Beyond Boundaries

When it comes to the use of the word "nigga" in everyday communication, it's not that it's racist when used by a white guy, I mean, sure, it is seen as racist, but the fact is that "nigga" is a tribal word so you're not supposed to use it if you're not of that tribe.

When a black man says "nigga" to another black man, it's an acknowledgement of their common struggle: the constant oppression and discrimination they have suffered and still suffer through their current lives. It's incoherent if a white person says it.

There's also a way to associate this tribality with historical events, but it's unnecessary as even if you don't attach the past to current events, the situation of today's blacks remains just as dire and in need of improvement.

In a weird analogy, it's like calling someone a maestro (as in an orchestra's maestro) when they're not. It's offensive to anyone who's involved in classical music. It's a matter of a closed culture, of a background, of honor and of deservingness.

Likewise, when someone who's not black uses the word "nigga" to refer to anyone else, they're trespassing on that kind of cultural territory. That's confused with "it's always racist" because it's offensive, but it's always offensive regardless of it being racist, which means that the intent of the non-black speaker doesn't change how intrusive they're being.

It's not like people can explain this easily, but I just understood it, so I thought of sharing this idea. It's a lot better than "you just can't use it!" This article should be fine as a meta-communication analysis.

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