ted an ambiguous language that was meant to be completely misunderstood by the plantation owner, so they could somewhat speak in private. (McKissak 46)According to McKissak, "No racial name has been more devastating or confusing to a whole race of people than nigger." (44) The word "nigger" has been used in context by poets, about its' pain, and has been somewhat commonly used by comedians to laugh it out. To some people, being called a 'nigger' will anger them and cause them to go into a violent rage. However, to others, refering to another person as a 'nigger' will commonly be used as a friendly reference to a friend. The word Nigger comes from the latter niger, which really means "black." When Africans were captured, they were referred to as nigers. Post-Civil War times, the word 'nigger' has been used to be more powerful as an insult to anger a person, like it does to many today. "White supremacists would not accept being equal to black people." (McKissak 44)Perhaps the most major concerns of racism is from the cause and effect of name calling and put-downs. Names or name calling are used like weapons to spark an argument against a person and put them in anger. A slur is directed towards a specific ethnic group in order to make the person feel anger, embarrassment, guilt, hostility, pain, or shame. McKissak notes that in an interview, "Students admitted that they had used racial slurs when angered." Most of these students said that they had made racial jokes and used ethnic names, but they did not use them for the intent of hurting the other person. "It's kind of the way we talk", the students say. (McKissak 40)Racism does not only exist between ethnic groups, it also exists between differences in gender. In the past years, men and women have entered job fields from which they had long been excluded from. Men who hold jobs that are mostly populated by women, such as a nursing job or a secretarial job, may encounter s...
