I feel sorry for Matt Barnes and the Charles Barkley’s and other of African American decent who feel they have a right to use the N-word. Just because something is said or done by others and is popular does not make it right / useful/ helpful.
Fortunately you guys have the attention of national media so at least this gets discussed. Unfortunately your celebrity status has co-signs others feeling justified perpetuating an age-old derogatory stamp/ curse.
No “we don’t have to get use to it!” The power of the WORD matters.
The mindset of Nigga is a disease that for too many of young, poor African Americans is a negative part of our identity or how we have been taught to see ourselves. The toll this mistaken identity has taken on people in this country African Americans in particular has been devastating.
We are a nation that has more than two hundred years as people being brainwashed into seeing themselves and others as niggers/ nigga’s /what ever. Though it is 2013 the stain of slavery and the mindsets produced by the horrors it perpetuated has not gone away and will not its own.
We in America need to have healing dialogues about what was done and the lingering affects that it has had on us all. By the way I am an African American male and have been for 60 yrs. I am a Life stills teacher who works with the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated as well as students of all ages around creating mindsets dedicated to UN-NIGGERFICATION.
For more insight see the movie12 YEARS A SLAVE/ read the book POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME – by Francis Welding then do the work to connect the dots between how we feel about being African Americans, what we say and what we do…the good, the bad and the ugly. Then lets talk about what you have a right to say and do and what you should say or do whether in public or private.
Michael W. Foster / People for Non Violence in music
