N-Word and C-Word

According to Charles Barkley, white Americans are excluded from using the N-word solely because of the color of their skin.

From FOX Sports:

Charles Barkley said "I use the N-word" and said the Clippers' Matt Barnes shouldn't have apologized for using it.

Barnes was fined $25,000 and criticized by coach Doc Rivers after using the word in a tweet following his ejection from Wednesday night's game.

"I use the N-word ... I'm going to continue to use the N-word with my black friends, with my white friends," Barkley this week on TNT.

...Barkley said white people don't have the right to criticize the way black people speak to each other and that they don't have the right to use the N-word unless their black friends have given them a pass.

"White America doesn't get to dictate how me and Shaq talk to each other. And they've been trying to infiltrate themselves saying 'Well you guys use it, it's in rap music' — no, no, no, that's not the same," Barkley said.

Barkley said he allows his white friends to use that word with him because it is not used with disrespect, but at the same time if his white friends say that around the wrong black people, they will "hear a clock upside (their) damn head."

Here's video:



So, if you're black you can use the N-word.

Using that standard, I guess if you're female, you can call others the C-word without being offensive. It's appropriate and acceptable.

That doesn't sound right to me.

I feel the same way about ethnic slurs.

Of course, we all supposedly are protected by the Bill of Rights. We have freedom of speech. We can use whatever words we want, but there are consequences.

Barkley and others believe that in some cases those consequences are rightly based on race.

Huh?

I don't think you can have it both ways.

A term is a slur or it's not. It's offensive and inappropriate or it's not. This "ends with an 'a'" or "ends with an 'er'" is BS. That distinction is way too close to be clear.

Of course, context matters. That's Barkley's argument. But when a word is so explosive that it's like a stick of dynamite, I think counting on context and precise pronunciation becomes a dangerous game.

Good grief, Sarah Palin used the word "slavery" and she's been brutally attacked by Leftists. If she was ever caught uttering the N-word in a conversation, even in an "acceptable" context and with accepting participants, the attacks on her would reach unimaginable heights. The audio would be played in an endless loop. Obama would probably address the nation.

Bottom line: I do not believe that being female allows me to use the C-word with impunity. I don't think it's reasonable for black Americans to claim ownership of determining when the N-word can be used with impunity.

If some black Americans enjoy using the N-word, fine. However, they shouldn't be outraged when a white American uses the word in a similar manner.

Likewise, if some women like to use the C-word, fine; but then they can't claim to be offended when a man uses the term.