Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck Get Into it: Why Can’t I Use the N Word Too?
On The View this morning, Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck got into it about the N word. They were discussing that extra bit of tape Fox News had from Jesse Jackson’s sack slicing comment.
Haven’t heard? Jesse Jackson said niggas, instead of people. The hypocrisy of Jesse Jackson using the N word is obvious. What wasn’t obvious to Elisabeth Hasselbeck is that she (white people) can’t say nigga, so why can Jesse Jackson (black people) use it.
This is something I’ve heard on radio as well. Some people are upset that Jesse Jackson is ‘getting away’ with using nigga. Saying if Jesse Jackson was white, he would’ve been crucified Imus-style. Where’s the outrage? The blanket coverage?
View Girls Debate the N- Word
Here’s my take.. if we all agree that nigger (even if it’s spelled different) is a derogatory term, socially unacceptable because of its base in America’s racist past, but there are some black people that choose to call each other nigga, thinking it’s a term of endearment or even used as a hammer - then let them.
But no matter how familiar a white person is with a black friend, there will always be a wtf moment when that white friend jokingly says.. “Come on nigga, stop playing!”
Why would a white person want to go there?
It’s only going to be taken in the wrong way. Why go through the whole explanation of.. “I didn’t mean it like that?” Let black people toss it around amongst themselves and use another ‘friendly’ word. Why should I even quote that.. of course someone like Elisabeth Hasselbeck would only want to use it in the friendliest of ways.
It’s so childlike to say, “Why can’t I use it too?”
Here’s the answer.. because I said so. And this comes from someone who doesn’t use it at all.
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Shout to The Examiner.. I was looking everywhere for that clip.
☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼
White people kill me when they ask why can’t they use the word nigga too? So for all of you that don’t know here is the answer… are you ready…....... It is because you will get your ass kicked. Simple as that.
...quick question Chris, how can some black people expect to get respect from today’s society when some of them dont respect themselves, whether it be on tv, music or down the street?
I used to say that word on my younger days as a term of endearment but through all my experiences and the hardships that we all go thru, that word became obsolete in my vocab because i see it as ignorant. Please dont get me wrong, i do respect and pay close attention to everyones opinion and i dont feel that i have the answer to this but i just wanted to bounce this off you Chris as well as the person who posted before me.
Im looking for more understanding and it was a great start with Goldberg but i will say this, Hasselbeck, to me, just cant even phantom the idea of what we (blacks and Latinos) go thru every single day. We now get shot by police because its cloudy outside. She can save her crocodile tears and her “WE live in the same world” philosophy and take that BS somewhere else because she has no interest, desire nor the respect to walk down the Far Rock’s, the Bed-Stuys or the Castle Hills.
I guess I’m one of those people who is guilty of using the N-word on a daily basis. I could philosophize on its usage, and why its a term of endearment, or why its corrosive to the struggles of African Americans. I don’t think I can give a justification that people on both sides of the argument will agree with. What I can say is that some people give the word more power than it should have. There are so many words in our language that are derogatory in nature. But the English language is always changing and evolving. 13yrs ago no one knew what “bling” was and now its in the dictionary. Years ago the word “gay” meant happy, and now its a term associated with homosexuality. Words change meaning…but what people never change as fast as the meanings they create. The best way to get rid of the word if you don’t like it is to let go of its power. Sticks and stones my friends, sticks and stones…
Is it ok for a straight person to call a homosexual a fag? Lets say for argument sake, gays start using the term fag as a term of endearment amongs themselves. Would it be ok then for anyone to use it?
I’m curious, how does one justify two sets of rules for the use of this word? My opinion; Woopi enjoys using the specter of racism as a license to be condescending. If you debate with another person under the premise that they cannot possibly understand your perspective because of their skin color, that is offensive. Woopi is saying that skin color defines your experience in life and your ability to understand certain things, like the specific use of this word, and that is inherently racist. She is a contemptible fool at best, at worst, she’s worse.
Someone should ask Elizabeth why does she want to say it soooooo bad? Everytime someone (white) asks me why can’t they say the word, I tell them that they can and DO say it but you better not say it when I am around!
Hey Dave, How do cops justify their two sets of rules when the pull over blacks and whites??? There is no debate here get caught and get your ass beat.
Dave, unfortunately skin color in this country DOES define your experiences. We do not live in a colorblind society where every person has identical upbringings and experiences. So it is entirely possible that one person’s experience with a word entitles them to have a different perspective of it.
Even though MsMoni is correct, I just say get caught using it and get your ass beat nothing else. Just know you can’t use it.
White people played absolutely no role in the change that this word has undergone so to hear them use it is still very offensive. This is a result of our double standard society that was created by them. I’m sure if they could put a dollar value on words they’d buy this one and make billions off it just like they’ve done with our music, styles of dressing, and so on.
You know this is so stupid. Elisabeth is a racist I hate her views on things. She is all about White..“We Live in the Same World” What world is that? Show me how we live in the same world. Did your people get hung on a tree just because they were White? I think not. So the answer to can I use it is HELL NO you can’t use the world and don’t even use it while we are not around. Ask yourself what does this word mean when you use it. When Black people use the world it does not have the same meaning as it does when White people use it. So shut the F up.
I definitely understand what Whoopi is trying to say… I understand where she is coming from, but I also add that, I am Black, not African American, but a Black American, and I too have used the work N*GGA… I have also had the word used against me in a demeaning/ degrading manner, and until it happens to you, you have no “IDEA” and you definitely don’t “UNDERSTAND”... I grew up where we as Black people would use the word as a greeting/ term of endearment… That particular lingo was picked up back in the days where our great great relatives were owned by slaves, and that’s how they addressed Black people, as N*GGA’S, so Blacks just kept on going with it, because that’s what we were taught, to the point where it became a habit, and was taught to generations, and generations on down the line… And as we all know, habits are surely hard to break… That’s why you don’t see white people walking around greeting each other like, “What’s up CRACKER”... “THAT’S MY PIG”... or so forth and so on… They were never addressed like such in the first place, so to start to form it now, “YES” it would be offensive… N*GGA was how Black people were addressed before the word had meaning…
Fortunately, someone picked up the word N*GGA and gave it a meaning, (IGNORANT)... And by giving the word a meaning, it became a habit breaker for some Black people, it also became “OFFENSIVE” to most… I too have stopped saying it, but it occasionally slips, and I have to excuse myself, beg pardon, and re-address, but some of us, just aren’t there yet, and decide that the word is harmless (when used without malice intent).
I can not stand and I must say hate with a passion, anyone outside of the Black race that uses the word N*GGA, or wants to know why it is okay for Blacks to say it and not others… It is not okay for anyone to say it, but because of the ass whippings and lashings that our great relatives took, (in as ignorant as this sounds)we
have the right to say it… we know what it means, and again some of us choose to still say it, most don’t but other races better not…
That is the same with Hispanics, and the word “SPIC”... that’s the Latino version of the word NIGGA, and they get just as crazy as we do, when called one… They are just a little more tammed on using the word as freely as we use N*GGA.
Walk up to a Caucasian person and say “What’s up Cracker”... or “What’s up Honkey”, and look at their facial expression… They will look at you as if you’d lost your mind, but it’s the same thing…
SO LIZ, THAT IS WHY YOU AND GRACE CAN NOT WALK AROUND AND HOLLAR “WHAT’S UP MY NIGGA”, CAUSE NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORD, NOT ONLY DID YOUR GREAT RELATIVES GET THEIR ASS WHIPPED BECASUE THEY DID NOT WANT TO BE CALLED THAT WORD, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF YOUR SKIN COLOR YOU WERE CALLED THAT WORD, BUT YOU AND GRACE WILL MOST DEFINITELY WEAR THE GREATEST ASS WHIPPING YOU’VE EVER EXPERIENCED IN YOUR LIFE…
And P.S. _ Black folks like to put their foot up your ass, so I wouldn’t go to the line with this one… This is just one of those things that you and other’s like you will never understand so let it go… Don’t try to find a meaning, don’t ponder any longer… Just let it go Boo…!
Dee from Jacksonville, FL
I like both of your styles and respect them but I am just going to say to those white people that want to use it so bad “USE IT AND GET YOUR ASS KICKED”. I ain’t gonna explain it, give no reason, just don’t get caught using it. The ones that are questioning why they can’t use it are just itching to use so I suggest to them go right in the center of some NIGGAS and just use it that’s all.
This controversy goes to show that blacks and whites simply have separate cultures. Some things are similar but some things just are different. I personally do not use the “n” word and don’t allow my children to either (we are black and Mexican-as if this gives us validity in our stance). I totally understand what people (whites, black middle class, or just non “n” word sayers in general) mean when they say black people who use the word do not respect themselves, but again, that is us using our set of values to understand them. We just have to recognize that we have differences in opinions, values, cultures (whatever it may be).
If ol girl wanna know why she cant say it,then she need to go ahead and try it,but she knows better.
I use the word daily when speaking among my homies and other people in the street,but i don’t use it in public places where there is a lot of whites or professional blacks.Although i use it,my kid knows it is like a cuss word,so i haven’t had a problem,do as daddy say not as daddy do.
Much respect to my black people who don’t tolerate the word but more emphasis need to be given to those that allow the word to become mainstream,because everybody is not from the hood and all black people don’t use the word and yet it is in music,movies,and books constantly making it seem more acceptable to use.
If Elizabeth wants to believe it’s OK, or should be OK, to call someone a Ni***, I think she ought to skip her happy ass right out there on to the football field with her husband and start calling all his teammates Ni***‘s! Then let’s see what she has to say on the View about that experience the next morning! I’m a white woman and can’t watch that show any longer because of the women that sit on its panel. But Elizabeth is by far the most annoying, she’s obnoxious and whiny, and who for some reason believes that because she sits in front of a TV camera, people care about what she thinks or says.
Let’s talk when she leaves the field!!
WOW!! I dont get this argument. The use of your vocabulary reflects directly on you. How you speak, regardless of your excuse, creates an image that you create about yourself. If you can tolerate the treatment you then receive based on opinions formed about you due to your less than creative vocabulary then speak out. Why do prejudices continue to exist? Because the “victims” dont want equal rights, they want more. And I ask Whoopi, was your mom unable to vote because she was black or because she was a woman? Either way, get over it. People are openly persecuted every day for religion, color, race, and sexuality. Stop complaining about the past when you are dragging it out and keeping it live.
Jamie prejudices exist because white people fear us. To say that the victim is the reason is pretty stupid. Why does rape still exist is it because of the victim??? Is it because the women that are raped want more rights then the man that raped them??? Why do you want us to stop complaining when the shit still exist today they only hide what they do instead of being openly racist. Bottom line don’t speak on something you know nothing about.
Heres an idea let just stop using the word all together it kills me to hear people of my own race use that word amongst ourselves. My thing is we fought so hard for the whites to stop callin us that why the crap would you say to our selves
that white lady is retarded . . . and i am a white lady. she gives us a bad name, but then again it just proves whoopi’s point further. sad.
I just don’t know what the point is…
Really, does it help?
Does it heal?
What does it do but divide?
I don’t really think much about the color thing (but I don’t pretend that the world has no color), but when I hear that kind of thing it reminds me of the divide.
Not to get too crazy, but many white people have given to the cause.
I just think it doesn’t help.
But if a wedge is what you want, keep drivin’ it home.
People who get offended by one word should be banned from the country. Ever heard of free speech? Nigger Nigger Nigger Nigger Nigger Nigger. Now everybody will call me racist.
Why would you want to intentionally offend someone? We know that the n word is offensive so why do people continue to use it, just because we have free speech? That’s really childish, ignorant, and cruel. I mean seriously if it makes you feel better about your self by degrading another race, then you are sick. That’s so wrong, slavery was a cruel and terrible event why would you want to make a whole race’s wounds even deeper?