Regarding the use of the word "ni**er" as a 'fighting word' and the subsequent sequence of events, the doctrine reads that by its "very utterance," especially (though not limited to) when the "remark is addressed" to Black people in a hostile manner by racist Whites, (1) 'injury is inflicted' upon the Blacks; (2) 'an immediate breach of the peace in incited' by the Whites; and (3) "acts of violence" or "a violent response" is likely to ensue on the part of the Blacks, or, 'addressees.' To be sure, it is "likely to cause an average addressee to fight." This is exactly what happened with [Justin Barker] as the addresser and the Jena 6 as the addressees!

"Yea, I know 'ni**er' is a bad word," notes Brad, "but does it really qualify as a 'fighting word'?" he inquires. "After all," chimes Tiffany, "don't you people use that word toward each other?" Yes, Brad, "ni**er" qualifies as a 'fighting word.' And, yes, Tiffany, some of us-regrettably-use forms of the word ("ni**a" or "ni**az") toward each other. That it qualifies as a 'fighting word' can easily be ascertained by what Merriam-Webster 's Collegiate Dictionary-Tenth Edition says about its historical significance. The dictionary states that "ni**er" is "Found in the works of such writers of the past as Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens, but it now ranks as perhaps the most offensive and inflammatory racial slur in English....It is otherwise a word expressive of racial hatred and bigotry."

The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (Random House, New York, 1997, Volume 2, H-O, p. 208) defines the word "Hymie" as follows: "[G]eneric use of [a] hypocoristic form of Hyman, male given name...a Jewish man or boy.-used derisively." It says that this term is used, apparently among Jews themselves, 'hypocoristically.' In plain English, that means it's used as a pet name in a friendly or good-natured way. What's more, it's used as an affectionate term, just as some Blacks (again, ill advisedly I might add) call each other ni**a! How do we know that "hypocoristic" essentially means 'affectionate use'? Because the compound Greek word "hypocorism," from which the adjectival form "hypocoristic" comes, has as part of its root a word that literally means "to caress," as one would lovingly and affectionately-in a wholesome manner-caress a small child.

Regarding the use of the word "ni**er" as a 'fighting word' and the subsequent sequence of events, the doctrine reads that by its "very utterance," especially (though not limited to) when the "remark is addressed" to Black people in a hostile manner by racist Whites, (1) 'injury is inflicted' upon the Blacks; (2) 'an immediate breach of the peace in incited' by the Whites; and (3) "acts of violence" or "a violent response" is likely to ensue on the part of the Blacks, or, 'addressees.'