MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
I'm being sarcastic just to make that clear. I saw a story about this on CNN. Hmm, so now some white people are going to justify using the N word because rappers and hip hop stars use it, in a "pal" way? He said it with an "a" before he beat the guy with a bat, so hey all is forgiven
Not to mention the fact that many African Americans don't approve of anyone using that word and don't agree that by using it themselves they are taking the racist power away from it.
BY JOHN MARZULLI and BILL HUTCHINSON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
The Rev. Al Sharpton wants to testify that the N-word is never a term of endearment - refuting the claims of Howard Beach hate crime defendant Nicholas (Fat Nick) Minucci.
In a letter sent yesterday to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, the activist minister offered to be an expert witness on the vile racial slur.
"To try and recast that word is not only a rewriting and distorting of history, it's an insult to black people," Sharpton told the Daily News yesterday.
The reverend's pitch was spurred by the 19-year-old defendant's claim that in hip-hop lexicon the N-word is a friendly greeting.
But prosecutors contend Minucci's use of the word before he allegedly pummeled African-American Glenn Moore with an aluminum bat was charged with racial hatred.
In a March jailhouse interview with News columnist Denis Hamill, Minucci begged to differ on how he used the N-word during the June 29, 2005, attack.
"There's a very big difference in the hip-hop world that I come from between 'n---a,' which is a greeting, and 'n---er,' which is racist," said Minucci, who is white. "'What up, n---a?' is like saying, 'What's up, pal?'"
But in his letter to Brown, Sharpton said the N-word is vile and degrading - whether it ends in -er or -a.
"I'd be more than willing to take the stand to explain the history and current connotations of the N-word," wrote Sharpton, who led a motorcade through Howard Beach, Queens, after the attack on Moore.
"If Minucci had referred to an Asian-American as a 'g--k' or a Jewish person as a 'k--e' before savagely beating him, he'd be laughed out of the courtroom if he claimed he was using the word as a welcoming gesture," Sharpton said.
Brown could not be reached for comment on Sharpton's letter. Minucci's attorney Albert Gaudelli did not return calls.
Sharpton said he was concerned that if Minucci is acquitted on hate crime charges it could make it harder to bring such charges against people who use the slur.
"It would be creating a climate that somehow that term would be sanitized," Sharpton told The News.
Minucci's Queens Supreme Court trial began May 22. A jury of five blacks, four whites and three Latinos will decide the fate of Minucci, who faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted.
Not to mention the fact that many African Americans don't approve of anyone using that word and don't agree that by using it themselves they are taking the racist power away from it.
BY JOHN MARZULLI and BILL HUTCHINSON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
The Rev. Al Sharpton wants to testify that the N-word is never a term of endearment - refuting the claims of Howard Beach hate crime defendant Nicholas (Fat Nick) Minucci.
In a letter sent yesterday to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, the activist minister offered to be an expert witness on the vile racial slur.
"To try and recast that word is not only a rewriting and distorting of history, it's an insult to black people," Sharpton told the Daily News yesterday.
The reverend's pitch was spurred by the 19-year-old defendant's claim that in hip-hop lexicon the N-word is a friendly greeting.
But prosecutors contend Minucci's use of the word before he allegedly pummeled African-American Glenn Moore with an aluminum bat was charged with racial hatred.
In a March jailhouse interview with News columnist Denis Hamill, Minucci begged to differ on how he used the N-word during the June 29, 2005, attack.
"There's a very big difference in the hip-hop world that I come from between 'n---a,' which is a greeting, and 'n---er,' which is racist," said Minucci, who is white. "'What up, n---a?' is like saying, 'What's up, pal?'"
But in his letter to Brown, Sharpton said the N-word is vile and degrading - whether it ends in -er or -a.
"I'd be more than willing to take the stand to explain the history and current connotations of the N-word," wrote Sharpton, who led a motorcade through Howard Beach, Queens, after the attack on Moore.
"If Minucci had referred to an Asian-American as a 'g--k' or a Jewish person as a 'k--e' before savagely beating him, he'd be laughed out of the courtroom if he claimed he was using the word as a welcoming gesture," Sharpton said.
Brown could not be reached for comment on Sharpton's letter. Minucci's attorney Albert Gaudelli did not return calls.
Sharpton said he was concerned that if Minucci is acquitted on hate crime charges it could make it harder to bring such charges against people who use the slur.
"It would be creating a climate that somehow that term would be sanitized," Sharpton told The News.
Minucci's Queens Supreme Court trial began May 22. A jury of five blacks, four whites and three Latinos will decide the fate of Minucci, who faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted.