Yes, I understand it. I am sure I would be angry, too, if I was called those things. I don't fault blacks for being angry about being called the "n-word." I have never called anyone that, and as a matter of fact, it's been years since I heard a white person using it except on TV or in a book. At my work I often have to tell blacks not to call each other "niggah" because it also is a denigrating word. They often call each other that when very angry, even during physical altercations. Sometimes they even call me "niggah" when the use of "you there" would work just fine. I understand it is not the same as the "n-word" as used by other races against blacks, but it is related to it and reminds people of the "n-word" every time it is used. I agree with Jesse Jackson, who said that it would be better if no one used either of those words.

But having said that, I think we need to move beyond the justified rant against name-calling and discuss what can be done to bring the various races in this country together, particularly whites, hispanics and blacks.

Is it realistic to think that the day will come when blacks, for instance, will be as integrated into our American society the same as all other groups who have come to this country, groups who initially were scorned and hated and discriminated against? What does "fully integrated" mean? What is keeping it from happening? Am I wrong to assume that it has not already happened for the majority of blacks? Am I perhaps wrong to assume that this is what the majority of blacks even want in the first place? Or am I showing a lack of perception to even ask the last question?

Regarding :

"it's been years since I heard a white person using it except on TV or in a book"

I have never heard a White person use the N word on TV or in a book. But, I regularly hear Blacks use the word as either a term of endearment for each other or for a word they use in anger.

Can you tell me where you heard a WHITE person using this word on TV . Perhaps 40-50 years ago. But not in recent history.

I agree. It's good to get everything out in the open and air this stuff out. It's always better to express anger or ignorance than hold it in, because how can someone find out he's ignorant if he doesn't hear it from others in feed back, and how can a person ever get over his anger unless he finds out that maybe he's angry over nothing or something unimportant or illusory? I really believe strongly in working hard at communication because I know that's what it takes to do it successfully. Sometimes it may hurt and sometimes people get mad but in the end if they keep at it I've never seen the time when it wasn't worth it.

By the way, has anyone here ever read the play, Zoo Story? It's about the failure to communicate and how one guy stabs another guy to death because of it but also in order to do it. A lot of people are desparate to really communicate with someone. So many words yet so little genuine communciation.

John 317 ... You have stated it SO well. Thank you for expressing my feelings better than I can .

On TV, you have movies, such as Guess Who's Coming To Dinner; The Long Hot Summer; and many others; but you also have the OJ Simson trial and the blather about Mark Furman's use or non-use of the n-word.

Much of the great literature use the n-word all the time: William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, James Baldwin*, and dozens more. It occurs in the great literature because great writers are not generally concerned with political correctness but are out to "tell the truth mostly", as one of them said, and they try to show life as they've personally experienced it.

*(I don't consider Baldwin in the same league with the others, but he was awful good sometimes, such as in Go Tell It On the Mountain.)

My point is that current TV shows regularly put the N word in the scripts for Blacks to use but would not think of having a White person say those words. In general Whites do not use the word except for very rare occasions. But the Blacks use the word very frequently. If a White person uses it ... he will lose his job and suffer severe consequences. But it is socially acceptable for Blacks to use it.

Sounds disproportionate to me !!!

I also think it is important to note HOW the word is used. For instance ... Richard Wright used it to describe how hard it was for a "Black Boy" to be called this word especially after the abuse of living in an Adventist home which was so legalist.

Check out the book "Black Boy" to read about all the abuses this boy had with a Seventh day Adventist home in the South.

But again ... the book was written some 60 years ago.

You're right there. Of course you realize that you will have a lot of blacks disagreeing with that. They would say it is sort of like the difference between your telling your sister or brother that your mom's a liar and then hearing your neighbor scream the same notion on the street corner. The difference is that you love your mom and it's family and the neighbor maybe hates your mom and certainly is no part of the family.

But I do agree that everyone ought to just stop using it in all its forms. Like Jesse said.

I would say to the Black community ... Lead by example.

Yes I know. Isn't that really tragic? I've read it several times and find it hard to believe he's describing an Adventist home. It was his grandma's home as I recall. She was abusive in that she was very strict and didn't show much love and made him do things he didn't want to do. He probably was describing some things we would consider wrong today, but it is also probable that Richard Wright did not remember everything just exactly the way it was and also that he took some litarary licence in the writing. Nevertheless it is obvious his situation was not a pleasant one and it would have been better for him and a better reflection on the church if Wright had had a good experience in his Grandmother's home. Maybe then Wright would never have become an atheist and communist.