Is it morally okay for a white person to say the n-word while singing a song?

[DaleCooper]

No (...abnormal?? Seriously, Atlas?)

It's not just an abnormal opinion on Atlas. Most people don't understand the no-nuance-allowed attitude that Americans have to this and other slurs. I bet that if you ask a representative sample of the United States if it's okay to say the n-word in a non-insulting context like quoting a song, the vast majority will tell you it's not immoral. The idea that it is immoral to utter a word regardless of context is actually pretty hilarious and even a bit disturbing when you think about it.

[DaleCooper]

I don’t think it’s MORALLY wrong, but god help you if you’re caught on camera doing it. Like that one poor teenage girl who ended up losing her college offers over it.

I think it's possible that America will start associating the n-word more with arbitrary internet cancellations than they do with actual bigotry and racism. Same thing with what we now have to call "the F slur" and the many other letter-words that Americans have ascribed supernatural powers to. Stripping away this context and saying it's morally wrong to say a word no matter what the intent or situation is will just hurt marginalized people more than anyone because people forget why the word was even hurtful in the first place. If you ask most white people why they shouldn't say the n word (and they were answering honestly), they'd probably say they'd never say it because they don't want a white lady to write an opinion column about how evil they are and get them fired. This is not healthy and it's just an unreasonable way to grapple with language.

No (...abnormal?? Seriously, Atlas?)

It's not just an abnormal opinion on Atlas. Most people don't understand the no-nuance-allowed attitude that Americans have to this and other slurs. I bet that if you ask a representative sample of the United States if it's okay to say the n-word in a non-insulting context like quoting a song, the vast majority will tell you it's not immoral. The idea that it is immoral to utter a word regardless of context is actually pretty hilarious and even a bit disturbing when you think about it.

While I agree that it's not automatically immoral for a white person to use the word--like you say, it depends on the context--given that more than a third of voters have voted "no" so far, I wouldn't call that position an "abnormal" opinion on Atlas.  Just because it's not the majority doesn't make it abnormal.  And "abnormal" carries a connotation not just of being unusual (an opinion held by more than a third of people is hardly an unusual viewpoint) but of also being bad in some way.  Even if one disagrees with the "no" option, I certainly wouldn't call it bad in the sense that, for example, saying that the U.S. is a "white man's country" is bad. 

I disagree that abnormal means inherently bad, but anyway the only reason I was using the word abnormal is because the person I was responding to used it. But you also have to remember that Atlas is a very left-leaning forum. I wouldn't know where to begin when unskewing an Atlas poll, but I'd wager that if only 35% of people here believe it then it must be really fringe amongst the general public.

[DaleCooper]

No (...abnormal?? Seriously, Atlas?)

It's not just an abnormal opinion on Atlas. Most people don't understand the no-nuance-allowed attitude that Americans have to this and other slurs. I bet that if you ask a representative sample of the United States if it's okay to say the n-word in a non-insulting context like quoting a song, the vast majority will tell you it's not immoral. The idea that it is immoral to utter a word regardless of context is actually pretty hilarious and even a bit disturbing when you think about it.

Nuance is lost on people, I agree. While in general the idea that a word can always be offensive no matter what seems ridiculous, in the particular case of the "n-word" the historical context is so horrendous that it's never acceptable for a white person to use it, with the exception of telling a child who's never heard it what it means and why it can't ever be said.

People don't like to be treated like children and that's what you're doing when you give people a list of words they're never allowed to say even in a reasonable context. That's why I also brought up the "F slur" and now there's the R word, the C word, the T word, and probably a few others. It's getting to the point where you can't even always tell what word they're trying to reference, and it's just awkward. Assigning letters to bad words is what children do, and forcing adults to act like children is not healthy for society.

[DaleCooper]

No (...abnormal?? Seriously, Atlas?)

It's not just an abnormal opinion on Atlas. Most people don't understand the no-nuance-allowed attitude that Americans have to this and other slurs. I bet that if you ask a representative sample of the United States if it's okay to say the n-word in a non-insulting context like quoting a song, the vast majority will tell you it's not immoral. The idea that it is immoral to utter a word regardless of context is actually pretty hilarious and even a bit disturbing when you think about it.

Nuance is lost on people, I agree. While in general the idea that a word can always be offensive no matter what seems ridiculous, in the particular case of the "n-word" the historical context is so horrendous that it's never acceptable for a white person to use it, with the exception of telling a child who's never heard it what it means and why it can't ever be said.

People don't like to be treated like children and that's what you're doing when you give people a list of words they're never allowed to say even in a reasonable context. That's why I also brought up the "F slur" and now there's the R word, the C word, the T word, and probably a few others. It's getting to the point where you can't even always tell what word they're trying to reference, and it's just awkward. Assigning letters to bad words is what children do, and forcing adults to act like children is not healthy for society.

The "N-word" isn't the same as retarded or even c*nt (the Atlas software censored that, not me), and I think you know that.

Ironically, it was South Park who said it best, clearly far from a liberal/SJW show -- white people are just inherently incapable of ever understanding what it's like for a black person to be called the "N-word" and should just accept that fact and move on.

Who said anything about calling anyone the N-word?

[DaleCooper]

No (...abnormal?? Seriously, Atlas?)

It's not just an abnormal opinion on Atlas. Most people don't understand the no-nuance-allowed attitude that Americans have to this and other slurs. I bet that if you ask a representative sample of the United States if it's okay to say the n-word in a non-insulting context like quoting a song, the vast majority will tell you it's not immoral. The idea that it is immoral to utter a word regardless of context is actually pretty hilarious and even a bit disturbing when you think about it.

Nuance is lost on people, I agree. While in general the idea that a word can always be offensive no matter what seems ridiculous, in the particular case of the "n-word" the historical context is so horrendous that it's never acceptable for a white person to use it, with the exception of telling a child who's never heard it what it means and why it can't ever be said.

People don't like to be treated like children and that's what you're doing when you give people a list of words they're never allowed to say even in a reasonable context. That's why I also brought up the "F slur" and now there's the R word, the C word, the T word, and probably a few others. It's getting to the point where you can't even always tell what word they're trying to reference, and it's just awkward. Assigning letters to bad words is what children do, and forcing adults to act like children is not healthy for society.

The "N-word" isn't the same as retarded or even c*nt (the Atlas software censored that, not me), and I think you know that.

Ironically, it was South Park who said it best, clearly far from a liberal/SJW show -- white people are just inherently incapable of ever understanding what it's like for a black person to be called the "N-word" and should just accept that fact and move on.

Who said anything about calling anyone the N-word?

That was an miswording on my part. I'm referring to using the word at all, as was the South Park classic:

Stan: "Token, I get it now. I don't get it. I've been trying to say that I understand how you feel, but, I'll never understand. I'll never really get how it feels for a black person to have somebody use the N word. I don't get it."
Token: "Now you get it, Stan."

I don't watch South Park. And I also consider those other slurs to be less offensive than the n word, but by the way certain people on the left act, you wouldn't know it. I've encountered plenty of people that have had meltdowns over the "f slur" or "r word" even if used in a reasonable context. What can I say? I have very little interest in this issue, but I don't think Americans have a healthy relationship with words these days. I don't think we should act like children about it, and I think it's childish to say it's "immoral" to use a word even in the context of singing a song. It's the song part of this discussion that I think I have the most issue with. I'm sympathetic to people who say the word is the most horrible word in human history, but if that's the case then we shouldn't be using it in multi-billion dollar industries and mass marketing it to young audiences.