Deviant Language

There is perhaps no word more divisive in American culture than the word “nigger”.  The word itself conjures dark images of oppression, death, suffering, and war.  Though, conversely the word to me brings to mind Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, marches on the capitol, and the enlightenment of a generation.  The innate mixed emotions that accompany a terrible word predict the contemporary social reaction to such a word.  Some Whites still use the word to oppress, while others pretend it never existed.  Conversely, some in the Black community acknowledge its damaging effect and deplore its use, while others attempt to own this word, to retake its meaning and honor their ancestors.  Through my research into the topic I have found there is no clear answer on the origins or the destination of the word “nigger”.  Rather, the only commonality is the intensity of the emotion surrounding this word.

                                           Courtesy of "Stuff Queer People Need to Know"

                According to an article published by Ferris State University in Michigan entitled “Nigger and Caricatures”, “The etymology of nigger is often traced to the Latin niger, meaning black.  The Latin niger became the noun negro (black person) in English, and simply the color black in Spanish and Portuguese” (Pilgrim and Middleton, 1).   In American racist vernacular, the two terms “nigger” and “negro” were often interchanged, with “negro” being the more socially acceptable of the two.  Ferris State University goes on to state, “Whatever its origins, by the early 1800s it was firmly established as a denigrative epithet.  Almost two centuries later, it remains a chief symbol of white racism” (Pilgrim and Middleton, 1).  Adding to the complexity of the word is the contemporary reaction of the African American community, divided amongst those wishing to “take back” the term, with others wishing to extinguish its ugliness. 

Many African American bloggers tackle race in their writings, and aptly so, as the construction of race is all around us.  Of the blogs I have read the following stand out to me as contemporary voices on race and American culture:

The Field Negro

Chocolate City

Huff Post: Black Voices

                Perhaps the most apt theory to describe the damage caused by the label “nigger” is Labeling Theory by Howard Becker.  Becker states in Readings in Deviant Behavior, “that social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance” (Becker, 39).  In the case of the racial slur “nigger”, the deviance was being a black person, and the consequences were often violent and barbaric.  There were times in American history where being African American was literally criminal, all as a result of the stigma associated with the label "nigger".  In this sense Shaming Theory by Braithwaite can also be used to illustrate the consequences of being labeled “nigger”.  Braithwaite states, “a high level of stigmatization in the society is on of the very factors that encourages criminal subculture formation by creating a population of outcasts with no stake in conformity, no chance of self-esteem within the terms of conventional society…” (Braithwaite, 35).  This stigmatization and loss of hope eventually played into the negative stereotypes as racist whites used the reactions to oppression to further stigmatize African Americans. However from this lack of hope rose the civil rights movement of the 1960’s which changed race relations in America forever, and would eventually lead to changes in the perceptions of “nigger”.

                The reaction of the African American community to the use of the word “nigger” is wide and varied, and even social commentators cannot agree on an answer to a question that often perplexes whites making claims of reverse racism.  Look at these videos on the varying perspectives of comedians Richard Pryor and Kat Williams:

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     Obviously, the opinions are wide and varied, but the power of the word is ever present, and perhaps one of the only set in stone rules is that Whites should never use the word “nigger” casually.  Some in the White community often equate this to reverse racism, saying that “cracker” is a perfectly socially acceptable comedic term.  The truth is until Whites endure hundreds of years of slavery, followed by a weak “reconstruction”, followed with decades under Jim Crow, finally gaining legal freedom while still suffering the burden of negative stereotypes in the form of under-employment, over incarceration, and abject poverty all under the guise of progress, “cracker” will never compare in any way to the innate damage present in the word “nigger”.  This is what happens when a white comedian attempts to use the word “nigger” casually; the ugly racist undertones come out in full form:

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       In conclusion, the term “nigger” is offensive, not only to black people, but to white people as well, though the truth is, members of the White community will never fully understand the damage associated with this word.  Many people in both racial communities have an immediate negative reaction to the word “nigger”, a reaction that goes beyond vulgarity into the very fiber of one’s morality.  The African American community is infinitely more likely to use the term openly, though they are also more likely to be affected by horrific social constructions present in the term.  If the word “nigger” is to be used, the context must be understood.  While it is empowering to Kat Williams, it was offensive to Richard Pryor, this division shows the true nature of the word.   I for one am comfortable with members of the African American community using the word in a manner that they are comfortable with, though I speak from a position of White privilege.  I personally would never use the term, though for some reason, both the ideas of Pryor and Williams resonate equally with me.  This division in my own heart is evidence of me never truly having to face the word.  I feel in the end, no word in American history has been as devisive as the word "nigger", and still, its use is still hotly debated, further adding to its complexity. 

- Steve

word count: 923

Works Cited:

Calhoun, Thomas, et. al.  Readings In Deviant Behavior.  Labeling Theory (Becker). pg. 39

Calhoun, Thomas, et. al. Readings In Deviant Behavior. Shaming Theory (Braithwaite). pg 33

Pilgrim and Middleton.  "Niggers and Caricature".  Ferris State University. 2001.

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