Use of the N-Word and Racism at Clemson

[Mike Butta]

I have a serious question. I hear a lot of times that it is okay for blacks to use the "N" word. Does that feeling change with age? Do older blacks feel it is okay? I know personally a lot of feelings about various things change with age.

Oh, and I went to a military college in New York and I honestly don't remember a racist situation ever happening near me or that I ever heard of there.

I think it depends on the person. I used it in college, but after I graduated and got a job I quickly phased it out. It didn't represent who I was. I also didn't want to give people an excuse to use it. You know the usual "but you can say it" I applaud Dabo for not allowing it's use on the practice field. I don't think anyone should use it, but that's just my opinion.

 

[LUV DEM TIGERS]

I think it depends on the person. I used it in college, but after I graduated and got a job I quickly phased it out. It didn't represent who I was. I also didn't want to give people an excuse to use it. You know the usual "but you can say it" I applaud Dabo for not allowing it's use on the practice field. I don't think anyone should use it, but that's just my opinion.

Just curious, I assume you are a black male? How old are you? I am seriously curious if it is frowned upon among older blacks.

 

[Mike Butta]

Just curious, I assume you are a black male? How old are you? I am seriously curious if it is frowned upon among older blacks.

43 and I'd say it's a little more at play then age.

 

[Ole Tom]

It goes both ways. Plenty of black racist in the world as well. I’ve seen many black folks be cruel and mean to Caucasian’s. A few bad apples can give groups a bad name. They definitely statistically commit way more crimes than other minority groups. Not sure why but those are cold hard facts.

Can we trade Earle for a fan to be named later?

 

[ddot7]

Since this is apparently a debate about what part(s) of the country are most racist, I hope those of you defending the south and claiming people from all of these other areas are just as bad/worse aren’t also the same folks who try to downplay and act like racism isn’t as big of a issue anymore as others make it out to be.

I be shocked by that kind of hypocrisy on here...shocked.

 

[GoodWord28]

Mods, when is Earle gonna be banned?

I’ve had that guy on ignore for a long time

 

[rtiger]

Mods, when is Earle gonna be banned?

Why? Are you telling me he's wrong? Or, are you telling me that you don't want to face the fact that there are black people who are racist as well?

I mean if you're going to say let's have an honest conversation; well then let's have an honest conversation.

Everyone jumps on whites for being racist, but there are lots of poc that are just as overtly racist as white people.

Look to our government leaders for a good example.

 

[spskillz]

Why? Are you telling me he's wrong? Or, are you telling me that you don't want to face the fact that there are black people who are racist as well?

I mean if you're going to say let's have an honest conversation; well then let's have an honest conversation.

Everyone jumps on whites for being racist, but there are lots of poc that are just as overtly racist as white people.

Look to our government leaders for a good example.

In other threads, he has claimed that he was black. Depends on the thread. Earle is a troll, he doesn’t wish to have a honest conversation.

 

[MoneMan]

It’s a college town in the south. There is absolutely racism there, but there’s also racism at Georgia, Bama, USC, etc.

Left college and went to work in Pittsburgh area for Westinghouse. The worst racism I ever heard was from some Penn St. grads (it was constant). They just assumed I thought like them since I was from the South. I told them the ATL area (where I grew up) is not like that. Although I am sure some rural parts of south GA were probably pretty bad.

 

[CU Alumnus]

Like cutiger97, I travel quite a bit. Could you please provide an explanation of all the rioting and protests in large non-southern cities? I find your narrative of the widespread racism in the deep south vs. the rest of the country an oversimplification if not possibly outright exaggerated based on past stereotypes.

I won't say that racism doesn't exist in the south. But I honestly believe it is just as bad (or worse) in other parts of the country.

 

[robert.n]

Had a surreal experience in Clemson this past weekend.

The wife and I decided to stop by TDs at the Pier for some outdoor dining and pitchers. A crowd of either townies or college students started to show up and took over a couple tables across the patio.

They all appeared to be 19-21 years old. They were loud and carrying on when two of them, one white and one black started arguing about the white one taking the black guys chair. The white kid called the other “n***a” and told him to chill out. I expected the situation to escalate, it did not.

As we sat there unavoidably overhearing their conversations, it became clear that it was widespread among this group of 12 or so (which included one black student and one biracial student) to use this word casually and flippantly in their conversation to refer to each other. This bothered my wife who mentioned it to the waitress.

The waitress then told the group loudly to “stop cussing” which went over about as well as you’d expect. Cussing wasn’t the issue.

They then began shouting f***, shit, c**t, and other words until the most sober of the group realized the complaint must have come from us and came over to ask what the issue was.

I told him I found it disgusting to use that word to refer to an African American or to use it at all. Atlanta was literally on fire as we dined.

Things got a little less tense after I spoke with some members of the group directly. But the drunkest of the bunch continued to use the word.

When talking to us later the waitress said “Oh none of them are Clemson students.” I didn’t buy that.

 

[CU Alumnus]

I finally decided that it was one of those things where it probably mattered more what it meant to somebody else than what it meant to me. It comes down to being sensitive.

Same here. It comes to a point where my desire to honor what it meant to me, was no longer worth offending others with it because of what it meant to them.

I have a funny story on it that I'll share later when I feel like typing it out.

 

[CU Alumnus]

Can we trade Earle for a fan to be named later?

Or a washing machine?

(Semi-Pro reference)

 

[castlesl]

Like cutiger97, I travel quite a bit. Could you please provide an explanation of all the rioting and protests in large non-southern cities? I find your narrative of the widespread racism in the deep south vs. the rest of the country an oversimplification if not possibly outright exaggerated based on past stereotypes.

This is absolutely true. Racism isn’t a culture issue as much as it is character and heart issues and truly I think that was what Dabo was saying, it is about loving your fellow man.

I travel all over the country and interact with many different types of people. I laugh when people talk about “racism in the south” not because it isn’t true, b/c it very much is, but they act like it is the only place and that is not true. There are differences in how it is shown in other places but they are more hardened and have a more refined racism.

Racism in the NE for example includes Jews as well. We don’t have a large or obvious Jewish population in the south east, so we haven’t dealt with that, but it is very prevalent in the NE.

 

[rtiger]

In other threads, he has claimed that he was black. Depends on the thread. Earle is a troll, he doesn’t wish to have a honest conversation.

OK, got it. Makes sense now.

 

[One Fingerd Fist]

We all apologized to everyone for being white. But most of the students only spoke Mandarin.

 

[nytigerfan]

I enrolled at Clemson in the Fall of 2004. I decided to attend Clemson with 2 of my best friends and all 3 of us lived on the 9th floor in Byrnes (1 was my roommate and the other was 2 doors down from us). The day after freshman move in the 3 of us met up with 2 other guys we knew from Columbia and walked towards downtown Clemson to grab some food. So as the 5 of us (all black) cross Bowman field to head towards the light a pickup truck with 3-4 white guys in it slows down, looks at us and they yell out “N***ERS!!!!!” We were all shocked... It was like something out of a movie. The truck sped off and we actually tried to chase it. To this day I’m glad we weren’t able to catch up to it because who knows what would’ve happened if we did.

We were all confused and angry. The problem only exacerbated those next few days when it felt like every other dorm window had a confederate flag in it. After a few weeks, we met a bunch of great people in Byrnes and across campus and we enjoyed our experience the next 4 years. Outside of a few blackface costume parties I personally didn’t experience any other overt acts of racism or heard the N word.

I am sorry you had that experience man that sucks. There is nothing more manly than yelling something out a window and then speeding off like a bitch.

 

[acwill07]

there's no talking to someone who won't even admit that racism is more widespread in the deep south than it is in other parts of the country

Racism is just as bad in other parts of the country as it is in the south.

 

[Ole Tom]

Why? Are you telling me he's wrong? Or, are you telling me that you don't want to face the fact that there are black people who are racist as well?

I mean if you're going to say let's have an honest conversation; well then let's have an honest conversation.

Everyone jumps on whites for being racist, but there are lots of poc that are just as overtly racist as white people.

Look to our government leaders for a good example.

Exactly when is the trade deadline?

 

[CU Alumnus]

Racism is just as bad in other parts of the country as it is in the south.

My understanding is that racial TENSION - which is different - is actually worse in some other areas. Of course this was before the latest stuff.

 

[Howard's Jock]

KA in the 90s. No racism anywhere.

 

[Howard's Jock]

there's no talking to someone who won't even admit that racism is more widespread in the deep south than it is in other parts of the country

There is more racial interaction in the south.

 

[Howard's Jock]

Mods, when is Earle gonna be banned?

For? I don’t like sone if his schtick but if we are only allowed to have one way communication on race where all we do is apologize for being white then no thanks. His comments were factual.

 

[dfrctigersc]

I am guessing from listening to the talking heads that racism doesn’t count against Asians, whites, Jews, Indians, Irish and Italians. Sorry

It truly doesn't, and the worst experiences that they have had has not been from whites. According to most, that absolutely cancels it out. But what do I know? I am told daily that my opinion does not matter.

 

[dfrctigersc]

Since this is apparently a debate about what part(s) of the country are most racist, I hope those of you defending the south and claiming people from all of these other areas are just as bad/worse aren’t also the same folks who try to downplay and act like racism isn’t as big of a issue anymore as others make it out to be.

I be shocked by that kind of hypocrisy on here...shocked.

I think it would be far far more logical that those speaking to downplay racism are the ones who act as if its only a south problem or predominantly a southern issue. That white trash guy or girl doesn't usually have much impact on anything. Its those wolves in sheep's clothing......

 

[Jwilliamsiii]

It truly doesn't, and the worst experiences that they have had has not been from whites. According to most, that absolutely cancels it out. But what do I know? I am told daily that my opinion does not matter.

Idk man. Dem dang Germans are whiter than Yankees.

 

[tigrbybirth]

In many cases it’s worse in the North. Isn’t there where all the riots and problems start?
Blacks and whites actually get along pretty well in the South. Sorry to burst your CNN bubble.

I've lived in multiple parts of the country and almost never watch CNN. I grew up in Kingstree and have seen the most prejudice there compared to anywhere else. I haven't had a lot of law enforcement interaction in any of those areas, so it may be worse in the north, but I doubt it. Racism tends to be less in larger cities. I've spent a lot of time in Kingstree, Lake City, Florence, and Orangeburg and those areas are the worst. Charleston seems to be pretty bad as well and worse outside the city. Bluffton is among the better spots. For example, the chief of police and several officers brought grills to the protests, cooked hotdogs and hamburgers, and shared them with the protesters. Needless to say, it was non-violent.

 

[tigrbybirth]

I will offer my experience and that of my father. Because your view is also part of the problem in trying to make a blanket statement about a geographic region. This issue is not regional it’s an epidemic in the entire country and my accounts will highlight that point.

My wife is from Michigan and we have traveled there often. I am from the south, born in GA and grew up in SC. The language used about and perspective on people of color in that state is by far worse than anything I have been around growing up.

My father has traveled all over this planet as a part of our nations special forces and he has told me multiple times the biggest racists he has ever seen were in Massachusetts when he was there for training. And this is from a man that grew up going to school during the segregation and integration time period. He also lived the majority of his life in GA and SC.

I am lucky that my parents always taught me to respect everyone no matter who they were and they would both bust my tail if they ever felt I didn’t live up to that teaching.

@DaBadass

Have you considered whether the military community represents a bubble of significantly lower racism. First, the Military is quite thoroughly integrated. Second, when you put your life on the line, you earn instant respect especially from those doing the same thing for many of the same reasons. Lastly, trusting the person beside you and being the kind of person they can trust increases exponentially when they are protecting your life. It's been proven that people get over prejudices and form a tight bond pretty quickly when thrown into challenging circumstances. The more challenging those circumstances, the more those effects show themselves.

That said, I think you may have missed quite a bit of prejudice in the south. I think there is less on college campuses, but well more than none. Education and intelligence tends to lower racism.