Some of the Most Flawed Reasoning on The Planet

Of all of the posts that I have shared with the various groups that I am a member of via LinkedIn, none have garnered the number of responses to a discussion like my December 10th post to The Critical Thinker, What Is This Fascination With The Word "Bitch?". The discussion has truly been thought provoking and has made salient points as to why our reasoning concerning the so called taking "ownership" of words such as "nigger" and "bitch" by African Americans and women is flawed. Many who choose to use such vocabulary will proudly say that we are taking ownership of what was used to degrade us (African Americans and women) in order for us to have control over it. When you truly think about the premise of that statement and reasoning, it really does not make sense at all. There is nothing cute about referring to myself or anyone else with terms that are used to degrade whether it was in our history or now. When I hear that type of reasoning, what comes to my mind is the title of this post and that is, it is some of the most flawed reasoning on the planet. The term Nigger, is the same whether you spell it "niggah,"  "nigga," "niggaz," "my nigga," etc. etc. etc.and the definition of bitch is still the same, whether you are a "sexy bitch," "a bad bitch," "nigga bitch,"  "this bitch" or "that bitch," etc. There is something wrong with the self esteem of a people and gender who can audaciously proclaim that they are a nigger and or a bitch. For those who are reading this and would like to debate me, there is no debating for me on this issue. The terms are degrading, meant to degrade, are self degrading and perpetuate stereotypes of women and African Americans that still exist to this day. They are utterly disrespectful to self and others. Yes, while we are running around here signifying that we are niggers and bitches thinking we are taking ownership of something, the reality is we are doing nothing but proving and fulfilling what is too often thought (but not said or left for you to read between the lines) about women of all races and African Americans in particular. Behavior is predicated upon thought so if you are thinking of yourself as a nigger or a bitch, guess what? As the quote goes, “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

Please take the time to read the responses from the LinkedIn discussion below:

I thank all of the participants in the discussion as each hit the proverbial nail on the head in his/her own way. At some point the majority of society is going to have to stand up and say "Enough." Something to critically think about and as always I invite you to listen to The Critical Thinker on Saturday mornings beginning at 6 a.m. ET on www.gobrave.org and to follow on Twitter @thinkcritical01.