Woke K***ns

[Cocoabutterkim]

I’m hoping to explore something without it trending!

When we have words that are important to discuss our experience as black people, how do we stop them being whitewashed? Is there a deliberate effort to change the meaning of words of importance so that they lose value and stop progress?

I’m not sure how far this will get before being derailed!

You can't. There are white supremist groups online who deliberately whitewash these words to make them redundant. They target words until its no longer usable for it's purpose. Unfortunately, you can't win with this.

Secondly, white kids love new slang words to make them easy and cool.

So it it ever worth defending these words or do we keep creating and moving on?

Move on it's slang, it's meaning has changed, much like a lot of other words. Language evolves.

If was on a thread and had the energy that day. I would reference it to what it means for us. On a nother day just keep the new words coming and slowly moving on.

If a black person uses it, then I know what they mean, in it's true sense.
Those who like to whitewash and diminish special words, step over them. Don't waste good black breath trying to engage with those kind of people.

summericecream don't @ for my attention.
You are on Black Mumsnet. I'm talking to Black Women about something that is important to us. You clearly don't understand the thread as you aren't black. So instead of being here to be deliberatehy goady, report what you don't like and discuss it with the mods.

I won't be wasting my breath further in engaging.

@Cocoabutterkim

I’m hoping to explore something without it trending!

When we have words that are important to discuss our experience as black people, how do we stop them being whitewashed? Is there a deliberate effort to change the meaning of words of importance so that they lose value and stop progress?

I’m not sure how far this will get before being derailed!

About this far, apparently. But well moderated indeed, it must be said.

I’m white so my apologies for inserting myself into the thread, particularly as it is at an early stage, but I haven’t been able to find an answer to the below elsewhere.

I’ve only recently become aware of the deliberate, strategic white-washing of words for the purpose of rendering them unusable.

I try to steer clear of using the special words of other groups myself, but wonder if I ought to have a role in protecting them. I.e., if I see a word misused, should I be speaking up to say “that’s not what it means?” Instinctively I feel like that’s the correct way for me to conduct myself, but I’m conscious that the prevailing view in the thread so far seems to be that it might be time to move on from certain words. It also seems to be one of those topics where I’m better off relying on the judgment of other people than my own. Thanks.

I don't think it is our place to tell you what to do.But thank you

The whitewashing of w* and turning into a pejorative term, has been really thorough. On some MN boards it’s been creeping in for years, then really taken off lately and become normalised.

I’m part of the problem… white person, saw it happening way back, and was too chicken to say hold on a minute, that’s not what this word means.

my personal work is to do better at being an ally and speaking up.

K got hijacked much faster, and it seemed more like a co-ordinated thing.