[pessimizer]

> The N-word has been reclaimed by people of color, but remains taboo for others to say.

The "N-word" was never reclaimed by black people, we always said it, and it always means something different than when said by a non-black person (and there was never a "hard-r" or a "soft-r," that's just a mockery of black dialects.) It's like the word "bitch." If a woman calls another woman a "bitch," she's obviously not demeaning her for being a women.

Also, the "N-word" was not a swear word for non-black people. It was a word to demean black people, who were demeaned by consensus by the majority of the population of the Anglo-American world. It was also used for any dark-skinned person that they didn't think of as fully human, as it was the prevailing slur during the US-Philippine War.

The "N-word" has become a swear word for non-black people because the consensus about black people has changed for the moment, and using it indicates a particular political position on race. It has been a perennial issue for non-black people to complain about because white people want a place in the oppression olympics, and it's really hard to find something that they've ever been officially restricted from doing.

[eszed]

This is a best-of comment, and I'm glad I waded through the rest of the dreck in the thread to find it. Thank you.

[Edit] Thinking through your final paragraph a bit more, there are "oppressions" (and I'm putting that in scare-quotes, because I think it's too strong a word; I'd say something like "prejudices" or "restricted opportunities") which some (USA) white people accurately perceive being applied to them. Those are based around class markers (think: what schools someone went to, what accent they have, what body-type they are), not race. Accurately understanding that would require / create an entirely different sociological paradigm.

[_bin_]

I don’t think bitch is an appropriate parallel because I hear women use it in both insulting and friendly senses. And while I think a word being taboo for some but not others is silly, it doesn’t constitute oppression. For instance, I don’t think you should cancel some kid for singing along to his favorite rap song.

Regardless, I think using either word is in poor taste.