Let's talk about Vice Magazine

Why should it? What's so great about that word?

Jesus, Momus, you can't claim both that the usage is for the scene, and is being carefully handled by licensed word-smiths, AND it's for the community (which I'm assuming is at least the 90% of the US outside NY), where it will bring great healing. Make your mind up.

also, since when did stockholm syndrome redeem a word?

We (and by 'we' I mean fags, non-fags, art fags and Vice readers) are a lot quicker and more creative when it comes to messing with language than Bushites in pickup trucks.

You are, at very best, not paying enough attention to the people you speak for.

Momus, have you seen Kentucky Fried Movie?

It starts on the scene (and it's not all thought-out, it just happens because of stuff like camp and irony) and spreads out from there. I don't see any contradiction here.

Momus, this whole "blunting" word-reclamation idea is like a man telling his wife that if he rapes her very carefully every night it won't be as terrible when someone does it for
real.

Nabisco, who's being silly now? Come on, what did you make of my reference to your point on the Nader / Bush thread?

So yes, I think the Nader-thread comparison is spot-on: what is this meant to accomplish, beyond making money tittillating people by saying words they don't think they're allowed to hear?

So let's also add that his "recontextualization" scheme is preaching to a choir -- it has no effect on the people who claim these as actually-hateful words apart from giving them the impression that they're completely right and even the fags and the niggers can see that.

If a person uses it in conversation with me it depends again. If they're not black, well, firm request and if they don't stop or seem to relish it I usually stop talking to them but this happens rarely. If they're black, as I said, most black people who use the word still often don't do it talking to people who aren't, and hardly anybody really minds of I ask 'em not to. I mean it's a respect thing. If I respect you, I don't wanna hear language that disrespects yourself. (er, grammar allowing for clarity of thought there). & if you respect me, you're just sensitive to that whether or not I go through a whole round of argument with you on the generalities of it.

Also two days ago I was driving with my girlfriend and her little sister (13) who allovasudden starts quoting Busta Rhymes lyrics and uses the word and we both just got sort of shocked and gave her a talking to. The thing that she knows better than to ever use the word to refer to herself, but she doesn't quite get what it means in a broader social context, just that it's somehow "forbidden". She's also got a nearly completely white group of friends and is in somewhat of a bubble as to what it means to be black beyond a suburban jr. high.

I don't know the point of that story.

i mean, is it primarily because you would fear for your safety or because you would fear offending somebody?

Do you use it, though?

I mean like that's like if I say "I'm gonna kill you" and you say "man, stop threatening me" and I'm all like "no way, if I meant it I would have said 'going to' instead of 'gonna' because the two are completely different"

haha graham to thread!

gah sterling got in while i was posting, one moment dude!!

is it because there's still work to do? i mean, do we need oprah to start referring to martha stewart as "my nigga" before this wonderful utopian cleansing can begin? and if she did, and the word became as ordinary and as torpid as "lampshade", would that be a good thing?

U+K! U+K! U+K! U+K!

heh. i totally don't get it.

what "good" qualities might n-a with an "a" signify, simon?

sterl you know what nigga with an a means, you listen to rap, do you really not 'get' it every time its mentioned? its my crew, i love my niggas, thats all there is, sometimes ill talk about some nigga im impressed by, 'that nigga beat me at street fighter twelve times!!', its a term of love and respect, and ill bet anything vice dudes were saying nigga, theres a pretty long history of totally square news herbs not knowing theres such a word and transcribing it as nigger instead

GM: "Well, at least they’re not fucking niggers or Puerto Ricans. At least they’re white."

(Yeah, real affectionate.)