An arbitrarily de-charged word

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In today’s society many people use a word that African Americans take offense to.

Yet, we hear this word nearly everywhere, in sports, in music and in everyday conversation.

It’s the N-word.

There are two different N-words: the version with an “a” at the end and the version with an “er.”

The first version of the word has become a friendly, conversational term, used mainly by Blacks.

The other is more racially used to offend a Black person.

People should be more offended that others care less about what they say nowadays. Before people were more protective of the word, and no-one wanted to hear it.

Now it seems as if color is no longer the factor that grants permission to the word, and it’s more the likeability of the person.

In certain situations, people still do find the N-word offensive and take action on it. For example, Los Angeles Clippers Forward

Matt Barnes tweeted the N-word, which caused the NBA to fine him.

Apparently, there are exceptions to using either word without offense.

In October, Miami Dolphins’ Guard Richie Incognito was involved in a bullying situation with teammate Jonathan Martin.

In that situation, Martin showed investigators a voice message Incognito left him where Incognito called Martin a “half-N****r.”

Many of Incognito’s teammates heard the voice message, some of which weren’t offended.

In fact, many teammates supported and felt bad for Incognito for being called a bully and a racist.

“I don’t have a problem with Richie, I love Richie,” Dolphins Wide Receiver Mike Wallace told the Miami Herald.

Some teammates even thought he was a brother figure to Martin.

“I think if you had asked Jon Martin a week before who his best friend on the team was, he would have said Richie Incognito,”

Tannehill said to NBC Sports. “The first guy to stand up for Jonathan when anything went down on the field, any kind of tussle,

Richie was the first guy there. When we would hang on off the field, outside football, who was together? Richie and Jon. I’m not in those guys’ shoes, I can’t explain what’s going on.”

If this situation would have happened in the 1990s or earlier, the outcome might have been different.

A similar situation happened during the NFL off-season.

Philadelphia Eagles player Riley Cooper was at a concert and had a too much to drink. He was caught on camera getting into it with someone and excessively using the N-word in his trash talking.

Unlike Incognito, Cooper’s had very little support and a lot more hate in his direction.

Marcus Vick, brother of Eagle Michael Vick, tweeted a threat on Cooper after the incident: “Hey I’m putting bounty on Riley’s head. 1k to the first free safety or strong safety that light his (expletive) up! Wake him up please.”

Other teammates voiced opinions as well.

“…we’re merciful as a team toward Riley, toward his family, but at the same time we realize that it offended a whole bunch of people, me personally,” Jason Avant said to Comcast Sportsnet.

It’s odd that people will support someone who said the N-word, who wasn’t intoxicated, yet, are offended when someone is intoxicated.

Many believe the true you come out when you’re drinking.

That still doesn’t give anyone the right to say the N-word whether you are white, Black, Hispanic, intoxicated or sober.

The word was never supposed to be used as a way of being “cool” with one other.

It’s amazing that it takes a celebrity to get in trouble for saying the word for people to say something about it or have any opinion about it.