Kttail said:

From the American Heritage Dictionary....
"nigger - vulgar- A Negro or member of any dark skinned people. An offensive term used derogatorily."

and a term I don't allow in my house, even from my wife.

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Search "e-bay" for the phrase "nigger" and see how many products that were manufactured that display black people in a positive, non-stereotypical role that use the phrase "nigger" in them. One that I recall is "little nigger bank" that is a hand-scuplted piece of ceramic or pottery from the early-mid 1800's. It wasn't designed to be offensive or racist in any way, it was just the "word of the times".



I'd be very interested to hear you elaborate on how exactly these 'nigger' products depict black people in a 'positive, non-stereotypical role', especially given the time they were made.

Taken from an interview (about his film Bamboozled) with Spike Lee:

Quote:

The end credits roll beside shots of racist toys and other artifacts that figured so prominently throughout the film. Among them is a chilling figurine called 'Gator-Bait', which depicts a large alligator and an African infant in its jaws. A noted collector, I ask Spike whether all the items in the movie were from his own collection.

"Not all of them, but I had a couple of things from before. When I started writing the script and during production I enhanced my collection. You have to be careful with this stuff, a lot of it is fake," Spike trails off. He pushes around the chocolate bars and candy, picking up little jars and setting them back down.

"But it's a booming industry and a lot of African-Americans are starting to collect these artifacts. They're called black collectibles. And for Bamboozled, when I was writing the script, I had an Aunt Jemima cookie jar on my left, and on my right was my Jolly Nigger Bank." The Bank is a porcelain figure of a black person that shoves coins into its wide-smiling mouth. Delacroix is haunted by the figure when, at the height of his guilt, the Jolly Nigger Bank begins to move on its own, jerking its hand to its mouth without the benefit of a coin.

Spike finally gives up and puts the basket of candies and jam down but he's already made his point. He was looking for the syrup.

"I felt that it's important that we acknowledge this stuff, study it," he says slowly, defending his collection in all its apparent morbidity. "Those sick minds?that's the way they thought of us as people. It's a reminder. You can still go to a supermarket and buy Aunt Jemima pancake box and Uncle Ben's rice too, you know?"

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Kttail said:

I see your point with it being used as a term of the times. However, when my wife uses either one it is used with a derogatory tone of voice and is not meant any other way.

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Quote:

On the other hand, some of the old crowd that my dad rode with would call each other "muthafucka" and it wasn't meant to be anything other than another way of saying "dude"!

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Quote:

I suppose what is confusing is when things become a double standard. Alright by some, but not by others.

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