Denmark Vesey: Nigga Please

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Nigga Please

Intellectual Insurgent said...

Anon,

You give too much power to words. The only reason they are so powerful is because you assign so much power to the word itself and to the person who speaks it.

If someone called you a nigger and you laughed in his face, that would be the end of the exchange. Someone called me a nigger once and I cracked up laughing.

I responded, "excuse me, I am Arab and so the correct derogatory term, as I am sure you know, is Sand Nigger or Towel Head or Rag Head. It really upsets me when I am not referred to by the correct derogatory term." The a-hole was so perplexed he had no response. I took all the power he thought he was wielding and mocked it.

It's amazing how mental power is so much more potent than physical power. If you react everytime you hear a derogatory term, you will always be on the defensive. And you can NEVER win or advance when you are on the defensive. That's why, for as distasteful as I find the use of the word "nigga", the fact is that the friendly use of it is in no way a power game.

Same goes with a whole host of other terms. Words only have the power you assign them. It's amazing how much easier things become when you stop giving people so much power to offend you. Because for someone to offend you, you have to believe that their opinion has value.

Michael Fisher said...

Given the relationship between Arabs and black Africans, which Arabs have pursued and tried to make tradition for many centuries, namely that of slave master and slave (well into the 20th and in some regions into th 21st century), if I were Arab, I'd laugh the term off, too.

You still haven't answered my challenge to admit that North Africa was black and not Arab territory and, above all, to denounce the Arab slave trade and genocide in Sudan and Mauritania.

"Sand Nigger" my ass. Make that

kafir.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...: That's a great story. I just really don't think I could control my self if someone called me a "nigger." I definitely know I couldn't laugh it off.; Apr 27, 2007, 4:13:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Does Rap Put Teens at Risk?
Study: Association Found Between Video Viewing Time and Risky Behaviors
By Sid Kirchheimer
WebMD Medical NewsMarch 3, 2003 -- Teens who spend more time watching the sex and violence depicted in the "reel" life of "gangsta" rap music videos are more likely to practice these behaviors in real life, suggests one of the first studies to specifically explore how rap videos influence emotional and physical health.

After studying 522 black girls between the ages of 14 and 18 from non-urban, lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, researchers found that compared to those who never or rarely watched these videos, the girls who viewed these gangsta videos for at least 14 hours per week were far more likely to practice numerous destructive behaviors. Over the course of the one-year study, they were:

Three times more likely to hit a teacher
Over 2.5 times more likely to get arrested
Twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners
1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs, or drink alcohol.

"What is particularly alarming about our findings is that we didn't find an association with just violence or one or two risky behaviors," says researcher Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD, of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. "We found an association with a string of these behaviors."

His study, published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, only involved black girls living in Birmingham, Ala. -- all of whom were already sexually active. While the researchers surveyed viewing habits for various types of rap videos, gangsta rap was by far the most popular among the girls practicing these destructive behaviors.

"We wanted to focus on young, African American women, a population that is very vulnerable," DiClemente tells WebMD. "In these videos, men hold the power and women don't and as a result, are subservient. I'm not sure that the girls in our study were lashing out because of this, but more likely role-modeling the behaviors they see. The women in these videos are doing OK, they're hanging around with a man who is powerful, affluent, going to nice clubs and wearing nice clothes. For these girls, they may not be a bad thing."

His team is currently expanding its research to investigate how these and other rap videos may influence behaviors across other racial, gender and socioeconomic lines. Although gangsta rap videos depict tough inner-city "street" life, their largest viewing audience is white suburban youth, who have better access to cable television channels such as MTV and BET (Black Entertainment Television).; Apr 27, 2007, 4:21:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Of course, this isn't the first time that rebellious music has been blamed for society's ills. From Elvis to Columbine, the songs of music-obsessed youth have often been blamed for anti-social behavior. But rap -- and in particular, the especially violent and sexually-explicit gangsta variety -- has raised special concern.

"Most children between ages 2 and 18 spend upwards of seven hours a day ingesting some sort of media," says Susan Buttross, MD, FAAP, chief of child development and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). "We know that with any type of repeated media exposure, a desensitization can occur that makes these behaviors seem normal. So this finding doesn't surprise me at all."

Buttross, who was not involved in DiClemente's study, is a member of the AAP's committee on public education, which has written several policies warning about the effects the media has on children's' behavior. Her committee is currently updating its 2001 policy statement that found 75% of music videos involved sexual imagery, and more than half involved violence -- usually against women. In 1996, the AAP issued another policy statement that was critical of rap music.

But others feel that rap is getting a bad rap. "Yes, there are rap videos that are particularly violent or sexual, but let's look at what is more important in whether or not these kids act out of behaviors -- their family structure and the type of parenting they get," says Cheryl Keyes, PhD, associate professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA and author of Rap Music and Street Consciousness. "Parents need to get more involved in what their children are watching."

No argument from DiClemente or Buttross.

"You cannot stick your head in the sand and expect your child will only look at good stuff," says Buttross. "Parents need to know what their children are being exposed to. Certainly, rap is not the only music that portrays negative stereotypes or can negatively impact behaviors, and not all rap music should be implicated. But there have been nearly 1,000 studies that have looked at the effects that the media has on children's behavior. And nearly all of them find there is a strong effect."

SOURCES: American Journal of Public Health, March 2003. Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD, professor of public health, Rollins School of Public Health; associate director, Center for AIDS Research, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. Susan Buttross, MD, chief of child development and behavioral pediatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Miss.; member, American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Public Education. Cheryl Keyes, PhD, associate professor of ethnomusicology, University of California at Los Angeles; author, Rap Music and Street Consciousness. American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement: Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media, issued January. 2001. American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement: Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth, December 1996.

© 2003 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.; Apr 27, 2007, 4:22:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 4:27:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: Given the relationship between Arabs and black Africans, which Arabs have pursued and tried to make tradition for many centuries, namely that of slave master and slave (well into the 20th and in some regions into th 21st century), if I were Arab, I'd laugh the term off, too.

You still haven't answered my challenge to admit that North Africa was black and not Arab territory and, above all, to denounce the Arab slave trade and genocide in Sudan and Mauritania.

"Sand Nigger" my ass. Make that

kafir.; Apr 27, 2007, 4:29:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I must be missing something. Where does the WEB MD article come in?; Apr 27, 2007, 6:10:00 PM
Intellectual Insurgent said...: What challenge? Yes, there were Africans, namely Berbers, in North Africa before the Arabs got there. So what?

You can take your request that I denounce anything and shove it up your ass. What other people of my race do is their problem. I am an individual and I don't owe a god damn apology for something another person does just because we may or may not be genetically or culturally similar.

Just because your plantation ass feels the need to denounce and apologize for things that other Black people do doesn't mean the rest of us are going to join you in dancin' that jig.; Apr 27, 2007, 6:25:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 6:54:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 6:57:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: YOU proudly proclaim you're Arab but you can't do a small thing like denouncing the genocide and slave trade perpetrated by your Arab brothers?

You dare come in my back yard and denounce Fitty and the rest, but you can't denounce those Arabs who kill and maim MY sisters and brothers in the Sudan, in a country NEIGHBORING yours, Eqypt, and do so brazenly by the hundreds of thousands?

Clean up your own dirty backyard before you come in mine.

You are a fucking racist ass kafir.

Fuck you and your pretentious "intellectual insurgent" bullshit. Your people are murdering mine as we speak.

Go and play "Nigga" with the white folks. Don't play this shit with us.; Apr 27, 2007, 6:58:00 PM
Intellectual Insurgent said...: Go fuck yourself Fisher. You are a pathetic name-dropper who loves to brag about how cool you are while simultaneously arguing what a punk ass chickenshit you are that you must constantly convince White people that you're not one of those Black people.

I don't need to denounce shit. Since I am American, am I under an obligation to "denounce" everything America does? Since I am a woman, do I need to run around "denouncing" anything women do? NO.

My people are murdering yours? Get a grip. I hate to break it to you, but the people in Sudan aren't "your people". Your delusional tie to Africa is a fictional bullshit construct in your head.

If you're so down Mr. Fucking Tough Guy Brooklyn, why don't you take your ass to Africa and fight? Oh I am sorry, you have a check to write to Diddy. You're too busy.

You're a fucking idiot.; Apr 27, 2007, 7:02:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 7:04:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: LOL. Nigger you can laugh off, Kafir you can't.; Apr 27, 2007, 7:07:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: "It's amazing how mental power is so much more potent than physical power. If you react everytime you hear a derogatory term, you will always be on the defensive."

Well, we just caught you in a lie.

You certainly reacted to derogatory terminology this time, didn't ya?

The point of this exercise, my dear, is that clearly you do not consider yourself black.

That's why "Nigger" is a non-issue to you.; Apr 27, 2007, 7:25:00 PM
Intellectual Insurgent said...: Now you just want attention.

I am not upset by your use of the term kafir. I've been called kafir so many times that it truly has no meaning and, I am a kafir. Proudly so. And, I have no idea what you mean with your use of the term. It usually comes out of the mouth of a religious Muslim and since you are so racist against Arabs, I can only assume you are not a Muslim.

It seems to me your just throwing that word around to sound like you know something. Get a grip.; Apr 27, 2007, 7:51:00 PM
Intellectual Insurgent said...: The point of this exercise, my dear, is that clearly you do not consider yourself black. That's why "Nigger" is a non-issue to you.

You really think you're smart and that is part of what makes this exchange SO comical.

Whether I consider myself Black or not makes no difference in whether the term "nigger" is a non-issue. I've been called camel jockey, towel head, etc, etc. and my response is exactly the same as when I am called nigger or wetback or kafir or whatever other term some small-minded moron wants to throw around. Utter indifference.; Apr 27, 2007, 8:12:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 8:57:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 8:58:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 27, 2007, 9:03:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: Just to make absolutely sure that I do not owe you an apology I ran several searches on your blog.

Results:

Egypt.. plenty of hits.
Israel... plenty of hits
Jews...plenty of hits
Even the subcategories of the above like:
Spyship "Liberty" - hits.
Jewish lobby - hits.
hamas - hits.

Hell, even "ebay" got hits.

Sudan...none
Dafur...none

This is what's going on here. You've got a child of Arab folks who volunterily (in contrast to my forebears) came to this country.

Today they are Americans, but as every ethnic American, be they Irish, Jew or Italian, they still are interested in and advocate the overall agenda of their country and people of origin.

That agenda, in this case, above all is the Pan Arab-Zionist Jewish conflict.

Since that conflict has a pretty overt racist undertone,these Americans of Arab origin, naturally turn to us black folk. Since we understand that kind of stuff.

No problem.

Here's the problem. We, as black folk have gone through this scenario already.

80 years and a bit more ago we had another recent immigrant group that was persecuted in their countries of origin and discriminated against here in the US "unite" with us in the fight against racism.

As a result we lost Garvey and UNIA and they gained Israel.

Now we've got Arabs coming among us, pushing our tear ducts to help them defend their people in Palestine, but worse than the Jews of yore, they make NO contribution to our struggle, including and especially in their own backyards concerning black people whom WE consider ours.

Instead, we, who have been forcibly removed from our property and homeland, have to hear that we shouldn't get upset when someone calls us Nigger, that our attachment to the lands of our forebears is illusionary, and that they, who ask us to help call off the dogs on their people, find it not even be worth a mention that their people have plenty of dogs on what we consider our people in countries ruled by their brethern. Worse even, they deign to define for us who we are to consider our people and who not.

And that circumstance, my dear, makes you just another liberal white girl. Only this time one of the Arab rather than the Jewish variety. And as the Jewish white girls of yore when we point out the fact of who you really are, you cry "reverse racism".

And that is why you need to go back and clean up your own backyard before you come to play in ours.

Now, you make some concessions to us and call off the dogs on who WE define as OUR people, and we'll help you with yours. Otherwise, f**k y'all.; Apr 27, 2007, 9:07:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Fisher you are on point...; Apr 28, 2007, 9:05:00 AM
Anonymous said...: I. Surgent...why do you think Fisher is racist against Arabs? He's done nothing but state facts while you have used words and phrases that a lot of us Blacks would consider racist such as, "your plantation ass"

Looks like you might be the one that's racist.; Apr 28, 2007, 12:39:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: Well, casper and paul:

Lesson #1

Black folk have NO friends. NONE. NOWHERE.

Thus we only have permanent interests.

Thus our alliances and friendships with other folk must be forged and discarded based on these interests only.; Apr 29, 2007, 9:39:00 AM
Denmark Vesey said...: Brother Mike,

Please elaborate on that last comment. I am not sure I follow.

What do you mean Black folks have "NO friends"?

Do Mexicans have friends?

Do Koreans have friends?

Are Black folks even friends with each other?

That's an interesting statement. Help me understand what you mean.; Apr 29, 2007, 10:14:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Grammy Award Winning Rapper Chamillionaire Profanity Free; Ditches 'N' Word On New LP
By Danielle Harling and Dove
Date: 4/27/2007 6:15 pm

With the debate over the use of language in Hip-Hop gaining momentum by the day, few rappers have spoken on the issue until now.

Houston rapper Chamillionaire has garnered much success with No. 1 hits like "Ridin" and has risen to prominence on the Houston mixtape circuit, but what most people may not know is that Chamillionaire rarely sacrifices lyrical content for profanities.

“On my new album I don’t say the word n***a, I don’t curse nowhere on my whole album,” Chamillionaire told AllHipHop.com. “People are not even gonna know it. I guarantee if I don’t go out and say it in the media they’re not even gonna realize that. People go back and listen to all of my old mixtapes and don’t even realize that I wasn’t even doing all that type of stuff. I was saying n***a, but I wasn’t saying the 'f' word or [the] 'b' word. I was never saying those types of things...I hear that so much and it restricts your creativity and how far it can go.”

Chamillionaire, who was recently certified by the RIAA as the first multi-platinum Mastertone artist in history, is the son of a Muslim father and Christian mother.

The Grammy Award winning rapper, born Hakeem Seriki has sold millions of records.

He said that Hip-Hop is the art form that seems to be targeted the most when it comes to language, but other mediums will still promote the use of profanities.

Chamillionaire also said that the recent criticism and finger pointing at Hip-Hop was only creating a bigger generational gap.

"People going to get rap CDs and rolling them over with steamrollers, what is that doing? That aint doing nothing but creating rebellion and people need to realize that," Chamillionaire explained.

Chamillionaire recently released the single "I'm Not A Criminal" featuring Kelis and a remix to the song featuring Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes.

The singles are the first releases from Chamillionaire's upcoming album titled Ultimate Victory.

“I don’t get caught up in the actual ‘This word is bad’ because with everything you take away there’s gonna be something there to replace it,” Chamillionaire told AllHipHop.com. "Everybody needs to focus their direction on these younger kids that are looking at them. If we help raise them right this is gonna be the new generation and this new generation is gonna be more like me maybe and just don’t curse or brag about being a gangster."; Apr 29, 2007, 5:29:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 29, 2007, 7:23:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 29, 2007, 7:25:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 29, 2007, 7:27:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: Please elaborate on that last comment."

We as black people have a tendency to believe that we have friends who act altruistically.

Thus, for example, the relationship between the Jewish "philanthropists" who injected themselves into the Niagara movement and founded, financed, and lead the NAACP and to this day claim they did so out of the goodness of their hearts.

Well, maybe they did, but they certainly made sure ist did enhance their own agenda of unfettered integrated access to the social resources of the nation - schools, clubs, corporations, jobs, finance.

Same with Lincoln and his act of freeing the slaves in, and solely in, the Confederate controlled territory.; Apr 29, 2007, 9:24:00 PM
Denmark Vesey said...: Mike,

I am going to have to agree with you. The acts of the "philanthropists" were not ever "altruistic".

However, I am going to have to challenge you on exactly WHICH blacks swallowed the bait hook line and sinker back then - and still do today.

Garvey didn't.
Elijah didn't.
Thousands of independent thinking blacks did not.
The Pan Africanists did not.
The numbers runners and drug dealers did not.

The Civil Rights Negros did and do.
The Plantation Negros did and do.
The Churchy Negros did.
Those who yearned for integration did and do.
The Rap Haters (Oprah / Stanley Crouch) - at the end of the day - do too.; Apr 29, 2007, 9:26:00 PM
Michael Fisher said...: "The Civil Rights Negros did and do."

If you mean the James Farmer types, they were honest dupes. If you mean Sharpeton and Jackson, they are conscious sell-outs.

"The Plantation Negroes did and do."

Certainly. Now the question becomes who are the Plantation Negroes. And this is where you and I differ.

"The Churchy Negros did."

Well, Depends on the church.

"Those who yearned for integration did and do."

Well, integration without power is submission. So in that case. Yes.

"The Rap Haters (Oprah / Stanley Crouch) - at the end of the day - do too."

"Rap Haters" is an ill-applied term here. Like "Painter Haters" or "Writer Haters". It's not Rap, it's what is rapped about and how.
Thus...

I personally think that Oprah might have bigger problems with PE or Griff than with 50 cent. If you get my drift.

Crouch? Oh well. He's a story all by himself.

"The numbers runners and drug dealers did not."

The numbers runners? Maybe Bumpy.

Besides the Druggies squarely belong in the category "Plantation Negro".; Apr 30, 2007, 8:54:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Digging through the archives, DV?

Ha.

My goodness, how my personality has tamed since the good old days. Can't believe how long it's been that we've all been meeting up on this blog.

Big Ups to you DV to keep it fun and relevant for so long.

II; Jan 6, 2012, 10:45:00 AM
Anonymous said...: ^^
Ditto. Hey you two. Way back like Cadillacs!
Hope all is well.

RJEsq; Jan 15, 2012, 11:28:00 AM