Don't say it.

The English language is made up of several thousand words—171,476 words if we’re being exact—all of which have a backstory, all of which originated from something.

We have 171,476 words at our disposal (more, if we bring Hiligaynon and Filipino into the equation) and yet many of us choose to use the wrong ones—words that degrade, words that isolate, words that showcase one’s xenophobia.

The “n-word” is one of those words.

Roots, n.

From the Latin for black “niger,” the word evolved to become the noun “negro” which merely referred to a black person in English and simply meant the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. But no matter its origins, by the early 1800s, the word “nigger” was firmly established as a derogatory term and up to today, in the 21st century, remains a principal term for segregation, regardless of time, place, and the person using it.

Throughout history, racial slurs have branded ethnic groups. But no group has endured as many racial nicknames as the blacks: coon, tom, savage, pickaninny, mammy, buck, samba, jigaboo, and buckwheat are some. Many of these slurs became fully-traditional, pseudo-scientific, literary, cinematic, and everyday distortions of African Americans.

Caricatures, music, politics, propaganda, and many other forms of media reflect the extent and vast network of colored prejudice throughout history.

The “n-word” carries with it much of the hatred and disgust toward African Americans and the black community. Historically, it defined, limited, made fun of, and ridiculed all blacks. It was a term of exclusion, verbal discrimination—invisible chains that continue to weigh down the people who have suffered years of segregation. Whether used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb, it strengthened the stereotype of the lazy, stupid, dirty, and worthless nobody.

Rooted, adj.

I’ve lived in the Philippines for nine years. But before I moved here, my mom would always tell me about her motherland—about the scrumptious food, the sights to see, and the respectful people.

She was right about the food and the sights but time and time again, I’ve had to ask myself if the people were different in her time.

Since I moved to this country, I’ve had instances where I’m minding my own business and strangers would start hollering the n-word at me, schoolmates would begin singing songs littered with the n-word when I’m around. Even some of my friends think it’s okay to address me in that fashion. Newsflash: it isn’t!

Instead of being welcomed with the hospitality she claimed her people were famous for, I was bullied, told that being “black” made me ugly, assaulted by images on a TV screen advertising every kind of whitening product known to man, and mocked because I didn’t understand the language.

Bit by bit, the pretty picture my mother had painted for me was tainted with every encounter that showed me how far it was from the truth.

I presumed myself to be an isolated case but then I met more Nigerians that understood and empathized with my struggle—people who have experienced being racially profiled and fetishised; people who were thrusted into a new world with cultural and language barriers at every corner; people who could be walking around a mall minding their own business only to catch strangers’ stares and nasty words; people who know what it feels like to be reduced to a skin color.

Uproot, v.

To a certain extent, the media and celebrities, especially our modern-day rappers and their prevalent use of racial slurs in their tracks, do affect our way of thinking and influence the way wecommunicate and perceive. However, I firmly believe that there is no excuse.

Language is said to be dynamic meaning that words that previously had negative connotations can now be seen in a positive light, but still, several exceptions exist to this rule. In no way, shape, or form should racial slurs become an intrinsic part of our vocabulary. Words were made to bring us together, not tear us apart. They were the bridge that connected us as one people living in the same planet, under the same sky.

No matter how you try to dress it up and defend yourself on the grounds of “it’s cool,” “it’s not a big deal,” “artists like so-and-so say it all the time,” and any other fallacies you can conjure up, it will never be right.

Before you think it makes you look cool or popular for saying it out of habit, give it a thought before you speak. Or make the moral choice and—don’t say it. /CE