Enough Is Enough

Funny, yet true.





I'm really not sure what's going on with me these days. I think maybe I'm fed up, and after 10 or so years of dealing with this issue and being able to understand fully what is going on, what the word means, and be able to witness daily how freely it is being used, I guess something just kinda snapped.

I'm not really sure where to begin because this entire post is going to make me sound "preachy" and to me that's a trait that has a negative connotation. I'm feeling as though it will be taken in the wrong sense, and either be offensive, or taken too critically. But then again, why am I worried about being offensive to others when they absolutely don't care whatsoever, or even BOTHER to take into account whether or not they are being offense to me?


In a way, I've reached the end of my rope with this N word frenzy. The constant word-vomit attempt of using it in every form of communication is getting old, and I'm VERY tired of seeing it posted all over the Internet, as if it has somehow been deemed an accurate form of speech.

The N word, is not a colloquialism. It is NOT a type of slang that is ordinary and common and can be used freely without any type of second thought. It doesn't make you cool. It doesn't make you smart. It honestly makes you look uneducated, ignorant, and extremely stupid. So why is EVERYONE saying it? I see and hear young kids in the supermarket saying it to each other, kids that can't be any older than 15. Why is it coming out of everyones mouths? Ask yourself this question, in this exact form. "Why, the FUCK am I using this word?" Then, try and come up with an answer that doesn't make you sound like an idiot.

The race issue in using the N word is the fact that it's so widely used among celebrities, rappers, and those "role models" that we all seem to look up to. If they can use it in songs and in their everyday speech, why can't we? But it's more than that. It's NOT okay, and it's something we should NOT condone. Especially when the word is being used by African-Americans.


I looked it up (not that it was necessary) and interestingly enough, the word is not synonymous with "friend", "pal", "buddy" nor does it have any positive description whatsoever. In fact, despite my limited knowledge of all the historical details that I probably should be aware of at my age, I DO know that this word was used to all African-Americans by the overseers during slavery, usually before or after they got whipped or beaten to death for not completing their work quickly enough. It was a word that was MEANT to be hurtful, and MEANT to be derogatory. It wasn't used in a positive manner that many people just love to use today. So WHY are we taking that word, a word that means the lowest form of any species, removing the "ER" from it, adding in "A" to the end, and regurgitating it into a popular word that has a positive attachment? It's not okay, and the fact that it is being used not only by white people, but also by black people who KNOW what the word contains, and who probably have great-great-great-great-great-great-great (etc) family members who have most likely BEEN there, is sad and disgusting.


How would you feel if you had past family members who had to go through those terrible times? You should put your head down in shame to think how hurt they would be if they came back and could SEE how freely the word was being used today. Do you really think they'd be appreciative of the fact that you're taking a word with a horrendous meaning and using it in every form of communication possible? It's ridiculous that it even has to come to that.

I think many people would say to me "This is just a part of our world that you are going to have to learn to accept". Well I can't do that anymore. I've been accepting this, keeping my mouth shut about it, and turning my head from this for far too long, and it seems pitiful and shameful of me to do so any longer. This is my race, I am black, I am African-American, so when you're using this word, you're offending ME and everything that I stand for. Despite the eye rolls, and the laughter that this post will probably receive, this is just something I cannot let go. It's pathetic, and the fact that we live in Maine and "have like, 50 black people total" is no excuse. Educate yourself, travel, see things, meet people, and branch out from the callowness mindset that you have adapted. The ignorant shell that so many people are building around themselves is toxic, and will make its way directly to the next generation, leaving them an uneducated product of their own environment, thus dooming us for a future change in society.

Some people are passionate about music, sports, writing, singing, acting, dancing, etc....well I am passionate about this, and to see what I have seen, and to hear what I have to hear on a daily basis is too much for me. I don't really care what you substitute the word with - swear more, bleep it out like a television show, and do whatever else you need to do in order to be able to receive your daily satisfaction for using offensive wording in a different way. Make a change and realize you look like an asshole when you say it, and if it's a habit, (which is equally pathetic) break it. Do you really want to promote and spread something that is so painful? I don't care if you're "not saying the whole word" or "only use it around your friends". It's offensive, annoying, and completely and utterly unacceptable, and the fact that I can point out over 20 places daily where it's used, is ridiculous. Seriously educate yourself, and LEAVE MAINE FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE AND REALIZE THERE ARE OTHER CULTURES OUT THERE. And as eloquently as I can state the most important piece of this post that I hope you take with you and share with others, do me, yourself, and those of the past and present a solid and stop using the fucking word.


-T