THE N WORD

I'm African American. I occasionally use the word NIGGA. The word Nigger is a different word than the word Nigga: there are many english words that have the exact spelling but different meanings. These two words have different meanings and spellings. The controversy over the difference of these two words indicates that America doesn't want to acknowledge or accept ebonics. If you accept ebonics, then you can understand the difference. I don't have a problem with my white friends using the word Nigga. If I'm truly friends with him/her, I know what they mean when they say Nigga. But if a person not of African descent were to call me Nigger, then I would know that they are being racist. Nigga and Nigger are two different words. Some words derive from other words in every language. Ebonics is African Americans taking the english language-because that's all we know-and altering it to create words of their own. If you don't want to accept their alterations to the english language, then you will have a difficult time understanding what they mean when they use words that sound familiar to the english language. Let me add that if a person not of African descent were to call me Nigga and I don't know that person well, I would likely assume that person is using the word in a derogatory way. The world shouldn't tell African Americans they can't use the word Nigga because it's too close to the word Nigger. They are not the ones that created the word Nigger, and they don't use the word Nigger-I never call any of my friends Niggers; to us, there is a huge difference. I have hispanic and white friends that use the word and I don't have a problem with it. They say Nigga not Nigger. Why is this hard to understand for some people? But let me also add, I don't use the word with all my African American friends, just those that use the word themselves. Not all African Americans use the N word. That said, I seldom use the N word.