No Honour Amongst Weaves

Cracker. White bread. Casper. Haole. Honky. Peckerwood. Hebe. Mick. Dago. Wop. Greaser. Gook. Chink. Beaner. Wetback. Hadji. Punjab. Towel head. Camel jockey. Coon. Jungle bunny. Porch monkey. Moon cricket. Spear chucker...

Nigger.

It's been called the most offensive word in the English language. For the life of me I can't think of another racial slur that has caused more hurt or more controversy. But is it the root of all racial slurs, or just a word that I hear daily in the movies, on television, on the radio, and as I'm walking down the street?

It is at least 200 years old and has changed in much the same way as how Saint Nicholas has evolved into Santa Claus throughout the years. It started as Negro, the latin word for black. It was pronounced in certain British dialects as Neger which came over to the colonies and then with just a hint of Southern twang added it became Nigger which has evolved in recent years into Nig, Nigga, and Nyucka (And for whites who wish to be hip without offending, Ninja. As in, "Wassup my Ninja?") Therein lies my problem. Most blacks think that a caucasian saying this word is tantamount to bigotry and pure evil. But is this word really what is causing all the problems?

The fact of the matter is, it's just a word. Just like a cuss word it only has power if you give it some. James Baldwin said that, "You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger." 60 years ago being a nigger meant you were nobody. Now it means that you ARE somebody. Not only have black people overcome most of the hurdles in front of them in America but they have taken this pinnacle of bigotry and turned it into a term of endearment. It is the black, or rather I should say hip-hop or urban, equivalent of the word, "Dude."

Unless a white person says it. Then all that old hatred comes back. There are those that would argue that saying nigger should only be allowable by blacks. To this I say, do you approve of racism? If you took a poll of every black person in the country and asked them if racism was OK I can almost guaran-damn-ty that the answer would be 100% no. But by taking a word and saying that a person can't say it solely based on the color of their skin is racism at its' very definition.

It's called connotation people. If a friend of mine comes up to me and says, "How's it going tubby?" I don't get offended. So if a white person comes up to you tomorrow and says, "What's up, nigger?" don't get mad. It doesn't mean that you're oppressed. It doesn't mean the white man views you as a piece of property. It just means that you're black (And chances are they're just trying to relate) and guess what? You are black, friend! Be proud of that. Our differences make us who we are.

I'm not saying that black people didn't go through some shit. But so has everybody else. I know that most black people don't have enough time to break us crackers down into groups but there's racism and hatred even just amongst white people. The Italians were treated like shit when they got here and now guess what? They're responsible for the largest video game dynasty of all time. That's right, the Super Mario fucking Brothers. You have a stereotypical Italian plumber trying to save the world from Goombahs (Which by the way is a slur against Italians.) It doesn't matter that Mario looks oddly like Saddam Hussein, most Italians aren't bitching about it. My ancestors were Irish and they were oppressed a whole lot longer than the slaves in America and we don't even get a whole month to celebrate our history, do we? We get St. Patrick's day. Do we bitch about it? No. We drink whiskey and go back to work. I don't think anyone on the planet was enslaved longer than the Jews but does it bother one when you call him a kike? No, they're too busy counting money. Does it bother a Mexican when the stuff they have to clean with is called, "SPIC and span"? No. They're too busy doing shitty jobs for minimal money that white and black people would rather sit back on their fat asses and collect welfare than do.

I remember when France was disapproving of the war and I saw all kinds of black Americans on TV talking shit about France. Well guess what, if it weren't for France black Americans would still be property just like women are. Which brings me to my next point, there are older and worse prejudices than racism, including sexism.

I think the big thing that all this stems from is wealth too. I think the monetary class system divides America more than racism ever can. Rich people oppress poor people, tale as old as time. The problem is that most poor people in America happen to be black so people get the issue confused. There aren't many true racists in America, including the KKK.

The KKK isn't really racist, just ignorant and lazy. But most importantly, I'd bet dollars to pesos that most of them aren't all that wealthy. Most of them don't really hate non-whites but they lost a construction job to a Mexican and they're too ignorant to blame the rich white guy who owns the construction company who is hiring illegal immigrants so he can have more money for himself instead of the guy willing to work for next to nothing. If the KKK were truly racist they wouldn't eat at restaurants where non-whites prepared food, buy piece of shit cars from junk yards that blacks own, shop at gas stations that people from the Middle East operate, or eat fruit that a Mexican picked. If they were really racist they would go off and find a place where they could settle down and not allow any non-whites in. I hope they do. Hell, there's already an island that's got Cracker in the name, Krakatoa.

In conclusion, we whites like you black people. That's why we've emulated your food, music, and culture. This is just one more piece of the puzzle that moves us toward racial harmony. To paraphrase Edward Furlong's character in American History X, you should always end with a quote, because somebody else has probably already said it better. So to the people who no matter what are going to label this writing as offensive, racist, and insensitive I say this.

"Nigga please." -Anonymous

Until next time, True Believers...
The bottle is empty
And the well is dry
February 2008

Back to Articles
Back Home