Bastardization of a Bastardization...

So today, when I was on the light rail, going home from campus at about 18h00, I was standing, listening to my music and staring out the windows. Two guys, one white and the other Hispanic, had gotten on the light rail at the same time I did. They were probably in their 20's. The white guy, wearing a black and white bandanna, was sitting at the three-seated wheelchair-access area, and the Hispanic guy, wearing a polo shirt that was too big for him, was standing. They were talking to each other really loudly, so much so that I could hear them through my music. It was like they're talking for everyone around them to hear.

As I made a mental note of how loudly they were speaking, despite not actually listening to their words, I saw a black gentleman, maybe in his late 30's or early 40's, who was wearing gloves and had been sitting near the two guys, stand up from his seat. He turned around and said, "Would you stop using that word?" The guys stared at him in disbelief.

At this point, I paused my music to listen. (Note: Obviously, I'm not gonna get all the words correct from the event, but most of the important words were used. H is the Hispanic male, and B is the black male.)

H: "What word?"
B: "That word you keep throwing around. 'Nigga.' It's disrespectful."
H: "Man, I wasn't talking to you. Mind your own business. It's a free country. I can say whatever I want."
B: "But it's a disrespectful word. You shouldn't be saying it."
H: "But I'm not saying 'nig-GER.' I'm saying 'nig-GA.' They're different! You shouldn't be fucking offended! I said 'nigga,' not 'nigger.' Besides, you shouldn't be listening to other people's conversations!"
B: "It doesn't matter how you say it. It's disrespectful! And I asked you to stop saying that word!"
H: "Uh huh. You know, black people say 'nigga' all the time! You probably don't think that's wrong!"
B: "No. It doesn't matter what shade of skin you have. It's a disrespectful word! You should educate yourself!"
H: "Yeah, well, it's a free country! I can say whatever the fuck I want! You can't stop me!"

At this point, I was just listening, not really thinking anything of the argument. But I was afraid a fight might break out because the black gentleman asked them to escort themselves out at the next stop. But the guys said, "What the fuck? Hell naw." The gentleman continued to say, "Let's take this outside!" But the guys didn't budge. The white guy even said, "Go fuck yourself! I don't gotta get off at the next stop. You get off." The gentleman's response: "What did you say? All right! Step outside! Step outside!" He even stood in the doorway as the doors closed, waiting for the other two to get off. But they didn't, so he stepped back in.

As they continued arguing, a light rail security officer stepped on. The males were still arguing, and the gentleman then told the officer what happened, hoping the officer could make the two guys stop saying "nigga." The guys yelled at the gentleman, continuing to say, "Oh, shut up! It's a free country, man!" After some more arguing, the officer, who was also black, asked the black gentleman to step away and walk to the other end of the car. So the gentleman picked up his stuff and went to stand next to me. As he was walking over, he yelled back, "Ignorant idiots!"

With the distance between them, there was less yelling but still a few back-and-forth's. The gentleman talked to another light rail rider, who agreed that the other two were ignorant and disrespectful. Meanwhile, the white guy just sat there, smiling in disbelief, and the Hispanic guy was glaring at the black gentleman. The Hispanic even started talking to a girl who was standing near him, asking her what she thought about him saying "nigga." She agreed with him, saying, "Well, as long as you weren't saying it in a bad way. Like, how did you say it? Did you say it the bad way?" He replied, "No! I said, 'Nigga!' This asshole's just making a big deal out of it."

Finally, we got to the stop that the two guys were getting off at. They got off, as well as the security officer who had been on his walkie-talkie since the gentleman complained to him. As the two passed by the door closest to me and the gentleman, the Hispanic guy turned his head, glared at the gentleman, and yelled loudly, "Nigger!"

We all stopped in shock. I noticed the security guard following them, talking on his walkie-talkie. The gentleman yelled back, "Oh, come back in here and say that to my face!" Of course, no one came back in. He then said, "Look at that. He didn't dare say that when he was in here with me. But now that he's walking away, he thinks he can say that to me."

One of the other riders, a white male in his 20's, commented on the Hispanic guy's racial epithet: "Oh, hell no. Hell no! That's fucked up. I can't believe he said that. Fuck him. Man, you totally have my support. I mean if he had tried to start something, I would have been on your side." The black gentleman thanked him for that and sat down, still angry about what had just happened...

I just stared out the windows again.


Sorry for the lacking descriptors. The individual items (bandanna, shirt, and gloves) were the only things I really noticed on the three males. There were also many more expletives than I used in my retelling of the event, but I think it suffices. And the reason why I call the black man a gentleman is, though he was angry and was raising his voice, he didn't swear, act all haughty, or call anyone names other than "ignorant idiots," which I hardly find offensive (maybe just insulting to a person's intelligence). He was much calmer too. The other two really were disrespectful and vulgar in their language.

At first, I agreed with both parties. I agreed that it would be disrespectful of anyone to say, "Nigga," if someone stated that they found it disrespectful. And I kinda agreed with the Hispanic guy. First Amendment and stuff <_< Though I didn't like him saying any variation of "nigger," I thought he had the right to say it. But I also thought it would have been a nice gesture to stop saying the word too, at least around the gentleman. But when the Hispanic guy yelled "Nigger!" I just thought, "Well, fuck him. He just threw away support he might have gotten from anyone."


So, I tend to not care too much about racism, or just prejudice in general. It mostly doesn't affect me. Until I start thinking about all the different kinds of friends I have. But usually, stuff like that doesn't faze me too much.

This was also the first time I had ever witnessed a heated argument relating to race. Usually, I just see it in movies, TV shows, or some kinda media. This, however, was right in my face. And, like I said, I was afraid a fight might break out. So I got my pepper spray from my backpack, just in case a fight got started and it got too close to me or something >_>; Scary.

But yeah, no one got hurt. Just a lot of bad language and inconsiderateness.


The title of my entry was just something I was thinking after the argument ended. Bastardization of language. One word is a bastardized form of a word from another language. And the other word is just a bastardized form of the word that's already bastardized O_O But the latter is also debatable. Some people don't think so; "nigga" is just people's chance to take back the power of the word -shrug- I dunno.

I don't think it works too well.