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   We’ve all heard the false saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but the truth of the matter is, words hurt. There’s one word that pierces the soul and it’s the word "Nigger."

   The word "Nigger" was created as a way to degrade our people and make them feel inferior, and for some unknown reason we have forgotten. Or maybe we haven't forgotten; maybe we're too self-indulgent to educate ourselves on the trials and tribulations our people endured.

   We complain that advancement in this world is often made difficult due to the ignorance of others, but how can we expect others to respect us if we can't even respect ourselves.

   About three months ago, I was riding around town with a white friend of mine and during our conversation she blurted out, “J.J., you know you my Nigga.”

   I nearly caught whip-lash from the turning of my head so swiftly; I couldn't believe my ears. Did she just say what I thought she said? She did. There wasn't any ill intent behind it, she honestly thought it was an endearing statement. She had been ill-advised by other black people that said it was OK to say that word. Well, let me clear up that misconception; it's not OK for anyone of any race (when I say anyone, I mean anyone) to use that word.

   Have we forgotten what our ancestors endured? We’re a generation of ungratefulness, who have no sense of history. Our ancestors were degraded and belittled with this word, and we’ve since embraced it as a badge of honor. It’s our claim that we’ve “taken the word back,” but why take back something that is tainted?

    The most ridiculous claim I’ve ever heard is the notion that there’s a difference between the word "Nigga" and "Nigger." More times than I can count, I’ve had friends approach me and openly claim to be a "Nigga" and not a "Nigger." I hate to burst the bubble of so many people, but there is not a difference. I take that back, there is a difference - laziness. We are just too lazy to enunciate the word properly. What’s even more ridiculous is the excitement a white person feels when a black person refers to them as a "Nigger."

   Where’s our self respect? We are the only race that openly disrespects ourselves. You don’t hear white people walking around referring to themselves as crackers or Mexicans referring to themselves as wetbacks, so why do we? When was the last time you heard a white person greet another white person saying  'What's up my cracker?'

   The next time you use the word "Nigger," think of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally beaten, shot and thrown in the Tallahatchie River, for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Or protestors who were hosed and attacked by dogs, just so we can enjoy the same rights allocated to everyone else in this country.

   If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he would be so disappointed in the direction we have taken. Everything that he worked so hard for has been negated due to our own ignorance. Do you think he would ever refer to himself as a "Nigger"?

   By allowing a word that has elicited so much hate and pain over the years, to saturate within our vocabularies, we truly are "Niggers."

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