"September 2009 (UTC) 

 === The defintion of nigger === 

 THE DEFINITION OF NIGGER IS NOT LET ME STATE NOT A RACIST SLANG WORD TO OFFEND BLACK PEOPLE! 
 Nigger not a slang word that offends a different color. It merely is a word that means stupid or ignorant of that subject. Nigger can be used toward any color including Caucasian because we have brought the word to what we call it now and days but nigger does not mean offending to black people it is merely used to any color, any person, and merely if you do not agree that means you are a nigger...... I say that to everyone who is IGNORANT on the subject ) )   
 :I've heard it used this way was well, but do you have a reliable source that we can use to note this alternate usage? –  

 I agree. Up until recently, most (and some still do) dictionaries defined nigger as an indigent, poor and/or unintelligent person... predominately blacks (of African descent) because they were at one time ignorant and uneducated people whom whites had during slavery. Sources still verify this to date, especially older dictionaries by Webster. I suppose it would be no different than calling poor Ozark Whites a ""Hillbilly"", Southern Asians as ""Deshi"" or Indians as ""Redskins"". A word only becomes/became offensive as people took them personal, misuse them and/or overused them to mean something negative. Eventually, any word could be taken as offensive. For example (just a few), the history of words such as prude, diva, or anal (retentive) were all words that at one time were not considered derogatory but have been abused to the point of offense sometimes. Or like how people substitute words like ""sugar"" for ""shit"" to avoid ""cursing"" when in reality it's the same thing (an expletive). Not to mention how people misconstrue/misinterpret words that sound like a slur but means something totally different (such as niggardly, which I believe this article addresses already). It's important that this article expresses the ""double-standard"" of other slang used towards other races, such as ""honky"", ""sand rat"", ""chink"", ""red dots"", etc. and how they are equally offensive. Only time will tell the impact those will also have on other nationalities. (It's too bad that logic and truth are suppressed by emotions and anger at times. I suppose that's how human nature goes.) But agreeing with the above point, if people truly knew the history of the word, they'd realize that any race/nationality (color and nationality are two different things) could be considered a nigger. Unfortunately, black slaves were mostly called this and then it became a word of hate after their revolution and freedom. However, in history, Asians, Jews and Indians were equally persecuted and called - what we now consider - ""racist"" names. Nonetheless, African-Americans use the word as much as or more than any other race currently to identify themselves with each other, because it has become a ""bad word"" for other races to use it, unlike in the past. Still, in certain contexts, the word can be used by anyone to express a point or set a tone, such as in movies or scripted music and shows. In all fairness, to repeat them in that way, should not be considered ""a crime"" (punishable). As humans, in time, we have learned from our mistakes and progress/move forward. Perhaps I can ""source"" this again, as I have before, at another time. Thanks for the opportunity to share.    

 Many years ago, the last meaning of the definition was first (or exclusive), only stating that black slaves were called this. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nigger    

 Additional examples, all supporting that it's not just related to blacks. However, I still haven't found a definition of it from the previous century. Either way, it's negative in meaning, if even about a ""poor uneducated"" person.  

 http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Nigger and http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigger 

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