usmbguest5318
Gold Member
The blacks in my world, by their own assertion, don't use that word as an adjective or noun when they describe or identify specific individuals or groups of people. (They even eschew the word "niggardly," which is a perfectly fine word that has nothing to do with and predates the "N-word.") Their disdain for it and all that it connotes is not tempered by the speaker's race. And, no, they did not to Obama accord their approbation or imprimatur for his having publicly used that word; they found his use of the word every bit as unacceptable as they would anyone else's.Very naïve. Black people speak differently to people of like color, so do Whites, Asians, Latino's and aliens. The N word is a prime example, of Black to Black communication difference.Do you have dark skin?I met Maya in Jacksonville, Florida in 2001, I believe it was. She was a very bitter racist person, but her writings don't show it. We were in a hotel bar, and perhaps she was drunk, or just had a bad experience.
Perhaps. She didn't come across that way when I interacted with her over the course of dinner at a charity event and some years later at a cocktail party. Maybe the settings themselves tempered her bile? I don't know. Quite frankly, she showed the same regal bearing and reserved contemplation as one of the women who, ages ago, worked in my parents' home. I found her lucid, charming and engaging as a someone with whom to chat. I sensed no bitterness. Obviously, given the briefness of our dealings, I have no way to know whether she was a racist.
She was a woman of grace and culture, but seemed defensive! Perhaps it was the hour, or perhaps she wanted to be alone with her escort. It was my friend the bartender who introduced us. Many people find me threatening until they get to know me, and I don't know why.Do you have dark skin?
What? I understand the question. I'm not sure it deserves an answer.
Her, yours, my and others' skin tone doesn't factor into what I might say or think of them, be my remarks positive, neutral or negative.