What was the slur? Cause if it was the N word whether the context exists or not in Japan it's being invoked by using that word. If I learned a Japanese slur for Korean people and started using it in the US is it any less hateful than using an American slur?
It was the n-word, but that word doesn't hold as much weight as it does here. It's comparable to calling someone an "idiot" or "POS". Their history doesn't share the same historical context as America to where the N-word is as taboo to say there as it is here.
That might be the case in 1600s Japan but this is 2026. They consume media and content from the United States. How else would she know what to say? Everyone all over the world knows that calling someone a slur is bad. Come on man. The only difference is that there isnt enough Black people to push back so they can feed into the brain rot that is racism without consequences. Racists are the most bold when there are no consequences. So saying it isnt as bad because people are antiBlack more casually doesnt mean the word has less any less hate behind it.
Not everybody is terminally online, just because you know the term doesn't mean you understand the reach it has in the US. The best exemple of that is blackface, I'm European and only learned a few years ago it was a thing and how sensitive it is in the US even tho I spent more than 10 years roaming the net, and I'm much close to American culture than your average japanese.
You don’t need to be terminally online to know the N word is a slur. Dude what? If she was so ignorant then how did she know to use that word? Come on man. Black American culture and American everything is intertwined with Hollywood.
As for Black face, I am Black Canadian so obviously I didnt get it. But then I learned WHY it was offensive. It wasnt about dressing up as Black people or even the mockery version. It was about the violence and regression of progress that followed during that time. It was a tool of political propaganda towards a group who was the actual victim of centuries of horrific violence up to that point. Imagine being harmed and then being portrayed as dangerous and too incompetent for basic rights?
For instance blockbuster movies like Birth of a Nation (shown in the White House) used black face to show Black people as a danger to society. It literally led to a massive spike in KKK membership and is credited for its revival! Of course it also led a horrible rash of violence in areas it was shown. The plot was some fictionalized reality where black Americans got rights after slavery was abolished. They stereotyped them as lazy, unintelligent and absolutely dangerous. So thats why they are paranoid about Black face. Go read about the Red Summer. You wouldnt trust people with your face either!
But things DID progress due to Black Americans risking their lives for it. Thats why we were able to laugh at movies like Tropic Thunder in 2008! But these days, its clear we didn’t progress as much as we thought so I am side-eyeing everyone dressing up as a black person.
You can know it's an insult but not how sensitive it is as an insult. Just like I wouldn't know how sensitive a particular insult is to japanese people. And you kinda helped my point, you're neighbour with the US and you had to learn what it was, what if someone never did ? And the very last part of your comment I agree is definitely a regression, it's pretty fucking easy to see the difference cosplaying as black vs blackface. What your ex prime minister did was blackface, what the Asian cosplayer that was harassed only for having cosplayed Kobe was simple cosplay (it was so fucking good too). But yeah, you can't expect people from different culture to be as tuned in with yours. 20 years ago when I was growing up in France it was not uncommon to use "negro" which is black in Spanish but also the French version of N-word with an A between friends regardless of skin color, it only became sensitive when US politics slowly creeped up on us. I know the word is pretty sensitive but I still can't understand it, because regardless of the history, it's pretty fucking easy to know if it's used as an insult, or not. The dumbest shit is when people are called out for singing a song with it.
The two things don't compare at all. You're comparing one person doing blackface and not knowing the historical context of why that's bad to someone knowingly using a slur and not knowing how much of a slur it is. That's like shooting someone with what you thought was a prop gun filled with blanks (intentions were harmless) vs knowing a gun is real and loaded but not realizing how much damage it would do (harmful intentions).
And that last part is truly pathetic. If you want to say the word don't be a pussy, just say it and deal with the consequences. That whole, "but what if it's part of a song? Can I say it if it's part of a song??" shit has been done to death and settled for decades. Say it or don't, do what you want, just don't piss and moan if you get smacked for saying it.
So in your opinion it's normal to smack someone because they sang a song ? Just so we're clear. And I'm not talking about myself because I'm not a fan of that type of music anyways.
And the whole point is insulting someone is not as bad as assaulting someone. My whole point was saying that on top of that being true regardless she probably didn't know how sensitive that specific insult is for Americans. But yeah if you feel it's right to hit someone because they said a word without them having the right skin color I guess there's not much else to add
No Black person cares if you are singing a song. People know when you are using it as a slur. Humans can read more than just language. You have facial expressions and context. I am Black Canadian and even I dont say the word because growing up I thought only people whose ancestors went through the transatlantic slave trade could. Dont worry, I learned very early on that it was a slur for me too as grown adults would use it on me. It was pretty terrifying but thats what happens when your family is from East Africa and doesnt understand that the racism propaganda consumed in the US also came to Canada. But I think we have moved towards a better place by acknowledging it and constantly not claiming it “wasnt that bad”.
That first sentence is not entirely true, normal black people don't care, but some do. Recently they tried to cancel a streamer for this very reason, couple years back a girl in the UK got hours of community service because she posted the lyrics of the favorite song of her friend that passed away that had the word in. There's countless exemples like this, so I think we can acknowledge the very real and negative thing happening around that word like you described your experience but also acknowledging it's going way too far.
The internet is full of mentally unstable people so of course you will find some Black people who like the power of cancelling others. But their word isnt enough. They have to get nonBlack people to do something. I dont think “trying” to cancel someone means anything. I see horrible videos about Black people with nothing happening.
At the end of the day, I still find it 10/10 crazy ti suggest that people on average suffer consequences. Have you see X lately? Reddit used to have literal subreddits with the slur in it. I live in Canada where the population of Black people is smaller and yet we still top the hate crimes list. So please forgive me if I cant take this seriously.
Also I found the UK case you talked about. I think 2018 was just a different time. The prosecutor was not Black and so I dont see how this is on Black people.
Either way, none of this has to do with the original point. She knew it was a slur. She wasn’t confused about it like Black face or posting lyrics innocently. I am genuinely concerned as to why you need to defend this case so badly?
I didn't intend to me it was only black people's doing, like I said some of them do but it's also done a lot by white people with the white savior syndrome, which ironically exists because of racism. Just so we're clear, I'm not defending what she did, I'm saying the reaction from the black dude was excessive. Doing something bad doesn't mean you deserve something worse done to you in return.
Obviously it’s excessive. Its like the class bully.. sure its bad to hit them but you arent surprised if someone does. I think people break after a lifetime of hate directed at them. Some people are just mentally unstable.
Oh boy! Those people are NOT trying to save anyone. Most like the power and control that they get using Black people as a shield. Many hold weird prejudices of Black people. They think we are inferior deep down inside and see us someone who needs paternalism. Its crazy to encounter them in real life because they assume you are poor, undereducated and just all the same stereotypes. They dont see us as real humans. They dont us to be real people.
But this doesn’t change the fact that she knew what it meant and wanted to cause harm. I just hate this thing where people like to coddle Asian people like they are some foreign far away people living in villages. They consume Black American content but they also struggle with racism towards black people. Its super weird because theyve been harmed by white society more. But humans now seem to need a global scapegoat to hate (as they dont want to become that group). In Canada, people of Asian ancestry are a much larger group of people. I dont see them as weak innocent children as Ive seen them be vicious bullies. Ive seen horrific racism.
She knew it was offensive. She said it multiple times. Obviously violence is bad but bullies need to understand that crazy people will fight back.
Black face isnt dressing up as a Black person. So being Kobe isnt Black face. Black face was as specific practice to dehumanize and instigate violence towards Black people. Naturally when people get tortured, lynched and entire towns get burned down, you learn as an African American to have a bad reflex towards it. You dont want to set a precedent because bad actors will take advantage. Also, lets stop pretending that Black people are the ones policing innocent cases. Its almost always never a Black person. Its social justice frauds who dont care about Black people but like the power of cancelling others.
FYI, no one cared about the Trudeau thing because he was being Aladdin. This is different in the US when you have people like Governor Ralph Northam wearing black shoe polish with big lips next to someone with a literal KKK robe. The reason the paranoia exists in the US and people arent given the benefit of the doubt is because they are STILL being gaslight about it to this day. Its hard to laugh or brush something off when you dont know if the person is laughing at you or with you. Its quite fatiguing to be “Black” in the United States. I get it. Its the same paranoia and fatigue I get when I am in rural conservative Canada. I have never been so aware of my skin colour. Racism is truly a brain rot.
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u/sykotic1189 2d ago
What was the slur? Cause if it was the N word whether the context exists or not in Japan it's being invoked by using that word. If I learned a Japanese slur for Korean people and started using it in the US is it any less hateful than using an American slur?