The "N" WorD

Actor Tries to Trademark "N" Word

"The actor Damon Wayans has been engaged in a 14-month fight to trademark the term "Nigga" for a clothing line and retail store..
But, so far, his applications have been unsuccessful. Trademark examiner Kelly Boulton rejected the registration dated Dec. 22, citing a law that prohibits marks that are "immoral or scandalous."

"While debate exists about in-group uses of the term, 'nigga' is almost universally understood to be derogatory," Boulton wrote to Wayans' attorney, William H. Cox, according to the application.


"IN group"?..Let me understand this.....The attorneys are so inundated with political correctness that they won't countenance any suggestion that um...the "out group"..(oh that would be "white folk" now wouldn't it)...use that word in any shape or form whatsoever..but for black people it is alright to be unencumbered by the niceties of interpersonal relationships and respectful speech?

"Lynda Zadra-Symes, a trademark lawyer in California, said Wayans may be successful. She compared "Nigga" to the successful registration of Dykes on Bikes. The San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent fought the Trademark Office for three years to overturn an initial rejection of a Dykes on Bikes trademark. The mark was published Jan. 24.

"Because the application was by a group of lesbians it was eventually allowed to publish," Zadra-Symes said.

"This is a great victory," the group proclaimed on its website. "It affirms our right to determine who we are and how we present ourselves to the world."

Alritey then...who they are?..and how they present themselves to the world is -Dykes on Bikes?-
If that is who they are........they had better
desperately attempt to hold onto the tenuous reins of any respect and dignity they could ever hope to get.



In January, an episode of the late-night Cartoon Network series Boondocks was criticized for putting the word in the mouth of a fictionalized Martin Luther King Jr.

The effort to commercialize "nigga" drew a sharp response from a black school official who participated in a forum about the word earlier this month at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

"I don't care for it in any form," said Dr. Lonnie Williams, associate vice chancellor for student affairs. "Either way you pronounce it, spell it, anything associated with it -- I find it offensive."

Rhodan believes that affectionate use of the term within the black community should make it an acceptable mark, but the Trademark Office has thus far has not been persuaded by that argument.

Since when can a term be used innocuously by an in-group member, while an out-group member would lose his job for the same utterance!

The term "nigg-er" was used violently to reinforce the subservient position blacks had occupied. It was used in conjuction with hate crimes and horrific offenses visited upon them.

It will never be a compliment, any more than "bitch" or "ho" or any of the other words the hip-hop community has taken the liberty to try to mainstream.

Don't agree?
Let's see what happens the first time a white dude buys the t-shirt with "Nigga" plastered on it and takes a stroll in the local mall eh?