>Bravo!!!!! I am glad to see
>some real thought provoking comments
>across the board here.
>This is the type of
>Dialogue that i dig.
>I would just like to
>add that, first, on the
>use of the word nigga....I
>dont know where i stand
>in the end...because im on
>the fence...i do believe in
>"reclaiming the word"...though many call
>that a weak attempt to
>justify the use....I believe that
>words are just that...words....whether they
>come from Black people...white people...yellow
>people...we as people are far
>too advanced to be squabbling
>over words.. I believe
>that true power belongs to
>he/she that can accept all
>of these words, without taking
>offense...the same way we take
>ownership over fuck, shit, damn,
>we should take ownership over
>the word nigga...we know of
>its disgusting meaning in the
>past, but it is 2001,
>and i believe it is
>now a testament to our
>survival. Weve taken the worst
>and most derogative thing that
>THEY had against us, and
>flipped it on them. How
>strong are we? No
>weapon formed against us shall
>prosper. and i know this
>is the age old defense,
>but, lets not forget, the
>word Nigga does not mean
>black, and quite frankly, we
>have taken plenty other words
>and transformed them to mean
>something that we can embrace
>(i.e. dope, fresh, hype, phat)...we
>are our own people, and
>we should hold ourselves to
>our standards, no one elses...

Thank you for your message. Though I usually find the "reclaiming the word" argument worse than weak, you have made a very intelligent and convincing comment. I was going to ask about the white people saying it thing again, but you seem to have taken even that into account.

I guess the reason I would still beg to differ is that, though we've come so far, we've still got so far to go mentally, as I'm sure you would agree (considering your interest in Afrocentic schooling). I think the use of this word is a reflection of HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO. If you'll notice, people didn't start "reclaiming" the word during the conscious movement in rap heralded by people like PE. It happened around the time of NWA, the beginning of the gangsta age, when the negative aspects of black reality began to be emphasized and made prominent. I think you see where I'm going with this.

dp fans, note which two groups I mentioned and think about "I'm An African"...