It's interesting to speculate about how different this thread might be if there were more people of African descent posting here.

However, if anyone is interested in reading [or posting to] a discussion about this term on a forum that appears to have majority [if not all] Black participants, you can visit

http://www.blackprof.com/archives/2005/11/the_role_of_nigger_or_nigga_in_1.html

As for me, slightly modifying what one of the posters on that BlackProf forum said, I don't have the emotional energy & the emotional/intellectual distance I need to involve myself in this type of discussion on this forum.