I Believe it's That Time to Bring Up The N-Word Vol. Huck Finn

[nbirn2103]

The edited version is aimed at the schools that have already banned the book. The edited version uses the word "slave" to replace the n-word.

Does censoring the word give it too much power? Or does it prevent kids from feeling alienated at school?

There isn't a clear answer to me... The word effects everyone differently. In terms of literature, I prefer the unedited version. I believe it helps the story reflects it's proper societal context.

 

[jadams003]

I don't understand the fascination of other races (meaning not black/African American [whichever you prefer]) and their use of the n-word. Whether African Americans choose to use the word among one another for ANY purpose, there does not exist a correlation between that and the so called "granting of permission" to someone of a different race to use the word. Every time this topic is raised, someone comes in and highlights the fact that, by either geographic location or encouragement by friends, other races tend to use the n-word with varying results. I personally am African American. Do I say the n-word occasionally, sure. Do I make a conscience effort to not use it, absolutely. Do I admonish my black friends for using the word, only when used in excess. Am I cool with other races using it, NO. Has the word lost its meaning, sadly it never will. In many ways I feel that it shouldn't. Let it stand as a lasting reminder of the struggles of African Americans in this country and lands abroad. To adopt the word as a common euphemism or slang term free for all to use at their discretion only further perpetuates the false ideas of equality and racial harmony within our society.

 

[jjsrf]

well as the only black kid in my class... the reading out loud of this book in high school freshman year english was no bueno...
the white teacher gave anyone reading out loud at the time license to say it

 

[winged wheel]

Originally Posted by Mr Marcus

all the endearment talk came from outsiders who always gotta put their 2 cent on something that has nothing to do w/ them 

Q-Tip disagrees

 

[deuce king]

Originally Posted by sreggie101

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

bottom line for me....if you dont' like the book..don't teach it.
but don't try and change the author's words.

cosign. and editing out the word doesn't change anything. author originally put it there at the end of the day and that's wat matters.

I agree.  As far as chaning the "n-word" in the book, DL Hughley said it best........changing the "n-word" to "slave" in the book is NOT an upgrade.  If you call me the "n-word" you can call me that and I can still go home, if you call me "slave" that means I got to go home with you.   
  

 

[nubiandisaster]

Originally Posted by I NaSmatic I

PC, left wing America decided to cleanse the novel because our country is soft and we must protect our children from racism.

How can we learn our history if we sanitize it? Huck Finn and the racism in it toward Blacks and Native Americans is an accurate depiction of the country at the time.

 

[lightweight champion]

Originally Posted by I NaSmatic I

PC, left wing America decided to cleanse the novel because our country is soft and we must protect our children from racism.

How can we learn our history if we sanitize it? Huck Finn and the racism in it toward Blacks and Native Americans is an accurate depiction of the country at the time.

This. Every bit of this.

Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it.

 

[bruce negro]

Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo

Originally Posted by TruthGetsBusy

Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo

  

I hate discrimination, so where can I take this pigmentation test you guys speak of?  Is it an eyeball test?  Do they draw blood?  Do they look up your family tree?

I want to break the N word barrier.

I'm a minority, does that give me a better chance?  I heard rumors on the internetz that some minorities use it freely, is that true?

I feel good about my chances in obtaining this card, too bad the qualifications are more ambiguous than trying to figure out how to improve your credit score. #frustratedminority

Have you ever taken a standardized test? Perhaps the SAT/ACT? Even filled out tax forms or something of that nature?

If you truthfully mark yourself "Black/African American" on any of these, you're at liberty to use the word.

 

[2lipslegit]

Originally Posted by jjsrf

well as the only black kid in my class... the reading out loud of this book in high school freshman year english was no bueno...
the white teacher gave anyone reading out loud at the time license to say it

I agree with your teacher on that one

 

[cobra kai]

Originally Posted by jadams003

I don't understand the fascination of other races (meaning not black/African American [whichever you prefer]) and their use of the n-word. Whether African Americans choose to use the word among one another for ANY purpose, there does not exist a correlation between that and the so called "granting of permission" to someone of a different race to use the word. Every time this topic is raised, someone comes in and highlights the fact that, by either geographic location or encouragement by friends, other races tend to use the n-word with varying results. I personally am African American. Do I say the n-word occasionally, sure. Do I make a conscience effort to not use it, absolutely. Do I admonish my black friends for using the word, only when used in excess. Am I cool with other races using it, NO. Has the word lost its meaning, sadly it never will. In many ways I feel that it shouldn't. Let it stand as a lasting reminder of the struggles of African Americans in this country and lands abroad. To adopt the word as a common euphemism or slang term free for all to use at their discretion only further perpetuates the false ideas of equality and racial harmony within our society.

Originally Posted by NubianDisaster

Originally Posted by I NaSmatic I

PC, left wing America decided to cleanse the novel because our country is soft and we must protect our children from racism.

How can we learn our history if we sanitize it? Huck Finn and the racism in it toward Blacks and Native Americans is an accurate depiction of the country at the time.

word

 

[kangaroobombs]

I'm a full blooded Injun and proud of it!

 

[mytmouse76]

Originally Posted by 2LipsLegit

Originally Posted by jjsrf

well as the only black kid in my class... the reading out loud of this book in high school freshman year english was no bueno...
the white teacher gave anyone reading out loud at the time license to say it

I agree with your teacher on that one

i do too...as HS students you should be able to read stuff like that and understand the context and thats its for class

 

[longbeachballin]

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

What if instead of saying the actual n-word, we say "n-word?"

 fam guy

exactly what i thought of

 

[russ tha g]

The "you can only say it if you're black" reasoning is stupid. If you subscribe to that school of thought, you are stupid, too. Personally, I don't see a justifiable reason for using the word, but if there was to be an equitable one it would have to be context. When people are heard using it in an "acceptable" manner, it's not a "term of endearment" nobody flipped it to be positive--those explanations are pure garbage--it's just that it's not being used in a derogatory manner. I have been around crowds of mixed races, heard the word tossed around casually, and nobody of any race even flinched.

I'm not entirely familiar with this book's editing. That is, if it's for all newly printed copies or what. But if it's just for those copies for use in schools where it is a required-reading for class, then I think the editing is fine. If it were affecting the copies that people would privately own for their own volunteer usage, then the censorship has gone too far.

 

[jadams003]

My bad Cora Kai. I normally try to stay out of the race related topics, but this along with another topic this week really compelled me to comment.

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by jadams003

I don't understand the fascination of other races (meaning not black/African American [whichever you prefer]) and their use of the n-word. Whether African Americans choose to use the word among one another for ANY purpose, there does not exist a correlation between that and the so called "granting of permission" to someone of a different race to use the word. Every time this topic is raised, someone comes in and highlights the fact that, by either geographic location or encouragement by friends, other races tend to use the n-word with varying results. I personally am African American. Do I say the n-word occasionally, sure. Do I make a conscience effort to not use it, absolutely. Do I admonish my black friends for using the word, only when used in excess. Am I cool with other races using it, NO. Has the word lost its meaning, sadly it never will. In many ways I feel that it shouldn't. Let it stand as a lasting reminder of the struggles of African Americans in this country and lands abroad. To adopt the word as a common euphemism or slang term free for all to use at their discretion only further perpetuates the false ideas of equality and racial harmony within our society.

Ironically white people try to make this an equality issue.

Blacks have something exclusive, deal with it. While I do see the other side to where it could breed exclusivity I think it's simply a cultural history exclusive to Black Americana since the word was flipped in the latter part of the 20th century.  Oh it's not fair huh? 

 As far as the actual topic at hand, censoring the book is idiotic in my opinion.

 

[mytmouse76]

ya'll are gonna make Method Man come in and shut this down as usual...

i'd repost it for him but i dont know where it is...

 

[dipsetgeneral]

The word has lost it's meaning...

Everyday around you is living proof. Conversations between blacks, hip-hop/rap music, movies.

The "N-Word" is dead NT!

 

[truthgetsbusy]

Originally Posted by mytmouse76

ya'll are gonna make Method Man come in and shut this down as usual...

i'd repost it for him but i dont know where it is...

 so his opinion is right 100% of the time?

  

 

[mytmouse76]

Originally Posted by TruthGetsBusy

Originally Posted by mytmouse76

ya'll are gonna make Method Man come in and shut this down as usual...

i'd repost it for him but i dont know where it is...

 so his opinion is right 100% of the time?

  

if you can point out where i said that i'll be glad to send you some cookies i just made

 

you dont have to agree with him but i'd say he's pretty on point as far as in/out groups and why people who are told they cant use the word may feel

Originally Posted by marath0n

Originally Posted by seasoned vet

Originally Posted by Method Man

There's a distinction to be made between in-group and out-group that most are already familiar with. You can often get away with calling friends and family members an insulting name because a shared understanding exists between you. If I, on the other hand, attempt to use this same insult as an outsider - even if I do so within moments of your invoking the term - it's far more likely to be interpreted as offensive or, at the very least, presumptuous. Its use assumes a familiarity and connection that does not yet exist. You might tease a significant other by calling him or her stupid, but odds are you wouldn't allow a stranger to refer to them that way.

The irony of in-group/out-group with regard to otherwise offensive terms referring to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, belief, etc. is the discomfort it creates for privileged groups. In a sexist, androcentric society, men are privileged. They're the social default.

You may have been exposed to the "doctor riddle," the typical response to which often proves this point:
People tend to come up with incredibly convoluted answers, ripped from soap opera scripts and cheap novels.

For men to feel as though they're not allowed to use a term that women can places them in the unfamiliar role of the outsider. It seems to be this discomfort that so upsets Whites about their sudden inability to get away with using racial slurs. What was, once, a symbol of their power has become publicly contested territory as historically nondominant groups claim their right to self-definition and self-determination.

You may think it's wrong for Fred Sanford to call his son a dummy, but 1) obviously that doesn't give you the right to do it and 2) it's not your decision.

This is not to say that all or even most women would be fine with a woman they don't know referring to them - or any woman - by a term that has so long degraded women - far from it. Calling it a "double standard," though, is inaccurate. It's about choice, and the whole point is that it is NOT, in this case, a man's choice to make.

- jesus. i swear, Method Man's true identity is the biggest mystery on NT. im betting when we finally do find out who Meth is he'll be a black Benjamin Linus moderating from the island

*highlights and copies Meth's post for any future N-word debate*

I did the same

its from the 'why can women call each other the b-word but we can't call them that' thead

  

 

[russ tha g]

at the guy saying that it's an exlusivity issue.

 

[mf doomer]

The term it's self degrates not only blacks but a people in genaral.

 

[10littlefigures]

read it in middle school one of the lasting memories i still hold from actual classes

 

[truthgetsbusy]

Originally Posted by mytmouse76

Originally Posted by TruthGetsBusy

Originally Posted by mytmouse76

ya'll are gonna make Method Man come in and shut this down as usual...

i'd repost it for him but i dont know where it is...

 so his opinion is right 100% of the time?

  

if you can point out where i said that i'll be glad to send you some cookies i just made

 

you dont have to agree with him but i'd say he's pretty on point as far as in/out groups and why people who are told they cant use the word may feel

Originally Posted by marath0n

Originally Posted by seasoned vet





- jesus. i swear, Method Man's true identity is the biggest mystery on NT. im betting when we finally do find out who Meth is he'll be a black Benjamin Linus moderating from the island

*highlights and copies Meth's post for any future N-word debate*

I did the same

its from the 'why can women call each other the b-word but we can't call them that' thead

  

never said you did but alot of people act like that on here....anyways I've used that exact same analogy.  So I do agree with him here.  We used to talk about this all the time in college and even had an open forum. 

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo

Originally Posted by Mr Marcus

##$# i still look at it w/ racial connotation if any human lacking pigmentation uses it

Fighting racism by drawing lines based on discrimination and exclusivity, how ironic.

The word has completely lost it's meaning.

This whole "we can, but you can't" is absurd.  Who is distributing these exclusive "You can use the N word" cards?  Is it like Costco or Sam's Club?

cosign...it's pathetic