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It’s a statement I’ve been saying for a while now. It began when I was thinking about how we’ve normalized racism amongst certain groups of people–if you know what I mean.

For instance, communities loosely using the n-word, and it’s even worse when it’s other minority groups who have been equally oppressed.

And it is that serious. It doesn’t matter who [else] says it or how they say it; it’s a derogatory term no matter how it’s used. So when we think about the history of the word, where it came from, how it was used for and against black people.

Just thinking about it is frustrating. Hearing non-black people say it at school and outside too.

I remember this one time when I was walking home from school and as I was, a car drove past me, and the passenger’s window was rolled down, and the guy sitting there yelled “‘sup n-word,” and I just stopped. I was so lost and in shock at what had just happened–like I don’t even know the dude, and it was also the first time I’d been called a slur to my face by… ya know, a non-black person. And yes, hearing the word from a black person 99.99% of the time is not in an insulting manner–like yes, the word has a negative connotation but it can be used in an endearing way.