So some of us try and reclaim it, turn it into a tacit understanding of solidarity in shared trauma and a reminder not to forget where you come from.
You know that's not really what it is though right? It's just something that when a black person says it, they come across as basically the black equivalent of a redneck, they sound dumb and like they're wallowing in ignorance, incessantly blurting out a word that has been perverted into popular culture because rappers are too lazy to use better words.
Like, at best, the n word, said by a black person, is held in about the same esteem as a white person saying "git'r done" or "yeehaw"
When a black person in an online game says it every third word in a rambly sentence, it's not some sophisticated nuanced recognition of complex shared social woes. It's a dumb person saying a slur that was used to dehumanise his own race because it's popular, other people around him say it, he hasn't put much thought into it, etc.
Lmao someone come get their mans ---
nothing is a greater tell of an awful human than using "social justice warrior" as a pejorative. without exception.- Bomani Jones