What's in a Word: Howard Beach Hate Crime Trial

I'm a 34 year old black woman and HATE! the word nigger or nigga same meaning your changing 2 letters. Blacks need to read your history books. Read Simple Justice and find out about our ancestors and the pain they went through. They died by the hands of people that spit that word out just like they were taking a breath of air. Blacks that use the word should be ashamed, you might as well go spit in the face of Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King. Stop using the word!

I am disgusted by this whole incident. Let's think back to the white NYU student who was recently killed by a group of black youths who beat him, tried to rob him and subsequently chased him into on coming traffic. The attackers were given a slap on the wrist. No one cried bias. Reverse the situation and all hell would break lose. I can just hear the racism cries now. This 19 year old kid is becoming yet another scapegoat. He will be sent to jail, will no doubt be labeled a racist and be beaten by the other inmates and come out years later a hardened criminal. By sending him to jail as a racist we are taking a stupid kid and turning him into a true threat to society. Racial equality is less of a reality today than it's ever been.

ethos I agree. System is broken.

^Co-sign, seriously. What boggles my mind is that this guy was on the loose after beating the crap out of a Sikh man in '01. What's the point of having a special punishment for "bias crimes" if the perp doesn't learn a lesson the first time?

They were casing the neighborhood. They never stole a car.

Minucci, however, did beat the shit out of someone who had not, at that point, done anything to deserve it other than be black in the wrong neighborhood. listening to Jay-Z doesn't mean you're not a racist when you brutally beat someone while yelling racial slurs at him...

Yes then N word has a different usage in 2006, but its still a negative word. No matter how you try to dress it up, nigger into nigga; or say what up my nigga in the most sincere and heartfelt way, it still means the same thing it did years ago. So whether your 17 or 60, the word needs to be put to rest. And I don't care if your black, white, yellow, brown, etc. especially if your black, that word should not be in your vocabulary. It was created to put you down, and to degrade you and it still means the same thing.

Papercutninja - that is what I am saying. I did read initially, when the story first broke, that the guy had been beaten was stealing cars. The kid never denied it publically. The guy from Howard Beach was being a thug. "Crime stopper of the neighborhood." To bad he commited a crime.

Uh...why do all of the news outlets, INCLUDING Gothamist, fail to mention that the four "teens" that were beaten were in Howard Beach to STEAL A CAR? They admitted this to the police. They weren't exactly innocent kids on the way home from the ice cream shop. Having said that, Fat Nick is a complete tool and a scumbag and should be charged and convicted of assault, NOT a bias crime.

cgee. Yes the words are meaningful, so let me explain why I said it didn't matter. After reading the article a while back, my conclusion was that he (the guy from Howard Beach) called the guy "nigga,: not "nigger." It carries a different meaning when used by a person that lives the "gangsta" culture. I used to live in Sunset Park Brooklyn, and the young Hispanics used the word liberally, young girls and guys. I only referr to them because that is the neighborhood I was in at the time. I am sure that the word is, also, used by other naiotnalities in the culture of Hip Hop. Also among blacks in general. It is used the same way by young and adult white guys who hang out with blacks they are good friends with. I have heard them.

However, when I heard the word used among the young people in Sun Set Park, it was NOT always used with positive inflections. Many times they were talking with anger about a persons behavior that they didn't like. But I knew it wasn't a racial issue. So of course, the inflection changed what the word meant. It didn't change the racial termonology, but it change whether the person was respected or disrespected. In another context, as you know, someone might be your "nigga," respectful,again with positve inflection. When whites call blacks this it is usually is a vile, lower than life, hateful meaning.

Anyway, I don't see this as a racial bias crime because of how the young guy has presented himself. He supposedly likes black rappers. He lives the culture. (bling bling, big car, baggy clothes, listens to the rap music, hangs out with rappers, hustler) So, I see him as a little "gangsta." Not "gangster."

With all that said, and I hope it make sense. It didn't matter what he called him because he wasn't verbally attacking the guy with a racial slur. It is not meant for race in the "gangsta" context. So, that is when you look at his intentions with the word. I was thinking that the emphasis should be placed on physical attack, and not a simple attack, on the car thief. The guy that lives in Howard Beach wanted to inflict pain. He did just that. You may want to look at how he prevented the guy from having his Civil Rights. The guy form Howard Beach prevented the car theif from Due Process, a trial. He took the law into his own hands.

I am wondering when they are going to drop the racial bias charge. Maybe it is "punk bias." They all were acting like punks. I don't see "racial" issue in this case.

MH, normally you would be correct; however, the words are meaningful in this case because the defendant is being charged not with simple assault, but with a bias crime. Since bias crimes carry enhanced penalties, the manner in which the defendant's words are interpreted and the context into which they are placed will certainly be very important to him as this case proceeds through trial.

I am intrigued by the possibility of a legal argument by the defense that the use of "nigger" by a non-black young person is not a bias crime. I believe that there is a lot of potential evidence one might introduce to support this argument, especially from current pop culture.

Of course, bias crime statutes in general are so much bullshit IMHO, but that's an argument for another day.

Here I am getting all indignant over this innocent black guy getting beat up by this piece of white trash.

And then--I read the original article. Hey, Moore and his buddies were stalking the neighborhood looking for a car to steal. Well, that's just too bad for Moore. Better luck next time, sucka.

thanks homeopt. Like I said, you have to look at the context of the situation. It doesn't matter what he called him. He meant harm to the guy. You don't fracker a persons skull when you are "down wid em."

the real question is did he say "nigger" or "nigga".

The former lands him on the Supreme Court, the latter on Jerry Springer.

In the words of the almighty negro spiritual... "Who you calling nigger, bitch ?"

I don't think the "N" word has the same meaning for anyone under the age of 17 years old. That is when it is in the right context. But if people are saying "N word" instead of Nigger then it has the same meaning for any age. You have just disguised it. People can't say it. Because it is not a nice word. In regards to the case, let's get real. No one walks up to you and says...Hey Broe or Yo Broe...then beats you up until you get a fractured scull. No, I don't think it was a racial crime. But the accused was acting like justice was his to deal out that night and was his neighborhood to take care of.

Some people owe it to the world to just jump off a bridge.

If I have to sit in one more stand-up show where a Sikh guy gets called Muhammad, I'm going to start my own hate crime.

Since when is it hard to tell the difference? Or do racists just find everything difficult?

Isn't that Turtle from HBO's Entourage?

I'd forgotten about this kid, but the same immediate thought comes to mind: what a tool.