https://www.quora.com/Why-can-Black-people-use-the-N-word-in-casual-conversation-but-White-people-should-not/answer/Bobby-Strickland-2

and

https://www.quora.com/Why-can-Black-people-use-the-N-word-in-casual-conversation-but-White-people-should-not/answer/Javier-Bustamante-5/comment/13983357

I mean, I knew the n word was pervasive not too long ago in the US, and I believe I had seen a couple of pics of old product ads using it (on TWW), but I had no idea it (and other derogatory/racist expressions and symbolism/pictures) was used so extensively and openly by so many manufacturers of such a huge variety of products both as part of the product name and in ads.

Damn, that's some seriously reprehensible shit. Makes me wonder how it was so widely accepted by all levels of society.

Also makes me wonder what % of people who were born in the 90s and later (both white and black) know about the existence of such products and ads not long before they were born.

P.S. All 100+ answers: https://www.quora.com/Why-can-Black-people-use-the-N-word-in-casual-conversation-but-White-people-should-not

[Edited on November 8, 2015 at 8:22 PM. Reason : ]

11/8/2015 8:22:10 PM

Quote :

" Also makes me wonder what % of people who were born in the 90s and later (both white and black) know about the existence of such products and ads not long before they were born. "

Anybody who grew up in the South knows more than they'd probably like to about this subject.

I do know a guy from Scottsboro who didn't know about the Scottsboro boys, but the general themes at least are definitely explored extensively by all public school students in the American South.


And that trash is still openly for sale in certain places. I mean, I know black people collect the stuff as a way of remembering and whatnot, but I don't think they're buying new stuff from gas stations in East Tennessee. In fact, I don't think anybody's buying it--it's just a way for shopkeepers to send a message about who is and isn't welcome.

11/8/2015 9:08:01 PM

I don't see how this one is racist....

11/8/2015 9:26:02 PM

^ not racist, but definitely highly stereotypical, which only leads to incitement to hate and violence.

11/8/2015 9:43:15 PM

back in the early 90's, i was in a car with an old lady (80+) from church (grew up in rural NC outside greensboro). she referred to a house we drove by as being made from "nigger noggins." the exterior was all rounded fieldstone set in a mortar. my jaw straight dropped.

11/8/2015 10:52:49 PM

^^^ of course you wouldn't. broken english, eating fried chicken. what more of a clue would it take?

[Edited on November 8, 2015 at 10:53 PM. Reason : ^]

11/8/2015 10:52:58 PM

^thats also about the least racist one of the ones in those links. though I think the Dove soap one might not be that bad, maybe just bad coincidence of the order of the ladies?

11/8/2015 10:56:48 PM

Quote :

"I mean, I knew the n word was pervasive not too long ago in the US"

Those ads are all from a pretty long time ago.

11/9/2015 12:05:09 AM

^^^^My friend's father used to chide me for "nigga jogging" off the court. Another girl was also apparently guilty of "nigga lipping" her water bottle. He was younger and generally sucked all-around as a person.

^^The Dove one is really unfortunate. That was probably their attempt to be diverse and inclusive, and somebody dropped the ball.

11/9/2015 12:09:47 AM

99% of living americans, regardless of race, either have never seen this shit in real life (unless it was part of some historic display) or if they do remember it, they look back on it with disgust.

Now let me tell you about my great grandmother... she was a kind soul who lived through a bunch of crazy shit. she was born in 1903 rural, mountainous virginia, less than a mule's dick from west va. (this is an actual measurement term i heard when i was up there from a local.) The first time she saw an automobile (ever) she was 7 or 8 and literally jumped into a ditch on the side of the road because she was scared shitless.

She was married at the age of 19 to a mid-70's aged man because her family thought he was rich because he came from "the other side of the mountain." (he was born before the civil war... he was my great grandfather). Obviously she was a young widow, and she made a living doing what she could with a 3rd grade education. At one point she was driving a big rig with some sort of odd double-clutch transmission (her words... i'm not a gearhead from the 30's so i don't really know what she meant)

anyway, her background wasn't the typical coming of age story that those of us born in the 70's and 80's are accustomed to. When i was around 10 or 12, we were visiting her and I picked up a nut from her nut tray (which was always on her coffee table) and started to crack it... i asked her what kind of nut it was that i was crunching... she responded "a nigger toe"

WHAT?! i said to her that she shouldn't be racist... she took out her flyswatter and gave me several good whacks on the leg and told me that's not an accusation i should make out of the blue and that she fought for equal rights way before anyone had ever heard of the civil rights movement... she told me that everyone was poor where she was from and nobody in their right mind would base any decisions on race (that's a paraphrase... she gave a long drawn out talk about egg trading and game sharing)

i guess my point is that the "n-word" has not always been seen by everyone as insta-racist. of course using it today is completely uncalled for because that is what our culture sees it as. and i don't know the complete history of the word, and i know by the time my great grandmother was born, mainstream culture did consider it demeaning, but people like my great grandmother grew up in a different time - and way back when, backwoods rural Appalachia was not known for keeping up with current trends.

well, she said a phrase that I judged harshly through a lens of contemporary upbringing and education. I've almost forgotten the point of my story now, but viewing historic things like this from a modern viewpoint is always going to be shocking.




[Edited on November 9, 2015 at 12:27 AM. Reason : ]

11/9/2015 12:24:18 AM

Yes, and I'd argue that most people stopped saying it primarily cause they didn't want to be confused for uneducated folks, not because they actually developed some kind of awareness or concern about racial injustice.

11/9/2015 12:40:00 AM

cool story bro!

so approximately how long is a mule's dick? (the unit, not literally)

11/9/2015 12:40:23 AM

i think it is (or was) a common expression up there for anything less than a mile (but i didn't grow up there so as an outsider they wouldn't give me precise figures)

11/9/2015 12:47:20 AM

I think allowing black people to use the N-word was part of the reparations deal.

11/9/2015 10:47:05 AM

My grandma used to call these nigger tits like it was their actual product name.

[Edited on November 9, 2015 at 12:10 PM. Reason : sorry if oversized]

11/9/2015 12:09:34 PM

Quote :

", which only leads to incitement to hate and violence"

LOL, joke much?

To be fair African-Americans do seem to love fried chicken. On one of my old commutes in Charlotte, I drove from Plaza Midwood to Harris Blvd via Plaza, N. Tryon, and Sugarcreek Rd through a pre-dominantly/traditionally African-American
neighborhood. There had to have been at least 7-8 fried chicken places.

Booties soul food and fried chicken
Chicken King
USA Chicken
Queen City Chicken
Chicken Box

to name a few....

Sometimes stereotypes exist for a reason. Shit there is plenty of stereotypes and Jokes (just watch South Park Season 19 Ep. 3) about white yuppies and their lattes, tapas, pumpkin-peach oatmeal pale ale craft beers, etc.

Quote :

"hough I think the Dove soap one might not be that bad, maybe just bad coincidence of the order of the ladies"

yeah if it weren't in the context of the trully racist ads, I'd never pick up on the Dove one. Think it is just a coincedence
on the ordering... lighten up people.

11/9/2015 12:40:03 PM

Never have and never will buy into the whole "it's our word" mentality. I don't give a fuck what mouth it comes out of. If you don't accept its usage, then you don't accept it from anyone. If you do accept its usage, then you accept it from everyone.

Oh, when I use it, I'm racist, but when you use it, you're implying your personal "black person" interpretation of the word? Interesting, because that's the exact argument many rednecks make in support of flying the Stars and Bars.

Fuck double standards.

11/9/2015 1:17:46 PM

Quote :

"lighten up people."

dude come on...

11/9/2015 4:40:07 PM

^LOL

Seriously though, someone got paid a buncha money to make that ad not racist, and they blew it big time.

And LOL @ Kickstand.

11/9/2015 7:14:46 PM

Quote :

"To be fair African-Americans do seem to love fried chicken."

And what race of people doesn't eat fried chicken? You're such a clueless dick hole.

11/9/2015 8:09:57 PM

I dont. I prefer pumkin lattes and farm sourced orgaincally raised vegetables over my quinoa.

11/9/2015 10:10:01 PM

Way to exploit the indigenous people of the Andes with your quinoa. I put my locally sourced, farm to table, non-GMO, vegan butter sauteed vegetables over polenta.

Racist.

11/9/2015 11:26:59 PM

All this fucking bullshit whimpering about the sensitivities of others, #BLM, attitudes that one should never being offended along with other PC shit are all issues with liberals that disenfranchise many who would otherwise support other important liberal agenda.

It's like the left equivalent of conservatives bitching about abortion.

Agenda items like the environment, wall street reform, funding education, crushing citizens united, etc

[Edited on November 9, 2015 at 11:47 PM. Reason : J]

11/9/2015 11:46:07 PM

Quote :

"...attitudes that one should never being offended along with other PC shit are all issues with liberals ..."

Why do you single out liberals? It's far from unique to liberals. Conservatives bitch about perceived bias in the media, conservative Christians whine they are persecuted, even bitching about Starbuck's cups. Conservatives complain about some people being offended by the Confederate flag, but when someone burns an American flag, they're suddenly offended to the point of violence. Conservatives have their share of PC bullshit, too.

11/10/2015 12:43:27 AM

Actually, never mind; we were actually responding to each other in different threads at about the same time:

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=641662&page=10

I guess we're somewhat in agreement after all.

11/10/2015 12:46:30 AM

From tsb:

Yeah I was thinking about this over the last week as well. As much as agree with conservatives that all this PC and acceptance shit pushed by certain elements of the progressive/liberal camp (I consider myself progressive on many if not most topics), conservatives are just as bad!

While elements of the liberal camp are crying about some boy in a dress not being able to use the little girls room, getting bent out of shape over a stupid flag flown by ignorant inbred rednecks in south Carolina, or something being misconstrued are "racist" or " offensive". Instead conservatives bitch about how a boob on TV corrupts children, outrage on saying "shit" on TV, Starbucks hates Jesus for not having holiday decorations on their cups, etc

Honestly the Starbucks thing is a toss up for me. While I cringe at Starbucks rationale regarding not wanting to "offend" someone blah blah blah, I also find the conservative recant about the war on Xmas absurd. If you don't agree with Starbucks pussy scared cups designed not to offend non Christmas celebrates then don't go to Starbucks. Fortuante for me in Portland there are like 20 other non-Starbuck coffee shops. This rolling over for PC purposes is just another reason for me not to patronage Starbucks. I have to respect, however, Starbucks corporate gamble/strategy to do this.

As conservatives they should respect the free market

11/10/2015 1:05:25 AM

Quote :

"I dont. I prefer pumkin lattes and farm sourced orgaincally raised vegetables over my quinoa."

So you're a race of people. Got it.


[Edited on November 10, 2015 at 10:32 AM. Reason : ERMAGERD!!!!! YOU LIVE IN PORTLAND!!!!! NO WAI!!!!]

11/10/2015 10:31:22 AM