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Comment by tootie | Hacker News Reader

I mean, that's it. It's a rule of our society. That word means "black people that are weak, ignorant, servile and subhuman". We as a society have elected to make it a word that is forbidden in polite conversation unless you think the definition is accurate. Using it casually, even if you think you are not racist, is a signal that you don't care about other people's feelings.

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> We as a society have elected to make it a word that is forbidden in polite conversation unless you think the definition is accurate.

We have done no such thing. Your statement is about as inaccurate and misleading as it could possibly be. The word you are talking about can be heard throughout TV shows, movies, and music. The vast majority of the time, it is not being used in the way you suggest. Your assertion that it is a "rule of our society" is as absurd as claiming the earth is flat.

You're being deliberately obtuse. It is used casually among African-Americans because they want to own it. It is used in works of fiction to portray exactly the type of negative image I used earlier. It is almost never used by non-Blacks with sincerity and when it is, it's considered deliberately racist. You can engage in some more nonsensical hair-splitting or you can choose to live by the rules of polite society.

If I can turn the tables on you, how about the fact that I can find pictures of naked people all over the internet and even some public places, yet if I walked into a meeting at work with no clothes on, I'd be fired? What an unbelievable conundrum!

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