As a white European (like actually born and raised in Europe) who also lived in the US for 1 year, one thing I've never understood is the fact in the US, you can't say the word 'nigger/nigga' EVEN when you're merely discussing the word. The word is even censored on television if you say it out loud. Instead, people say 'the n-word'. This has always blown my mind because essentially, American society is acting like a 5 year old: instead of saying 'shit' and 'fuck', a 5 year old might say the 's-word' and 'f-word'.

I think its genuinely problematic because every time people hide behind the first letter of the word nigger, they are only reinforcing the tension that word has by hiding behind that letter. I'm NOT talking about situations in which people actually use the word in a sentence and call someone else that word. I merely mean moments in which people are having a discussion ABOUT the word itself, and the tension it carries. Hiding behind the first letter of the word doesn't get society any closer to resolving that tension, it only makes matters worse. I'm curious to see what other people think about this.