Nigga

[preach]

This question was prompted after watching Fat Joe's video, Lean Back. How do ones feel about Latinos using the N word? Do ones feel a close enough kinship to Latinos to consider them first or second cousins to the diaspora? Also is their struggle similar to ours?

[gman]

First of all, 'Latino' and 'Black' are intersecting categories, there are many Black Latinos... 'Latino' just means you from a Spanish-speaking country.
As far as the N word, it depends... I would look at it differently coming from someone from the South Bronx, as opposed to, say, someone who's just come across the border from Mexico. In the case of the South Bronx kid, they just using the lingo people use there, simple as that, for most Black and Latino kids in NY, 'nigga' is a part of their vocabulary they'd have a hard time erasing if they tried, it's like an automatic verbal tic nowadays, and it's used to mean any (usually male) human being, not particularly Black people. Whereas someone just coming across the border from Mexico, is probably using the word in the context they learned it from white american culture, probably trying to assimilate into that culture and look down on Black people.
Yeah we go through similar things, and there's places in amerikkka where latinos would tend to get even more discrimination and abuse than american-born Blacks, mainly cos they're seen as being 'illegal' and/or not speaking the language, so employers, police etc. might feel they could get away with more. By the same token many Latinos especially those who don't have obvious African ancestry, are quick to absorb white american attitudes towards Black people.

[Oshun_Auset]

The NY lingo question asside....everyone in the 'hood' uses the term there...which was odd for me the first time I visited. Having phenotypically European people use the term was quite uncomfortable at first...I also found it strange to hear people claim they are "Spanish" who were obviousely African/Black or Indigenous...I doubt Spain would claim them...but that's a whole different convo.

Anyhow, back to what I was saying...It would depend on whether the "latino" was an African/Black or not. Latino is a broad term that encompasses many nationalities and races, that just happen to be former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in the New World(I specify this becuase people from Mozambique and the Gambia, as well as Philipinos aren't referred to as "latinos").  European/White Spanish/Potuguese, Native/Indigenous/Aztec/Mayan/Taino/Carib/Brown/Red, African/Black, and any combination thereof are all labelled as latinos. I don't endorse or promote anyone using the term, but if it must be used by some...then it should only be by those with African heritage IMHO.