Frankly speaking I do think the poster is out of order especially when I have my Turkish and Black friends under my contact list. It seemed maybe years of being in Turkey had indeed took a toll on him. You could just detect his bitterness and resentment behind his snide and insensitive comment.
Firstly to address the issue about Turkish - like ALL THE OTHER NATIONALITIES, there are good people as well as bad eggs amongst them. I do think Turkey wants to be under EU (European Union) and one of the possible major reason why it's still not is because of the fact that it's a Muslim country. I don't like politics, never have been so I try to keep this simple and short. I don't know why the unneccessary dissing of the Turks. I don't know why the resentment against Turks (funny, then why are you here?) or rather the well-to-do ones. The remark was simply unkind and unclassy. He was really rubbing it into their faces.
The MAIN factor why I was disturbed was his apparent ease of using the word 'nigger.' For your info, this guy (whose nationality I will not reveal) is not my buddy, nor does he belong to my circle of friends. It's just that the foreign community likes to stay close and tight to one another in Istanbul. We are all connected to one another somehow (no kidding!). We are from the same expat group and he added me on FB. He's a documentary film-maker whose films had been broadcasted on one of the major international channels. For such a supposedly intelligent and worldly man, it came as a surprise.
According to Wikipedia: Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people (generally people of Sub-Saharan African descent), and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur.
'Nigger' by Randall Kennedy is a provocative read that studied the history of the word 'nigger'. It carried a broader and wider perspective on the defination of the the word, which is mostly associated with being a racial slur. It talked about how the usage of the word varies from person to person and some might not associate it with negativity nor find it offensive. It also touched on the limitations of freedom of speech and how as the world evolves, should certain taboo words slowly be accepted?
I have yet to read the book and must admit, it does draw me in. I think it sounds a very thought-provoking and worthy read. After I'm done with my 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell, I'll hunt for the book, hopefully I can find here in Istanbul. Sometimes the selection of English novels/books here can be pretty limited.
Anyways, I honestly don't give a damn about evolvement of the world or whatsoever - if something was highly offensive, it still is. If 20 years ago, someone called me a 'Chink' or 'slanted eyes', I still would be as offended before as I will now, 20 years later. 20 years is a long time and does it make something so wrong acceptable? No. If in the 19th century, the word 'nigger' is freely and casually used in novels, certainly now smarter, wiser and more racially integrated society like ours (or so that I like to believe) should know better than to shoot it off our mouths. Who decides if the negative connotation should be shed off the word? Certain not the Blacks. What then gives anyone the right to justify its usage?
There are arguments though asking why is it acceptable for the Black community to call one another 'nigger' but NOT by someone of a different race. I did ask myself that. Could it be an inside joke, an unconventional form of endearment or acknowledgement of connection? God knows but hey, my take is, don't bother giving yourself any migraine over it. If ya not one of them, shut it and respect coz each and everyone of us has his/her own social responsibility in this world...
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