My husband says he thinks it started back in the day when most people were brought over here thats all they heard and didnt know the difference because of the language barrier, and then spawned into a type of rebellion, if you will, like an "in your face" "you can't hurt us with that word anymore because we use it too" , and now has just become a habit... I cannot say, as I have never used the word. But I think this is a subject that there is no right answer to, just one that everyone has an opinion on. And the answer I have provided is the opinion of my husband, a 26 year old black man, who uses the word on a regular basis. But my opinion is that I don't see how anyone could use the word because of what it was taken to mean in the old days
