wrt said racewank - I've got to admit, I'd never heard the term 'miscegenation' in my life before I read Witchqueen's post.

Well, it's a specifically American word -- sounds all Latinate and everything, but it's actually a neologism coined in 1863 by a Democrat* out to smear the Republican Party** by implying that the entire Civil War was all about the Republicans' sooper seekrit white-race-tainting agenda.

If some weaselly creep hadn't been horrified at the prospect of the abolition of slavery and the legal personhood and autonomy of black people, the word wouldn't exist. And since England disentangled itself from slavery a bit before the US, without our spectacular degree of bloodshed and general fucked-upedness, there's no reason why you should have heard of it.

It's actually kind of reassuring to know that this asshole word hasn't really migrated past our shores.

*1863 Democrat=modern day racist extremist
**1863 Republican=modern day Democrat. Isn't political history fun?

I have a really stupid question. I mean *really* stupid.

Is the n-word used in places other than the US in the same way?

Is the n-word used in places other than the US in the same way?

That one I think was a carry over from the UK, sadly. It may not have carried all of the negative connotations it does here, however.

At least, that's what I've always assumed since the original title of Agatha Christie's ...And Then There Were None aka Ten Little Indians was Ten Little N*****s, and that was written in the '30s (or early '40s).

Is the n-word used in places other than the US in the same way?

It's not part of Australia's history in the same way, but I think it'd be seen as being just as offensive over here.

Is the n-word used in places other than the US in the same way?

yes, and no. Other places have co-opted the word as an insult, but to people other than American blacks, I think that it doesn't have the same visceral impact. However, those non-Americans know that they are being insulted, and know that the person is using the word in an attempt to be as derogatory as possible.

And then there's the issue of the word being used in music. The music crosses shores, but the history of the word doesn't, which can result in awkward situations when a non-USian person hears the word in a "friendly" context in a song, and assumes a benign or even positive meaning.

That one I think was a carry over from the UK, sadly. It may not have carried all of the negative connotations it does here, however.

At least, that's what I've always assumed since the original title of Agatha Christie's ...And Then There Were None aka Ten Little Indians was Ten Little N*****s, and that was written in the '30s (or early '40s).

that word was in use FAR before the 30's. It's original use was wider and less pejorative. There is also the issue of who thinks it's pejorative and where it is being used. The word was in wide use by polite society in the US, with no ill intent meant. It has been used in Europe to refer to anyone with dark skin (asians, indians, etc.).

It was also, at times, used to refer to anything black. Like, "which cat?" the n----- one."

I know of at least two dogs that were named thusly. One was a friend of mine's family dog from forty or fifty years ago (who his aunt still refers to by name without batting an eye).

It's also the name of someone's pet and a code word in the movie The Dam Busters. [link] Since it is historically accurate there is some kerfuffle about dubbing the movie.

Well, it's a specifically American word -- sounds all Latinate and everything, but it's actually a neologism coined in 1863 by a Democrat* out to smear the Republican Party** by implying that the entire Civil War was all about the Republicans' sooper seekrit white-race-tainting agenda.

Oooh! So it was like the "Politically Correct" of its day. Cool.

that word was in use FAR before the 30's.

Oh, I know that, I was just indicating that it could be used as a book title in the UK that far into the 20th century (they didn't change the title in England until the '60s, I think).

to people other than American blacks, I think that it doesn't have the same visceral impact

Obviously I don't know precisely how much impact it carries to American black people, but my estimation would be that you'd be just about as likely to get punched out by a Jamaican for calling them that. And not just because we're feisty. So it may very well extend further in the Caribbean. One of the funniest moments of my life was being called (enthusiastically) a nigger by a Russian guy, and having the two African woman with me say "What's a nigger?" "I think it's like kaffir."

As for miscegenation, I only use the term to be sarcastic and have never heard it used as simple description, except where illegality was involved. "Interracial" is the word I hear in the other contexts.

I've seen older books use the spelling "nigra", generally when someone of very colonial viewpoint is referring to native folks. It seems to be a phonetic spelling of a particular accent saying Negro. Is that the etymology?

I think it was originally "negar," and then went two different ways, to the more politically correct "Negro" and the deliberately offensive "n***er."