Right, lets get this out of the way up front, I'm going to use the word nigger in this post. Some of you will be offended by this, some of you might even defy logic and label me a racist as a result, nothing is changed by that. I understand the historical prejudice attached to the word, but this is true of so many offensive terms and yet of the extensive list of these words, only nigger is condemned and censored/punished universally... Except it isn't, is it? Herein lies the issue, having a word that belongs to any one specific race is a racial divide in itself, and a catalyst for tensions to arise.
The simple fact is this: equality is not the same as reversing a prejudice. Taking a word used against a group and using it to define themselves, but forbidding anyone outside that group to use the word, is a form of segregation. You cannot logically argue with that, anything (be it a word, public office, right, or seat on a fucking bus) that is only for one subset of society creates a divide in that society. Saying that black people are the ones allowed to use the word nigger is akin to saying only straight people are allowed to get married: illogical, immoral, and the product of past evils.
Now sit the fuck down and pay attention, this is the important bit. I'm not saying that any use of the word nigger is ok, it is an offensive term with an especially dark past, but words like faggot, paki and the like are all (while rightly censored in a lot of public media) in common use. Not only gays use faggot, not only Pakistanis use paki. Derogatory terms are not acceptable in the context of purposefully attacking anyone for being different to you. Out of context however, the word is just that, a word, nothing more. People need to learn the difference between a word and a label.
In this post so far I have used the word nigger only 3 times before this paragraph, so one per paragraph. All of these uses are about the word itself, I have not referred to anyone as a nigger, or called black people as a whole "niggers," I never have done and never will (if you're about to type a comment telling me that this sentence is me doing just that... I'd prescribe a swift course of euthanasia applied via a back-flip into the grand canyon) because I understand the power that words have to separate and hurt people. This applies to the examples above among other terms, but that power to separate is shown just as much and I'd argue in just a dark light by splitting people into the groups "ok to say nigger" and "racist if they say nigger" based on nothing more than race. No one should be labled a nigger, and either no one should say nigger, or no one should be branded something they're not as a result of using the word.
Finally, regarding the event that lead to this post: I think that a rhyme with the line "catch a nigger by his toe" is inappropriate for use anywhere on the BBC, however veiled. That said, it's use does not make Jeremy Clarkson a racist and the whole thing has been blown hugely out of proportion.
Finally for real this time, there will be three types of people who react to this post: Firstly, those who agree with me, fairly self explanatory. Those who read this and take it as proof of my racism, these people are idiots. Then the ones I most want to connect with, people who disagree completely with what I say, but argue their case reasonably and respectfully. I accept that this issue is controversial and will remain so for generations I'm sure, so if you think that the word nigger should belong to black people, then by all means let me know why.
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