Not sure if this will have legs, but here goes nothin... On the phone with a good friend (who is not in the happiest of marriages) and he was in the midst of complaining about something his young son was doing. As we were talking, his cell phone rang and he said something like, "And then my fucking cunt of a wife...there she is now. I gotta answer this." And I was taken aback, because he didn't say it in jest. And then it started a debate in my office...what's the worse word: cunt, or nigger? (C-word or N-word, if you're uncomfortable talking about it as we kind of were). Focus: What is the worse insult: the c-word or the n-word? Alt focus: Worst/best/favourite swears you've ever used.
Nigger is worse, you're insulting an entire race and dredging up slavery. You women need to get over Cunt, it's a fun word that needs to be used more. I use shitbagger a lot, popular term where I am from.
I hate it when people say n-word or c-word. Same as when people type out shit like "f***". GEE, I WONDER WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEAN. Also, "lmbo". What the shit? Are you 5? Louis says it better than I ever could. Twatwaffle is a personal favorite.
I don't consider nigger a swear word; it's a slur of the racial variety. Cunt also fits into that category, though I know there are some cultural differences on how it's used between the US and the UK. Is faggot still too ubiquitous in contemporary language to earn a spot on your poll? As well, I don't really rate swear words because they're all wonderful and useful. My current favorite is shitbag.
They're just words. They only have the power the listener cares to give them. As such, they are equally bad, good, or indifferent. Favorite swear: 'Clown Ass.' - I know, it's supposed to be 'Ass Clown' however, while driving I got really mad and blurted out 'CLOWN ASS' and my wife has not stopped using it to this day.
Are you fucking serious? Holy shit, is your office all white people? Was there one black person around you? I wish there was one to slap the shit out of all you stupid white people. I can't believe this was even a debate! Nigger has been, and always will be the most derogatory word in the Western world. It applies to black people and it means ignorant. It's tied to slavery, years of a still going oppression, and a cultural inferiority complex that is still an issue today. It is used by people outside of our culture to incite rage and the deepest of pains. And no matter how hard black people say "Oh we took that word back, we turned into a term of endearment." Not one black person with a college education really believes that. Even I only use it in derogatory terms. Cunt gets tossed around to everyone, men, women, children, cats and dogs. Especially in the UK it is tossed around like "tea and crumpets" and "chap". It means nothing over there. Its just a cheeky alternative to bitch. Women really need to get over it. The word has no history. It just started getting said here like 3-4 years ago when watching British TV was still a pretentious power move, and before streaming services featured so much of it.
You haven't been to the south, have you? That also reminds me of the thread on the old RMMB (or was it TIB?) where a poster from Florida tried to defend her use of the word "niggardly" and pretty much got run off the board.
I have been to the South, which makes me even madder this shit is even being discussed as a thing in the great white North. I have family in Texas, been down to New Orlean's as well. Hell I don't even need to go to the South, just go anywhere rural with little to no black people. Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, holy fuck. We obviously need more black people in hockey so this shit doesn't come up.
Yeah, the big N is in a league of its own... It's the only one that really shocks me if I hear it in public. Question for the black people: What do you think of Louis CK's use/opinion of the word?
I agree with Parker on this one. There is no comparison between the two words. The best use of swear words I ever heard was one woman calling her boyfriend a "motherfucking son of a whore".
I think of racial slurs as being in a league of their own offensiveness, well past profanity. At best, using them makes you sound like an ignorant, backwards redneck. At worst, it gets you killed. I really don't even feel okay typing them, but I have no problem with typing or saying any four-letter "dirty word". My favorites are "fuck", "cunt" and "twat".
The only words that make me cringe are God Damn and Jesus Christ, when I hear those I still flinch a little. I say fuck a lot, I stay away from cunt and nigger as the only reason I would say that to someone is to get a negative reaction from them.
I think it all depends on context, flexibility of usage, and possible things one could infer from the meaning of what you just said. "Cunt" and "nigger," by themselves, aren't terrible, but there's a shitload of creative and somewhat humorous ways you can use the word "cunt" in an insult or joke without looking like a racist, sexist shitbag. Not so much with the word "nigger." For example, with the word "cunt" you could say: "I'm gonna cuntpunt you if you say the word 'nigger' again." "That stupid cuntbag cut me off in traffic this morning and I spilled steaming hot coffee all over my nigger and his nigglets." "If you don't stop yapping out of your stupid cuntmouth I'm gonna bend you over this here bench and niggerfuck the shit outta you." Now with the word "nigger" on the other hand, there isn't that much you can do with it without sounding like a complete racist, sexist shitbag...... oh wait. Both words are funny if used sparingly and in the right context. If you over use them -- along with words like "fuck, vagina, cock, shit, fagot, dixiebandit" etc. -- then they lose all humor and you're just an asshole. That being said, if you call my wife a "cunt" I'm gonna punch you in the face. And if you call my one black friend (that's all society lets me have, just one) a "nigger," I'm gonna punch you in the face for that too. Calling a woman a "cunt," without context, is not appropriate. Just to be safe, calling ANYONE a "nigger," is NEVER appropriate... there are some small exceptions to it, but if you aren't smart enough to know what they are, you aren't smart enough to know when to use them.
You lost me. Dude, you can't go on a rant like that, isolate and criticize your race and culture, then turn around and say that you use the same word yourself. If you really believe what you posted, the word would never cross your lips. You wouldn't want to hear it. Ever. I think this is why the topic is debatable.
Wait. It's down to only "nigger" or "cunt"? What about "Faggot?" A word borrowed for derogatory means to describe a gay person. A word meaning a bundle of sticks, as in "kindling to start the fire under a gay man tied at the stake." You cunty shit-faggots make me sick. I'm more incensed that DCC's friend had a child with someone he openly loathes in front of his co-workers.
If a slur can and has been used against you, especially repeatedly, then you have the right to reclaim it in any way you see fit. If it hasn't, you're better off not doing so. That might be overreaching, but it's a good starting point, I think.
Yes, the office is all white people. This is the construction industry in Winnipeg. In the seven years I've been designing structure, I've only ever seen two black people in this building - one was with his friend trying to find an address and had to use our phone, another was a family trying to sort out some structural issues with their property. The closest we come to diversity are Francophones, a girl who is full status and one fellow who is Metis. And let's remember that you're talking about your opinion. If you asked me personally, would I rather be called a cunt or a nigger, I'd say cunt was more offensive because (given that I'm female), it at least applies. If someone called me a nigger I'd just be confused. That being said, I think "nigger" is more offensive in general, because it seems to get way more flack. Others in my office disagreed, saying that at one time nigger was just a common word for black person and meant no offense. It's evolved over the centuries to be as offensive as it is. Cunt, on the other hand, has always been just derogatory. EDIT: And let me say this. It's a logical mistake to say, "Fuck you!!! Word A is the most offensive word ever and I would never use it and HOW DARE YOU!!", then turn around and say, "If people are offended by Word B they just need to get over it. Fuck 'em." C'mon, man. Be smarter than that.
Cunt is simply a filthy-sounding word to say. Yelling it in a bar will cause every female within earshot to glare at you like you hate Pretty Little Liars, but the word "fuck" is just awesome. It is almost as fun to say as it is to do.
I'm just going to throw this article out there. Cunt has not always been derogatory. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/02/quvenzhan_wallis_and_the_onion_tweet_why_is_the_c_word_so_offensive.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.slate.com/articles/life/expl ... nsive.html</a> Cunt used to be used in surgery textbooks, once upon a time. Nigger used to be used as a common word for a black person in the sense that black people were commonly held as property and submitted to tortuous daily physical labour and punishment that would make the Marquis de Sade raise an eyebrow. It was derogatory then, and derogatory now. One could perhaps say that the word "negro" used to be commonly used as a term for black people without any overt derogatory overtones (above and beyond the overt derogatory overtones of the time, that is) but is today avoided because of obvious associations. As for the rest of your post, well, I don't know what to say. I went to school in a class of 240; the only black person was someone who joined us in 4th year because she'd failed on her previous try though. On my campus in general, black students were rare. And yet westill didn't have discussions as to whether or not the word nigger was more offensive than other words because - and there is no other explanation - we were just smarter than to go down that conversational road. So a lack of diversity doesn't really pardon people's opinions, we all have access to tv and the internet and print media and have all read the same history.
Skip to about 1:45 for the applicable part. I hear "cunt" WAAAYYY more often than I hear "nigger". Neither word truly offends me, but I definitely cringe at "nigger". That could just be the white privilege talking. To be honest, I get more offended if someone calls me a liar or calls my character into question. Name calling just boils things down to a sophomoric level to which I just bow out and let the person who resorted to it look like the asshole.