentional from the very moment he was asked the question at his press conference.

=================================================================

The etymology of nigger is often traced to the Latin niger, meaning black. The Latin niger became the noun negro (black person) in English, and simply the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. In Early Modern French niger became negre and, later, negress (black woman) was clearly a part of lexical history. One can compare to negre the derogatory nigger – and earlier English variants such as negar, neegar, neger, and niggor – which developed into a parallel lexico-semantic reality in English. It is likely that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the white Southern mispronunciation of Negro. Whatever its origins, by the early 1800s it was firmly established as a denigrative epithet. Almost two centuries later, it remains a chief symbol of white racism.

Social scientists refer to words like nigger, kike, spic, and wetback as ethnophaulisms. Such terms are the language of prejudice – verbal pictures of negative stereotypes. Howard J. Ehrlich, a social scientist, argued that ethnophaulisms are of three types: disparaging nicknames (chink, dago, nigger, and so forth); explicit group devaluations ("Jew him down," or "niggering the land"); and irrelevant ethnic names used as a mild disparagement ("jewbird" for cuckoos having prominent beaks or "Irish confetti" for bricks thrown in a fight).3 All racial and ethnic groups have been victimized by racial slurs; however, no American group has suffered as many racial epithets as have blacks: coon, tom, savage, picanniny, mammy, buck, sambo, jigaboo, and buckwheat are typical.4 Many of these slurs became fully developed pseudo-scientific, literary, cinematic, and everyday caricatures of African Americans. These caricatures, whether spoken, written, or reproduced in material objects, reflect the extent, the vast network, of anti-black prejudice.

The word nigger carries with it much of the hatred and repulsion directed toward Africans and African Americans. Historically, nigger defined, limited, and mocked African Americans. It was a term of exclusion, a verbal justification for discrimination. Whether used as a noun, verb, or adjective, it reinforced the stereotype of the lazy, stupid, dirty, worthless parasite. No other American ethnophaulism carried so much purposeful venom, as the following representative list suggests:

Nigger, v. To wear out, spoil or destroy.
Niggerish, adj. Acting in an indolent and irresponsible manner.
Niggerlipping, v. Wetting the end of a cigarette while smoking it.
Niggerlover, n. Derogatory term aimed at whites lacking in the necessary loathing of blacks.
Nigger luck, n. Exceptionally good luck, emphasis on undeserved.
Nigger-flicker, n. A small knife or razor with one side heavily taped to preserve the user's fingers.
Nigger heaven, n. a designated place, usually the balcony, where blacks were forced to sit, for example, in an integrated movie theater or church.
Nigger knocker, n. axe handle or weapon made from an axe handle.
Nigger rich, adj, Deeply in debt but ostentatious.
Nigger shooter, n. A slingshot.
Nigger steak, n. a slice of liver or a cheap piece of meat.
Nigger stick, n. police officer's baton.
Nigger tip, n. leaving a small tip or no tip in a restaurant.
Nigger in the woodpile, n. a concealed motive or unknown factor affecting a situation in an adverse way.
Nigger work, n. Demeaning, menial tasks.5

Remember the song from the B'way Musical Hair?I'm a
Colored spade
A nigger
A black nigger
A jungle bunny
Jigaboo coon
Pickaninny mau mau

Uncle Tom
Aunt Jemima
Little Black Sambo

Cotton pickin'
Swamp guinea
Junk man
Shoeshine boy

Elevator operator
Table cleaner at Horn & Hardart
Slave voodoo
Zombie
Ubangi lipped

Flat nose
Tap dancin'
Resident of Harlem

And president of
The United States of Love
President of
The United States of Love

(and if you ask him to dinner you're going to feed him:)

Watermelon
Hominy grits
An' shortnin' bread
Alligator ribs
Some pig tails
Some black eyed peas
Some chili
Some collard greens

And if you don't watch out
This boogie man will get you
Booooooooo!
===================================================
And how about Spike Lee's examination of "All That Jazz" in his film
"Bamboozled"? showing how ALL SIDES are BAMBOOZLED!

So, what are you, I we them consciously choosing in the usage of "The N word" and "NIGGER"?

Ciao

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Mr. McDanniels, with your permission...

Mr. Gates went to bed the night before "a human being" and woke up "a human being". The trappings of himself and the "trap" "pings" of the world never changed. (Hmmmm. Interesting title for a book.. "Trap Pings"). Anyway,I'm gald that Gates got beyond it.

Aaron (Al) Lewis said:

Sammie, thanks for joining. That is funny. How about sharing a little about yourself with us. Oh and by the way you used the word "Nigger". Why not the "N" word? I mean I have no judgment or preference I was just wondering about your personal choice. Some so called black people find it offensive and some declare they will never stop using it.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

I believe that the victim has become the perp and continues the cycle of infliction. I see nothing positive, enlightening, in the use of "The N word" or "NIGGER". So, everyone just let it go. I see nor experience no "reactive transformation". It is part of how we choose to remain "stuck", in the non-progression of American Life.

B. Crittenden Freeman said:

As to the resolution/ending of the Crowley/Gates conflict:
1. An authority figures (President) steps in and models maturity
2. Both sides "let go" of their hurt and anger and righteousness.
3. A political statement of "stepping to the higher spiritual ground" is made.
4. The rishing emotionality is defused.

Well done by Barack Obama. Well done!!! All of it well planned and intentional from the very moment he was asked the question at his press conference.

=================================================================

The etymology of nigger is often traced to the Latin niger, meaning black. The Latin niger became the noun negro (black person) in English, and simply the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. In Early Modern French niger became negre and, later, negress (black woman) was clearly a part of lexical history. One can compare to negre the derogatory nigger – and earlier English variants such as negar, neegar, neger, and niggor – which developed into a parallel lexico-semantic reality in English. It is likely that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the white Southern mispronunciation of Negro. Whatever its origins, by the early 1800s it was firmly established as a denigrative epithet. Almost two centuries later, it remains a chief symbol of white racism.

Social scientists refer to words like nigger, kike, spic, and wetback as ethnophaulisms. Such terms are the language of prejudice – verbal pictures of negative stereotypes. Howard J. Ehrlich, a social scientist, argued that ethnophaulisms are of three types: disparaging nicknames (chink, dago, nigger, and so forth); explicit group devaluations ("Jew him down," or "niggering the land"); and irrelevant ethnic names used as a mild disparagement ("jewbird" for cuckoos having prominent beaks or "Irish confetti" for bricks thrown in a fight).3 All racial and ethnic groups have been victimized by racial slurs; however, no American group has suffered as many racial epithets as have blacks: coon, tom, savage, picanniny, mammy, buck, sambo, jigaboo, and buckwheat are typical.4 Many of these slurs became fully developed pseudo-scientific, literary, cinematic, and everyday caricatures of African Americans. These caricatures, whether spoken, written, or reproduced in material objects, reflect the extent, the vast network, of anti-black prejudice.

The word nigger carries with it much of the hatred and repulsion directed toward Africans and African Americans. Historically, nigger defined, limited, and mocked African Americans. It was a term of exclusion, a verbal justification for discrimination. Whether used as a noun, verb, or adjective, it reinforced the stereotype of the lazy, stupid, dirty, worthless parasite. No other American ethnophaulism carried so much purposeful venom, as the following representative list suggests:

Nigger, v. To wear out, spoil or destroy.
Niggerish, adj. Acting in an indolent and irresponsible manner.
Niggerlipping, v. Wetting the end of a cigarette while smoking it.
Niggerlover, n. Derogatory term aimed at whites lacking in the necessary loathing of blacks.
Nigger luck, n. Exceptionally good luck, emphasis on undeserved.
Nigger-flicker, n. A small knife or razor with one side heavily taped to preserve the user's fingers.
Nigger heaven, n. a designated place, usually the balcony, where blacks were forced to sit, for example, in an integrated movie theater or church.
Nigger knocker, n. axe handle or weapon made from an axe handle.
Nigger rich, adj, Deeply in debt but ostentatious.
Nigger shooter, n. A slingshot.
Nigger steak, n. a slice of liver or a cheap piece of meat.
Nigger stick, n. police officer's baton.
Nigger tip, n. leaving a small tip or no tip in a restaurant.
Nigger in the woodpile, n. a concealed motive or unknown factor affecting a situation in an adverse way.
Nigger work, n. Demeaning, menial tasks.5

Remember the song from the B'way Musical Hair?I'm a
Colored spade
A nigger
A black nigger
A jungle bunny
Jigaboo coon
Pickaninny mau mau

Uncle Tom
Aunt Jemima
Little Black Sambo

Cotton pickin'
Swamp guinea
Junk man
Shoeshine boy

Elevator operator
Table cleaner at Horn & Hardart
Slave voodoo
Zombie
Ubangi lipped

Flat nose
Tap dancin'
Resident of Harlem

And president of
The United States of Love
President of
The United States of Love

(and if you ask him to dinner you're going to feed him:)

Watermelon
Hominy grits
An' shortnin' bread
Alligator ribs
Some pig tails
Some black eyed peas
Some chili
Some collard greens

And if you don't watch out
This boogie man will get you
Booooooooo!
===================================================
And how about Spike Lee's examination of "All That Jazz" in his film
"Bamboozled"? showing how ALL SIDES are BAMBOOZLED!

So, what are you, I we them consciously choosing in the usage of "The N word" and "NIGGER"?

Ciao

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

So the etymology of the word is Negro, thus black in Spanish. Apparently is was mispronounced, thus you would hear, negra, nigger or some variation. One thing is for sure no one knows its origins and that's all I ever suggested. All of the rest of the associations have been defined by someone else. The definitions were just made up as time passed. I know for a fact my grand father whom I knew intimately referred to all so called black people as niggers and he was born in 1894 and he was educated. I know he never meant any malcontent by it. So by his definition the word nigger meant something else. I know scores of people even until this day that refer to any person of color, including themselves as niggers, with no ill will. I know people who refer to all human as niggers and they may or may not mean harm.

All my life I have heard and used the word. Depending on the inflection, intonation and context I was able to discern rather it was being used in a positive or negative light. Yet, again I am still talking about definitions. I know the younger generations have yet redefined the word and they use it liberally and one would still have to understand the context to know what definition was being implied.

So we can establish that with all he negativity associated with the word nigger there is also a great deal of affection associated with in as in the term of endearment, "my nigger" . Even the phrase "nigger please" can take on different connotations depending again on the context, inflection and intonation. Just as you posted the negative uses of the word, I can post an equal number of how the word is used affectionately, even to represent love and sometimes it is used while "making love".

One can see right away this can generate a lot of emotion and energy. Yet, all of this is based on someone's definition of a word that no one can tell me where it came from with any authority. That indicates that the person hearing the word has to add their own value to it and by doing so they will have to apply a definition.

I cannot argue an opinion of rather it is right or wrong to use the word. That is personal choice and I am a free person. No one else can tell me what the word means so no one else can define it for me. Wow this gets really interesting. I wonder how many more tags, labels and names we have accepted without proper investigation. In other words have people done the same amount of research on race as they have on the word nigger? However and I maintain that the word doesn't mean anything.