[Serious] Singing the N-word

[Rev. Rye]

Should you also self-censor when doing a public reading of, say, Huckleberry Finn or To Kill A Mockingbird?  The argument can be made that by saying (or singing) the words as the artist wrote them is a nod to artistic integrity.  I don't consider myself qualified to re-write Twain or Drake or Snoop Dog.

It's all situational and a matter of tact. It's about knowing what and when to say things (if at all). Will you die if you don't sing the N-word out loud in front of black people?

So, what is the situational difference between using the word while doing a public reading of a work where the N-word is used as a weapon and singing along to a song that uses it more casually and not as a weapon? It's the blatant double standard at play that vexes a lot of us, and the fact that a group that's historically been oppressed benefiting for once doesn't quite ease our minds.