To think that if you don't want people to use the N word, don't put it in the lyrics of your songs

[PatriarchyPersonified]

Just that really. Kendrick Lamar invited a fan out of the audience at a recent gig to rap along to the lyrics of one of his songs.

The fan (a white lady) repeatedly used the N word, because it's in the lyrics. He stopped her and told her she couldn't say it. She was also booed and abused by the crowd.

🤔

If you don't want people to say a certain word, then don't put it in the lyrics of your songs.

It's either not acceptable, or it's ok. You can't have it both ways.

I personally don't think the N word is an acceptable word to be used full stop, and that doesn't change based on the race of the person using it.

www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44209141

Yes, YABU.
There is a massive difference between a race reclaiming a word to go against the grain of the oppressors and people who belong to the race of the oppressors using it to jump on the bandwagon once it becomes socially acceptable!

And as for not putting it in the lyrics It's her choice to sing along (and deal with consequences!) Kendrick can do whatever he pleases!

She was set up for a fail really. No win situation.

We'll both get roasted alive for this but I agree you do have a point.

YABU to think it's acceptable to say. HIBU to ask a white person to rap along and them chastise her for rapping along.

I don't even say it alone in the car when I've got NWA on.

Oh for the love of god!

It's a song lyric, he invited her up on stage to sing along to his song, and when she did he moaned. Either use the word or don't. But the monopoly on the word doesn't belong to that group of people. Obviously if she'd have got on stage and started saying it, when there was no need.

But she can't sing along to a song because she is white. There is racism going on in that scenario but not from the white woman.

never heard of KL but they all dickheads for sing the N word and other revolting words and lines relating to women, Why women then fawn over these idiots is beyond me

That's bonkers. Why did he invite her up if she wasn't allowed to sing the words

She probably shouldn't have said it but the majority of the unreasonableness is definitely from him in asking her onto the stage to rap and then calling out racism when she did just that...

I imagine it was part of a line. "I think I need a barber... none of these [n word's] can fade me"... she could just not say that word!
Or use a fitting substitute - I knew one lovely white lady who used to replace it with "nugget"

But the monopoly on the word doesn't belong to that group of people.

And there's the rub. Because yes, it kinda does.

I know people with disabilities who call themselves pejorative words for a disability. Gay people who used the q word for years. PoC who use a range of negative words for themselves.

There is a difference between using the word as an insult, using the word because you're too ignorant to stop using the word, and using the word to reclaim it, take the power away from the oppressor class and make it 'yours' not 'theirs'.

If you can't see the difference, it's because you don't want to.

@ClaryFray exactly

YANBU.
I'm mixed race (not that that makes me a spokesperson for all non-white people, obviously!) and hate the way some black musicians bandy the N word around. Nobody would claim that being overweight entitles you to call other people fat, or being gay entitles you to call other people "fags". Using it strictly in reference to yourself I suppose might be acceptable, but there's no excuse for using hate language towards other people, regardless of what race or other protected characteristics you fall under. I find it very offensive whether the mouth saying it happens to be black or white, same way that a swastika tattoo would still be offensive even if it was on a Jewish person.
Also, it sounds like a publicity stunt to explicitly ask her to rap those lyrics and then humiliate her for it.

"There is a difference between using the word as an insult, using the word because you're too ignorant to stop using the word, and using the word to reclaim it, take the power away from the oppressor class and make it 'yours' not 'theirs'.

If you can't see the difference, it's because you don't want to."

Precisely!

"being gay entitles you to call other people "fag" " - this is actually a fairly common thing?

I think the biggest problem here was that he brought her on stage to rap the lyrics of his song that he knew contained the N word so why did he do that? Seems like he did it on purpose in order to make a fool out of her. That's nasty

But the monopoly on the word doesn't belong to that group of people

The power to define, use and/or reclaim a pejorative word absolutely does and should belong to the group of people to which it is referring. It's about oppressed groups removing power from the structures of racism/sexism/classism/homophobia etc. which came up with those terms in the first place.

That's why me and my friends call each other bitches but I'd lose my fucking shit if a man said that about us or to us.

He invited her on stage to sing along to a song he had chosen, and gave her shit for singing the song he had chosen? His reaction, and that of the audience are therefore completely unreasonable.

She had every reason to assume that she had his tacit permission to sing all the words in the song, including any offensive ones.

It does sound as if he was setting her up to fail, and to be abused by himself and the audience. If she had refused to go on stage, he could have given her grief for being a killjoy. If she had come onstage but hadn’t sung all of the words, he could have called her stupid or not a really keen fan, for not knowing all the words. When she did sing all the words, he was able to call her racist. There is no scenario in which she could come out of this looking good.

@rosesandflowers - if he didn’t want a white person to use the N word, why did he invite a white person onto the stage to sing a song that used it repeatedly?

It sounds like he brought a whole load of people up and at least one of them 'bleeped' the word for himself. I think he probably should have asked beforehand but honestly, in the fantasy world where NWA brought me onstage, I wouldn't have used that word. Without having to be told.

There is no scenario in which she could come out of this looking good.

The guy who rapped the whole song without the n-words had rapturous applause from the crowd.

There’s a crappy song around at the moment about some white musician waking up in Chris Browns body.
At one point he sings “can I say the N word?” and the proceeds to do som repeatedly.
I suppose the point is that if you are black you can choose to say it but I wouldn’t ( I’m white). I just couldn’t bring myself to use it, it feels so wrong. If I’m singing along and the word comes up I say nothing at that point.

I'm black. I disagree with @GilliansKitchenIsland. I have no problem with black people using the "n word" to describe themselves and each other, I see it as a form of reclaiming control and collective identity-making.

I don't want a bun-fight with @GilliansKitchenIsland, I'm just highlighting that I disagree with her to show there isn't a collective consensus among black people. Adding white people's conflicting voices into the mix will only lead to further confusion and lack on agreement.

That's before you add in inherent classism and sexism which underpin this kind of pejorative language too

HWBU to invite her to rap those words and then embarrass her like that.

HWNBU to include the word in his lyrics though.

HWBU to invite her to rap those words and then embarrass her like that.

HWNBU to include the word in his lyrics though.

yeah my thoughts too

I feel sorry for the girl. If he didn’t want her to say it he shouldn’t have got her up on stage for that song.
I completely understand reclaiming the word but in this situation she was just singing along to a song.

The n word as anything other than a racist cussword belongs to black people, who may use it however they wish. The idiot who jumped on stage should have known this if she’s such a big KL fan and should have just not said that specific word - most of his white fans do this why couldn’t she?

Isn't it racist for a black person to be able to use a word but a white person can't?