Post removed

[aikoaiko]

1. Wait? What? Who?

[spanone]

4. link

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/barack-obama-n-word-race-relations-marc-maron-interview/index.html

[CBGLuthier]

2. Is there a link to where this was said because I sure as hell will not google

President Obama and that word.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. 80 bazillion results. nt

[CBGLuthier]

13. and all of them vile. nt.

[HappyMe]

3. What?

[sufrommich]

5. " If blacks could train themselves to hear either

of these words instead of the N word, they would smile".


Jesus H. Christ.

[JI7]

7. wtf ?

[Brickbat]

8. "The blacks."

[sufrommich]

16. l love that gif so much. nt

[Brickbat]

29. I find it useful for a wide variety of situations.

[Quayblue]

54. right smh eom

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. I know where you're trying to go with this but I don't necessarily share the sentiment and

execution is -- gosh, how do I put this -- disastrous. I don't envy you for the drubbing you're going to take for it.

[fadedrose]

19. "Sticks and stones..."

I need to take my own advice. Just wondering how many more of them will be thrown at me before my common sense tells me to chicken out and delete.

What's strange is that I cannot use the word, never have, and would faint if any of my children used it. They don't like it either.

That is just too much f'n power for one word to have, over me, as well as those insulted. I feel their pain, honest....

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. Oy.

[Brickbat]

11. "When will the blacks free themselves of allowing idiots to hurt them?"

Yeah, you guys! What are you waiting for?

[SaranchaIsWaiting]

20. Wait. Maybe English isn't the first language of the poster.

I don't know this person but that is possible, isn't it? Can we let her/him try to explain further before the big pile on?

I don't know what is going on but I had to step in and say this is cruel and really mean before asking more questions.

[DawgHouse]

14. Sorry, I think the nun at your school was wrong.

Words DO hurt.

Why should anyone just smile when being insulted, denigrated or bullied?

[bravenak]

15. Omg

[mfcorey1]

17. ??????????

[JI7]

18. this is just so fucking wrong and totally misses the presidents point

Which was that just because one does not use the n word doesn't mean there is no racism.

And it was so clear what saying .

[fadedrose]

24. It had nothing to do with connecting his point

He made it well. Racism is the worst problem we have in this country. I consider its capacity to do harm worse than anything on the menu of what is most threatening, most vile, most hateful, most problematic, and what is most difficult to change - including ISIS, diseases, the Mideast, economic inequality, gay rights, etc. (I hope the Supreme Court ruling favors the gays)..

President Obama said very calmly that not using the word would not end racism.

I go beyond that fact with renewed faith in my inner thoughts that there must be someway to alleviate this hatred we have for the word - my hatred of it too. It's a trigger.

Someday that will change. It has to. It can't possibly get worse when even the President is a bit gunshy about it, and I bet it made him nervous to say it since he made it a major part of his statement. I wonder why he did.

[boston bean]

46. How about you try to focus on alleviating the actual racism

instead of promoting a word that racist people use to tell us they are racists!

You make it seem like the word has no history, no meaning, no nothing... Screw that.

[Spazito]

21. Holy shit!

Wow, there is so much wrong and ugly in your post it really is both jaw dropping and nauseating.

[gollygee]

22. What?

That word does hurt. It is historically a word white people have used to hurt black people, and is still used in an attempt to dehumanize black people. Since he is black, it does not have the same historical context or emotional impact when he says it. But it is still a word that has power. Words don't just stop having power because you think the words shouldn't have power.

And I'm cringing at you telling black people how they should feel about it and what they should do in response. Like, "train themselves." Ouch.

[ismnotwasm]

23. You need to self delete

In all kindness, this is not thought out.

[fadedrose]

27. It didn't come to me overnight

I've thought about it for many many years.

[gollygee]

28. That doesn't improve things. n/t

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

44. I had just taken a big drink of iced tea as I scrolled down to that point.

I barely missed destroying my laptop with a spit take of epic proportions.

[ismnotwasm]

32. Then you still need to self delete

For reasons you won't understand.

[JI7]

35. that's even worse

[Spazito]

37. Tell you what...

Go to the nearest rectory with a black priest and inform him you will be calling him n****r for his own good and then go to the nearest convent and inform the nuns you will be calling them c***s for their own good, they are only words after all, right, and the sooner they learn to "smile" upon hearing them the better off they will be.

[KamaAina]

49. Better still, make a play on words with c*** here at DU.

[Tom_Foolery]

25. If you want to hear the podcast, here's the link:

http://www.wtfpod.com/

[Bluenorthwest]

26. Here's the thing, it's not the person using the slur that really bothers me, it's the rest of you

who stand there and demand that those being denigrated provide their own defense. I was recently verbally assaulted with a very ugly anti gay slur in public, and the people that really pissed me off were the others who heard it and just stood there, looking at me as if their Straight Asshole was my problem and not their problem.
If you hear a minority being subjected to slurs, the thing that takes power from the slurs is when members of the majority step up and say 'Stop it' to the slur merchants. It's not up to black people to 'train themselves' it's up to white people to housebreak their own bigots. It's not up to me to develop some resistance to hate speech, it's up to you to stop allowing your peer group to get by with using them at all.

And your pretense of being above all angry response is just self serving bullshit. If you are that composed in life, then you are exactly the person who should be taking a stand if you are subjected to insults, you should do that to protect the next person in line for insult, to help make slurs entirely unacceptable.

[gollygee]

31. We're taught that about kids in school anti-bullying programs

that bystanders are the ones with the power over bullies - the ones who can make things different. Why don't we take that advice for ourselves?

[MrScorpio]

34. Amen nt

[fadedrose]

36. If you really believe that I'm that bad

why don't you alert on my post? I won't hold it against you.

Am hoping the ACA and Gay Marriage decisions come down from the SC the way you want.

I wouldn't mind at all if it went to a jury no matter what the verdict. If it comes out to hide, I will delete it (I usually open the "hidden" post to see what it said anyway).

PS I had a post to you all typed up in another thread but lost it somhow before it got posted.

[stevenleser]

55. Someone did alert on your post. Not sure who. nt

[tblue37]

40. This, This, This!!!!!!

It's not up to me to develop some resistance to hate speech, it's up to you to stop allowing your peer group to get by with using them at all.

[stevenleser]

53. Yup. nt

[MrScorpio]

30. Uuuuhhh, no.

I have no idea what you're trying to say. But I'm absolutely sure that whatever it was, you've said it quite badly.

Words DO have power, that's why people use them.

[DanTex]

33. The "sticks and stones" thing is totally wrong.

Words can be hugely harmful, even more in some cases than sticks and stones. Words, and the ideas, emotions and implications that are contained within them, are important.

[HappyMe]

38. YOU don't get to say what does and doesn't offend AA.

You have no damn business telling AA that they need to "train" themselves.

[Nye Bevan]

39. I get your "sticks and stones" point.

As another example, I'm old enough to remember when "queer" was considered a horrible, hurtful insult to gay people. But when the word was embraced by those it was directed against it lost all of its power as an insult.

I think much of the hostility that some are showing to your post is the somewhat unfortunate phrase "the blacks" that you used twice. If you replace this with (for example) "African Americans" I would think that your OP will be better received.

[Spazito]

43. No, it's not "the unfortunate phrase "the blacks"" that is offensive...

and if that is all you see as offensive in the post....well.... that's a statement in itself, imo.

[Mr Dixon]

41. SMH

Really? come on pick another topic this one is a none starter

[bluesbassman]

42. Please self delete. This is not helping anyone.

Thanks in advance.

[liberal N proud]

45. You may have missed the context of what the President was saying in that interview

And it does not forgive anyone for using that word.

[bettyellen]

47. "Blacks should train themselves" what in the fuckity fuck?

I know quite a few people agree with you. But all of you are misguided. It's on YOU and all of us bystanders to help end the use of slurs, all day and every day.
You might have well written "get over it, POC, because Me. "

[Gothmog]

48. I have no issues with President Obama using the N word in that interview

President Obama used the word in an appropriate context and to make a valid point

[sub.theory]

50. I think you are right

While certain words are extremely hateful and hurtful, by refusing to react to them we can rob them of their power. I'm not saying it makes it ok to use those words, but it is one of the most effective ways to render them useless.

[JustAnotherGen]

51. I think it's less about the word - let's not fall for the Fox news schtick

What's MORE important -

His comments following it -

The subtle racism.
The dog whistles.
The policies.


People think if they don't use that word -then they aren't a bigot. I say - if you NEVER feel empathy for black victims - be it of the police, a racist gunman in a church, a lone guy in Florida, etc. etc. -

You might be a bigot.

[stevenleser]

52. It's up to African Americans and other groups to discuss slurs aimed at them.

I'm mixed to include African descent and I would not apportion to myself the right to opine on use of the N word as you have done.

Nor is it up to me to decide whether women should or shouldn't be upset by the C word.