It's not wrong to say the N word.

I checked for the meaning of the 'ER' ending word and nowhere including the urban dictionary does it mention the meaning to be 'stupid'. So it must be a more locally used word as we came to agree upon, But if anything it proves that meanings of words change, And does not necessarily have to hold down to it's origin or the meanings that took form throughout the word's period of existence. I doubt people usually prefer the 'ER' ending word more often than they do the 'A' ending, At least that's not the case when people use the word around the regions i live, The word came to popularity through the western media entertainment such as movies and music, Especially RAP. I could only imagine the media i mentioned are the same influences on the youth for the popularity of the 'A' ending word even in the west. The argument you made about how 'the usage of the word will bring flashbacks of their past when the victim was beaten while being referred to using the N word' is a bit far fetched and in my opinion more cinematic than a realistic situation and i will tell you why i think that (with an example) in the coming paragraphs after i address a few more points in your argument. You are practically constructing a very specific situation where the usage of the word is a probability, Where in reality most of the situations the N word is used is not as dark as this. The word; once used by white supremacists doesn't mean they own the word, Nor does it permanently decide the meaning for it. I don't deny racism still exists, Of course it still exists, My grandfather's generation has been massively victims to it, And though not as much Indians are still racially discriminated against. But i don't take someone's words; the sound someone modulates using one's teeth, Tongue and lips as a reason to find myself a victim because i know there is no way it can affect me unless: 1) I let it 2) i want to be considered a victim (the victim card) the first point can be considered a more genuine reason but still they are crying over empty words. You say free speech is not the issue here but when someone tells me i'm not allowed to say certain words, It automatically becomes a matter of free speech, But the debate we are having prioritizes the effects words have on people. My point on that is: if people were more honest with themselves, They would genuinely understand that words can literally do no harm to them. The matter of 'intent' is not as difficult as you make it out to be. I am multilingual, And out of the four languages i speak, I am most fluent in English and my mother tongue: 'Malayalam'. Intent is a clearly distinguishable factor as i will prove with this example: Like the N word, There is a word in my language that is considered by many to be the most offensive word in our vocabulary, "Myre" (pronounced "My Ray"). The original word was borrowed from our Neighbouring state 'Tamil nadu' whose mother tongue is 'Tamil', Very similar to my own mother tongue and the word originally meant 'hair'. This word played a major part in the caste system in Kerala, Where the benign punishment on the high castes for killing a shudra (one of the lower castes) was to cut off the criminal's hair. The nature of the punishment allowed the higher castes to be let off easily for killing the lower castes. The implication came to the point where the murder of shudras or the lower caste were equivalent to shaving off your pubic hair. Hence the meaning of the word 'myre' in malayalam is 'pubic hair' and is used to refer to other people rudely or endearingly depending on your relationship or the situation. Almost all the time, You refer to someone using this word, The intent is understood even to a bystander. And in the same way the intent can be understood for the N word, Speaking both these languages i am aware that the intent cannot be misunderstood that easily. Of course we only use this word in informal situations. This example i spoke of earlier as to why your 'flashback argument' is far fetched is this: The word 'Myre' is almost always used when thugs beat up someone else in my state. And people get beat up for many reasons like intercaste marriage, Including marriages between two different caste's under the same religion or between two entirely different religions (yes, It's complicated and stupid) but this never affects the way we use the word 'myre' in our daily lives and no one has these flashbacks you speak of. The act of beating up is wrong but the act of calling someone a 'myre' is merely symbolic. I hope you can understand what i'm stringing up together here. As i've mentioned before, People jumping to conclusion that i'm a racist if i use the N word is not my fault, That is their misjudgment and i'm not responsible for it, As i've mentioned multiple times, People in the 21st century use the N word for reasons varying from Disdain to Endearment. And i see no reason as to why the only conclusion that they can come to is that i'm a disdainful human being despite the context and tone in which the word was used. I've chosen this topic despite knowing that those who share my view point is in the minority. But i hope that this debate was at the least 'thought provoking' if anything. Thank you Thoht for joining this debate and pushing me to look deeper into this topic. PS: the link i provided in my round 2 debate did not come out accessible, So i put the link in the comment section along with the random guy who accused me of being a white supremacist. Sincerely Pyrogami