I have but one simple question...

Why can cracker, ****, and wetback be said during primetime but not ******? I don't want a racist flame thread, I just want to know why the n-bomb is so bad yet the others are not. I'm not a racist, so don;t go there. I am just really curious as to why that one word is so much worse than all the rest.

EDIT: TN also edits the N-bomb but not any other racial slurs.

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As for the "N-Word", See: Rap Music.

Why the hell would we censor cracker? Thats something you put cheese on...

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Thornton to Heatley all day, every day.

We might have a Ritz vs Saltine cracker thread on here one day when we get bored anyway. Don't limit our creative energies.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

My guess is that cracker and wet back (I really don't like swearing or using negative racial slurs) are modern age racism while as that bad N word is old/ outdated slang and offensive.

Look at cartoons from the 1940s and 50s. They were OK then but not OK nowadays.


I have a major problem with racism on prime time, I don't have a problem with nudity though. Think about it, if you see someone naked, you dont pay attention to what they're saying.

An excellent demonstration on the fact that people don't realize where that word comes from. I find it morbidly offensive.

It has to do with the white slave owner cracking the whip down.

And may I say to you I don't care what color my skin is, but I, myself, do not own any slaves. And I am not cracking any whip.

And to take it a step further, I am the first person in my family to be born in the United States and not Russia, so there isn't even a chance that I am related to anybody who ever owned a slave.

^ Really? My sarcasm radar on Leo is in the red... however, clearly it could be broken.

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ThrillNetwork Editor (past tense: lectricShark)
Never forget justice is what love looks like in public. -- OXFAM

Because "cetain" people are cool and their rights surpass that of others and are allowed to say whatever they want. In fact, it's cool to do so. If one of those others say something even slightly offensive about those certain cool people, it's an outrage!

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YOUR HATRED AMUSES ME

I don't condone any racial slurs period, but a simple study of history shows why the N-Word is "so much worse" than the other ones. The other slurs out there have their history based in observations (especially the Hispanic ones), or in the case of ones against Whites, they actually mock power and wealth. The N-Word, however, is based in the dehumanization of an entire race of people. It's not as simple as "that's what they called them".

Cracker came from slave masters cracking the whip at their slaves. The whip, being a symbol of power, as well as the person using it, is what is being mocked with that name. "Honkey" came about because Whites were usually the first ones to have cars in their towns. To show their superiority, they would ride into poor neighborhoods and honk their horns to show off their expensive vehicles since those poor people couldn't afford anything. In those cases, they were still seen as people. One could substitute a-hole for any of those words, and the statement wouldn't lose any of the context, except for the race.

The N-Word however wasn't referring to "people", but to "property". N had no rights. You own the N. You work the N. They may as well be an animal, or even an inatimate object. N wasn't thought of as someone equal to a "person", they were merely beasts that one had to tame enough to get work out of them. You don't buy and sell people, but you do sell and buy the N. There is no power to mock here, nor is there wealth. When the N first started getting any type of treatment as something other than property, they didn't even fully count! They were merely 3/5 of a person.

That taint due to our collective National history is why the N-word is the "king of the slurs" if you will. Nothing else has that history behind it. Nothing else has that kind of intent behind it's use. It is in a class all by itself, and that's why it's treated much differently.

As for people who think it's ok to change up the spelling and pronounciation and make it cool, I strongly disagree with them. No matter what you do, the root of it goes back to that, and it still dehumanizes people to this day. It's a sad mental trap that people are almost willingly placing themselves in, and it makes me upset to my core when I'm around people who do that. I quickly correct any minor in my presence that starts talking like that and educate them on what they are doing. I disassicoate myself from people who have it as a steady part of their vocabulary. I don't want to deal with that flying all around, and don't you DARE call me that, thinking it's friendly. People understand the error of their way after I cut them one look.

And that's all I have to say about that.

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I remember this kind of conversation in like 2007. I really didn't want to think about any of these words anymore in 2009. Change.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

I'm not offended by racial slurs of any kind, I just don't see the point in being offended by every little thing like our PC world so desperately wants us to be. As far as I'm concerned, each race in this country today is about as close to equal as it is going to realistically get. As for Primetime TV, I think it is acceptable to use such slurs in the case of depicting real life. For instance, if a show wanted to depict hate crimes, do you think the party committing the crime is going to use politically correct language? What would make a more moving episode, a politically correct script, or one showing what it is truly like? It is a part of our real world, there is no reason to act like it doesn't exist. However, I don't think they should be used if the program's sole intention is to degrade a race.

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Part of the problem is everythings fu**ed up and the people who actually have the power to do something about it refuse to budge.

I'm a white guy, so as soon as I start jumping on the "Everybody should be able to say whatever they want, and people should just stop being so Goddamn offended" bandwagon, all of a sudden I'm the bad guy.

I find all racial slurs and the people that think they're offensive hilarious because:

a. They're outdated and really hold no water as to their realism in today's society.
b. Its beyond me that people still decide to let 1 word completely effect their emotions.
c. The terms are so ridiculous to put them in any sort of serious context to where you actually mean what their definitions imply proves the immaturity of the person using it.

I think we should all be able to say whatever the hell we want, whenever we want, and think that people who can't take jokes need to be excluded from society so they stop ruining it for people like us that want to move into the 21st century.

^ this coming from the guy that practically had a miscarriage when I made the Wiggers thread.

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It's like other issues, there's no good answer. That's pretty much where I have to leave that.

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o hai. i herd u liek mudkipz?

ElBarto, I think you need to spend a moment in the real world. While our history is in the past, there's a reason for the saying "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it". This isn't something that's even ancient history, or just moderately far like the founding of our country. This is a living, breathing problem. Some of these words were created long ago, but the meaning of them is very live today. Some of these words came about later, and that keeps the sting fresh. Some of these words are so recent that people who are alive today that still have raw nerves from those terms being thrown about with their original heat.

Political correctness is absurd, and I hate it. I think Boston Public stated it best when one of the teachers got in trouble for calling a kid "Black" instead of "African American". His response? "First it's 'Black', now it's 'African American'. What's next? 'African American Black Colored Negroes?" Being PC and talking around things that aren't necessarily rude to begin with is annoying.

Slurs, however, have no need for use in society. All they do is perpetuate hate, demoralize people, or even worse, dehumanize.

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-First you're telling me I need to spend a moment in the real world...Well I'm here, and I'm living it man!

-Second, nobody's telling anybody to forget their past. The history's written man, we're talking about a WORD.

-Third, how is the "meaning" of the word alive if the world we live in TODAY is nothing like the world of the PAST when the term was coined? Seems to me the word's meaning is only alive if people continue to react to it that way.

Then you say that slurs have no need for use in society...Well, tell that to the black people that continually decide to reinforce those slurs by using them everyday in music and in public.

Here's the "real world": there's the way you want the world to be, then there's the way the world is. I'm not enforcing the use of slurs in any way, I'm simply saying that no matter what we do there are always going to be people around who use the word.

The only reason "non-black" people still call black people that word is cause it pisses them off. You can't ban a word, so the only way I think its going to get better is when the black people, who actually have the power to do something about it, decide to let the word lose its meaning. By that I mean letting the word roll off their back, ignoring it like any other swear word, the way I have to do every time I have to hear two black people using it amongst themselves.

ALL words have the power to "perpetuate hate, demoralize,...or even worse, dehumanize" ANYBODY. Those that are strongest don't let them.

Dude, you don't get it, you won't get it, and I'm not going to try and make you get it. You also obviously didn't read my first post as well.

I will leave you with this:

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^Well, you said earlier that cracker should be less offensive than other words. I don't think so. I never in my life want anybody to look at me and even graze upon the fact that I would crack a whip because I am white. It is racism, and it is ignorant. It allows the stereotype to go on that all white people are descendant from slave owners. Which I am 100% sure that I am not. (read post #5)

I do agree with that quote though. Just like when Hitler pulled a Napoleon by 'visiting' Russia during the winter.

I apologize if it came off that I was saying that "cracker" is less offensive than some of the other words. That was not what I was trying to say. What I was trying to say is that all of those words have their creation story, and their history. Only one of those words has the unique story of being solely created to dehumanize. Not better or worse, just very different.

As for the "not all whites are descendants of slave master" comment, I don't think anyone is debating that. After all, Eastern Europeans and the Irish don't have the best "Coming to America" stories either.

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Wow...this is the most I've seen people get worked up over "cracker". I look at it like this, I hear blacks call other blacks "Yo N*****, what up N*****." I cannot for the life of me recall the last time I heard one white guy call out to another white guy, "Yo Cracker, what up?"

Maybe I ought to start using "Cracker" in my daily vocab...

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N***** offends me quite a bit, no matter what color the person who says it is. I don't want that word in my ears any more than I want it in my mouth.

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ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator
My neighbor got a big new house, and all I got was his lousy payments

I wish Nudity was allowed on Prime Time. Cleveage is most likely what a Baby will see first is.

They can have shows with Blood, Guts, Guns, And all of that but a Nipple is Indecent?

This. I probably couldn't have said it better myself. But I'll share a story.

True Story
It was the summer of 2004 and after a long 12 hour shift at Cedar Point, I jumped on the employee bus, anxious to get back to my dorm. Diagonally behind me were three African American girls chatting away about their day and laughing very loudly. After a long shift, I found this annoying and thought about asking them to keep it down because everyone on the bus, including myself, was extremely tired. However, the drive was 5mins tops so I didn't care that much. But obviously somebody did...

"Wow, can you people please STFU?" asked two white girls in front of the group.
"What's your problem? we're just talkin" answered the black girls still smiling and laughing.
"You're laughing like a bunch of hyenas and it's annoying" said one of the white girls with a serious tone.
The black girls simply pointed at her and continued laughing. It was obvious this infuriated the white girl.
"Oh, yeah...keep laughing you dumb-**** n*******."

My jaw literally dropped. Never in my life had I actually witnessed a white-person called a black-person a n****** to their face. I jumped to my feet waiting for the word "racist" to be yelled and a massive fight go down. But I was further in awe by the black girls reaction...
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAA!!!111!!! "
They laughed in her face again, and not just a little. Enough so the laughter could be heard clear across the bus, and they fell over with laughter with tears rolling down their eyes. And in the strangest way I found it funny and laughed a lil' too, along with a few others on the bus.

Looking back on it, I think it was funny because the one girl thought she could just say n****** to immediately offend the other girls. But really, it's completely ineffective if black people don't take the word seriously.

The problem is the word is so unique, historical, and powerful, that in it's current form could be considered indestructible. Even if somehow all African Americans united in ignoring the word in an attempt to lose it's derogatory meaning, it would mean years of verbal abuse. Not to mention this could also result in a surge of racism.

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I use "person" and "idiot" as a racial slur... against the human race. I'm racist alright.

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QFT, QFT, QFT! Especially the last part. Unfortunately, people as a whole are not smart enough to realize that. Stupid people ruin a lot of good intentions. Even though I hate when other black people around me use the N-word towards each other (and I make it known), I understand that the "slang" version came about to reduce the power of the word and make it more of a "brotherly" term, but that plan (which I think was stupid in the first place) was destroyed by stupid people. Stupid people starting use the slang version against each other. Stupid people used it as a way to dehumanize each other because it's easier for a gane member to kill another person when they aren't thinking of them as a person to begin with.

It's just the history of that word that kills all of my hope for people to ever move beyond it. I honestly don't see any of those slurs losing their effect until racism is dead, and I don't see that ever happening. Humanity isn't mature enough for that.

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RJ, I have to disagree. I think racism is slowly dying. It won't happen in our lifetimes, nor our children's. Maybe I'm just optimistic, but my own experience with it makes me hopeful. Racism tends to be handed down from generation to generation. I learned it from my parents, then I realized in my teens that it was wrong. Now, my daughter is learning from me about racism as something that is wrong. Something really bizarre would have to happen for her to teach it to her children. I think that's the way- small scale, one family at a time.

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ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator
My neighbor got a big new house, and all I got was his lousy payments

Brian, I hope you're right. I really hope that I'm proven wrong on that front. Things are definitely better than they were in the past...or at least they seem to be. But then I see how we can't even act right within our own "races". Western Europeans looked down on Eastern Europeans when they came to the U.S., and discriminated against them. Blacks have their infighting between "light-skinned" and "dark-skinned", many Hispanic cultures look down upon darker skin colors as well, to the point that I actually had Team Members from some Latin American companies that rather wear jackets in the hot Jersey summer sun than get tanned. People as a whole can get pretty absurd.

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All I will say about this is I am tired of hearing rappers use this and then complain if someone else uses it. If the word is that bad don't use it at all...

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So, you're saying that being able to prove that you're not descended from slaveholders makes you better than someone who can't prove that?

That's about as intelligent as Blacks or Hispanics discriminating against one another for darker/lighter skin.

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My neighbor got a big new house, and all I got was his lousy payments