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The Nig@# Syndrome

by C. Kenya Montgomery

There was an uproar from the Black community when Cincinnati Reds Baseball owner Marge Scott called two of her players her "million dollar niggers. The response from the Black community was the same when Orange County Councilman Joseph Kover called Comptroller H. Carl "a nigger from harlem" during a meeting when McCall was in attendance. Keith Dambrot, basketball coach at Central Michigan University, was recently fired for telling his players: " I wish we had more niggers on the team."

Schott, Kover and Dambrot, all white, claimed they did not intend any offense when they used the term nigger. But offense or not, the term nigger is so derogatory and offensive to Blacks in particular that even the absence of the intent cannot justify or excuse it's usage. Blacks were right in demanding an apology from all three and that they be removed from their position.

A question we need to ask ourselves, however, is why are whites in professional and pubic positions in this day and time becoming so quick to call a Black person a nigger in pubic? Why are the whites so "comfortable" with using the term nigger in the precence of Blacks? Is it our outrageous and excessive use of the term that is causing some whites to think that it can be them as well? Are we niggers" And if not, why do we constantly refer to ourselves and other Blacks as such?

The average Black person knows that the term nigger was created by racist whites who enslaved Blacks. And that it was a term that was used to describe Black people as being dumb and inferior, whites used the term nigger as part of their psychological process of stripping enslaved Blacks of all knowledge of their culture, language religion, country and self. Yet manyof us who know this are still guilty of using this pejorative term. Why?!! Some of us do so out of ignorance because we were never taught by our parents the true meaning of this term and grew up in an environment where use of the term nigger was tolerated and in many cases encouraged. In fact, many Black children grow up being called nigger by their own parents and relatives. So they grow up believing that it is alright to call and be called a nigger by another Black person.

Oppression dehumanizes-and Blacks are an oppressed people. People who are oppressed and held in low esteem often internalize their own oppression and resort to doing things that reflect and perpetuate their own degradation and de humanization. Calling ourselves niggers is just one glaring example of how oppression has caused us to degrade and dehumanize ourselves. It is probably one of the most apparent and pervasive signs of slavery's affect upon upon us.

Our foolish use of the term nigger is compounded by our ridiculous defense of it. Some of us are foolish enough to actually try to justify using this term, claiming that we do not use it offensively toward each other. This may be true. But it does not take the sting out of the term nigger nor does it justify our using it as loosely as we do.We cannot give the term nigger a near meaning because to racist whites it will always have one meaning only, and that is it's original racist meaning. The point I am making here is that no matter what the term nigger may mean to us when we use it, we will be mocked and looked upon as tools by those outside of our race for calling ourselves niggers.

There is nothing "slick" or "hip" about calling ourselves niggers. It only shows our ignorance and stupidity because are are the only people stupid enough to take a racial epithet and hurl it at ourselves. Do we ever hear whites calling themselves honkies? No! Nor do we ever hear Italians calling themselves "wops" or Puerto Ricans calling themselves "spicks" or Jews calling themselves "hymies". So why must we disgrace ourselves by calling each other nigger? It makes no sense at all. We use this term so much that we are conscious of it's full meaning and impact or even care. If we want to send a real message to whites that using the term nigger is wrong, then we should stop using it ourselves.

We need to teach our children to despise the term nigger and not use it outside of general context. We also need to stop using this term in our chlidren's presence and admonish them when we hear them using it in ours. Our enslaved ancestors despised the term nigger and taught their children to despise it as well. Our ancestors would turn over in their graves if they knew how many of us have been duped into calling ourselves niggers.

The bottom line is that we are NOT niggers. Some of us have just been brainwashed into believing they are. We are strong and intelligent people who come from a proud heritage. Rulers of great cilvilizations. A land of Kings and Queens. But we will never be respected as a people until we cease calling ourselves niggers and portraying other negative images ourselves. This insane practice of calling ourselves niggers has to end and end now!

So the next time you call yourself a nigger think real hard about it. Think about how you are degrading yourself. Think about how you are dehumanizing yourself. And most of all think about the present and future generation of our youth who because of your foolish perpetuation of this term will continue to be lost in the nigger syndrome.

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