1. "Nigger" is a hard word to define. It is a term used for a black person that has very negative and racist connotations. The word's semantics have changed over time. It started out just to mean a black person, but overtime it was used so negatively and with so much hatred that it has been transformed into one of the worst racial slurs in the English language. The word has also, in recent years, been used by blacks in a satirical or even positive way. To me, "nigger" is a racist term that I don't use, and I don't really have much experience with it at all. My mom, who grew up in Texas in the 60's and 70's grew up in a racist environment, and people would frequently refer to "niggers." People in the black community are a lot more sensitive to the word than white people are because they are on the receiving end of it. The meaning of "nigger" varies a lot depending on the context in which it has been used. Age, race, community, class, setting, and intent all factor into the different shades of meaning the word can take on.
2.I do not agree with Marla Hendricks from the show Boston Public. Since Danny Hanson was using the word "nigger" in an educational setting to try to understand it and not in a racist way, it doesn't matter that he was white. If he was black, others probably wouldn't have objected to it as much as they did. I think that the commercial TV show was an alright place to discuss the issue. The show hoped to get people thinking about the meaning of the word and other racial issues, and I believe it accomplished this.
