• bigfish@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 day ago

    Back from this rabbit hole and brought gifts:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger

    It’s been in use since the 16th century by English speakers. Basically it was just an anglicization of the Spanish or Portuguese negro. At the time it was seen as neutral by white folk, but it’s also always been tied to slavery, so definitely not neutral from the pov of the slaves.

    So did its use imply a power imbalance? Yes. Did the white folk who used it early on know? Maybe…?

    I guess it’s similar to using “Indian” to describe New World Native peoples. It’s always been tied to expansionism and genocide, but from the pov of the oppressor that connotation isn’t readily recognized.