"I'm not racist but..." As a Midwestern, white girl I can not tell you how many times I have heard that phrase. More often than not it is followed by some type of racial slur.
As the generation that grew up learning dances like the Soulja Boy and Laffy Taffy, most of us have developed our own rapper persona or alter ego that we pull out when we're rapping back and forth with our friends in the car. However fun this alter ego may be, sometimes we need to realize that it is not our real personality for a reason.
Rap music has undoubtedly affected American culture, especially our generation. However, when I hear a Caucasian person use the N-word with a hard "r" at the end, my stomach drops and my ears ring. The movie White Chicks provides a satirical outlook on how loaded this word really is when the Caucasian girls are astounded that their friends would even sing this word in a song.
By now almost every white person has tried getting an okay from their black friend to say the N-word with an "a" at the end. Of course we have to ask permission, because we already know how offensive this word is. But that doesn't stop us from wanting to say it. We're like a little kid who has just learned a new curse word. No matter how many times we are told it is offensive and inconsiderate, we continue to say it because it's fun to test our luck.
What makes me most angry about this hard "r" is not that it is being said, but rather how it is being used. In pop culture today when people refer to their friends they often use the N-word with a soft "a" as a term of endearment. However, when a person of color is accused of a wrong-doing I hear nothing but the hard "r" coming from many Caucasians in reference to this individual.
We can't continue the societal stigma that has been placed on this word. This word was once used as one of the most degrading and demeaning terms. We've been taught since we were kids that sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can't hurt us. Well that is no longer the case.
I'm not racist but I think we should stop using the hard R.
