“You tell that nigger I said I’m gone’ shoot him,” says Kimberley McCray in Monday night’s season finale of Fatal Attraction as she recounts her crazy ex-boyfriend’s statement about her current boyfriend.
Um, did she say what we think she just said—and so casually at that?!
—Time out! Let’s have a meeting.—
We know the rules. If you’re Black and say the “N” word (even if it ends with an “a” and not “er”), you may get a few disapproving looks and comments, but at the end of the day no one is ready to protest. (Remember when we tried to bury the word with the NAACP? That didn’t last long.)
However is there a pass for those in an interracial romantic relationship with an African-American person to say the N-word, pending the context? It gets tricky because there is a different level of intimacy and connection in romantic relationships and therefore there may be a level of understanding if the word is used by the non-black partner — or is there?
If you’re in an interracial relationship would you be comfortable knowing that your non-black partner uses the word in a song, when referring to someone else, or not in your presence?
And, of course, we’re not looking to villainize Ms. McCray, after all, she was only telling her truth–but still– what are YOUR boundaries?
TELL US: Is there a pass for a non-black partner in an interracial relationship to use the “N” word? Comment below or tell us on @tvonetv!
