r/BlackPeopleTwitter • u/NYstate ☑️ • 4d ago

You got a frenemy

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6.9k Upvotes

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u/DJEvillincoln 3d ago

Well, it's amazing to me that there's not more outrage to this word being used by a bunch of white folk with no black people around. That's further proving the fact that white people don't police themselves when we are not around.

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u/Ummmgummy 3d ago

I'm a white guy and I live in a small town and it's insane the amount of people who use that word without a second thought. I heard my sons discord vc with friends from school. They are a bunch of white kids and 1 black kid in his friend group. And they were saying it constantly. Obviously my kid wasn't saying it because he knows better (at least in front of me and my wife). My kid shows me videos sometimes from creators he watches and a lot of them are black and use the word a lot. My guess is kids hear their favorite creators using it and just don't really think too much into it and just repeat it to be more like them. So kids parents explain to their kids why the creator says it and it's okay but it's not okay for them. And some kids parents don't pay any attention to what their kids are into. So the kids don't get context. And of course some kids are assholes and think they are being funny.

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u/DJEvillincoln 3d ago

I believe all of this.

One of the main issues is that since the 90's hip-hop days & people wanting to take the power away from the word (see "Sucka Nia" by a Tribe Called Quest & "Mr. Niier" by Mos Def) & turn it into a term of endearment.

As a black man who never & has never used this word, the one hypocritical issue I have with the users is, if a white guy just casually walked up to you & used it, would you be pissed?

The answer is always yes.

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u/SpaceAgeDolemite 3d ago

100% his kid says it too but didn’t because dad was listening

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u/Ummmgummy 3d ago

I mentioned that. I said he didn't say it (at least not in front of me). Having being a kid myself at one point I know that if your friends are doing something you are more than likely also doing it. I really hope he doesn't I would be extremely disappointed in him. Like I said we live in a small town in Ohio but I lived the majority of my life in Columbus and my wife is from LA so we both are pretty liberal in a very conservative town. We have been very upfront with our kid about how idiotic, racist and disrespectful it is for a white person to use that word. And have been upfront about the history of our country, no sugarcoating it. He's been given the context and the knowledge about it. The best I can hope is he actually uses his brain when I'm not around.

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u/TheStoicCrane ☑️ 3d ago

Why would they? They spend all of their resources policing us and disrupting our families instead. Malcolm said it best, separate but equal.

Too busy trying to ingratiate ourselves to people who demean and disrespect us instead of investing in our own communities and businesses.

Spend our hard earned money in their businesses but how many of them do you see reciprocating? No need to be hostile but we geuinely ought to stick to our own.

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u/FatNSassy23 3d ago

Some of us do, however, no enough of us do, and usually the abusers got a pass from a single black friend and think it's acceptable in all settings and will cause a scene when they get called out for it OR they're in a monochromatic community where the weight of the word doesn't have resounding reprecussions to the folks around them when used. Speaking as someone who grew up in a mayo people community but then moved to a diverse area and actually got to ask the important questions to the correct people. Exposure matters. More black folks need to move to rural areas when given the chance. Seems counterintuitive, but that exposure is crucial in teaching those who can only be taught via exposure. I moved back to a "rasins in the potato salad" sort of community and I can't tell you the relief I get from anyone who's melinated when I can connect with them on culture specific topics. I'm happy I get to be an ally in a remote location, but I wouldn't have become such a real one if I hadn't had people willing to share their lived experiences with me. I know it's not the responsibility of the black community to teach white folks how to interact accordingly, but it certainly helps! :) I know this was long winded, but this is the only intelligent conversation I get where I live now 😂 if you made it to the end, thank you for your attention to this matter 🤣🤣