- Feb 28, 2009
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Using a deragatory word such as n*!#er or b#@!h is very offensive;however I think that the words become more offensive with a: the intent of its use and B: who is using the word.
It is no secret that we as a people have been beaten down with words, and it took so much more than words to break us, but those words insured that we would remain in a state of brokeness. I think that when a person of one's same race uses one of those words it could never be taken in the same light as when someone from a different race uses it. It's almost like playing the dozens, or talking about your brother's momma, when yalll have the same mama. It's not taken seriously because it isn't serious.
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I see your message and intent here, Sister Lataisha; but I do respectfully disagree.
I am of an age that I can remember how once upon a time in the Black community, certain words spoken to another, even from a Black person, were considered grounds for a killing or at least a beat-down.
Calling another Black person a "mother-f***er was an ultimate insult.
"Motherf**ker (also contracted forms mother and mofo and, phonetically, in African-American vernacular speech, muthaf#cka) is a common insult and profanity in the English language and is widely considered obscene and inappropriate. By virtue of its history of usage, motherf**ker generally is regarded as African-American in origin. Literally, it accuses one of violating, perhaps, the oldest taboo known to humankind, incest.
However, as with most epithets, its use is pejorative, rather than literal. Historically, it was a vicious taunt, a damning insult -- and a veiled allusion to the destruction of black male familial hegemony under chattel slavery. The power of the word was that it attacked one's sense of manhood. Regardless of its historical or cultural context, however, many consider motherf**ker the mother of all curse words. The cause of countless barroom brawls and streetfights, it is purported to have sparked at least one prison riot.
Motherf**ker has taken on additional meanings through continued use, its evolution being shaped primarily by, again, the African-American community. It has come to mean a formidable or inexorable force, as in the threat: "Payback is a b!#ch, but revenge is a muthafucka." It is also an expression of disgust or contempt: "Now, ain't that a muthafucka!" Motherf**ker also has come to be used in some circles as a general pronoun...." http://www.********************/define.php?term=cultural+slavery
Another ultimate disrespect in the Black community was telling someone to "Kiss my @$$." Inviting another to put their mouths to one's anus was also regarded as justifiable assault and battery. (lol)