As the business manager of a predominantly black church I became fairly well integrated into the black community in San Francisco.
The word N----r has become so emotionally charged that I am not even willing to spell it out in a blog associated with my name. But you know what I mean when I say N----r.
I use my voice to type this blog using Dragon Speak. Dragon Speak will not even spell out the N word. I'm not kidding. So far it has used 'native', 'vigor' and 'Nader'.
The word N----r has two meanings as I watched it used over several decades.
One meaning arises when one black person is describing another black person who is authentic in the eyes of the first. In this instance the use of the word N----r refers to a person who is authentically black for any one of a hundred reasons. It often has to do with something that comes from traditional black society. One example might be in reference to someone who is walking around with the toes of his shoes cut off. That would be something that was common in black neighborhoods for young rapidly growing boys.
That use of the word 'N----r' by one black to another is a high compliment. Meaning historic authenticity.
The second use of the word is somewhat negative. It applies to somebody who has done something that would only be expected of a black person. This could run in the category of minor crimes such as stealing a purse from a white woman. It could be something where one black attacked another black with a string of words called 'doing the dozens'. The most common example white people might know of the dozens would be: ' yo mother is so fat she need a garage door opener to get in yo front door'.
The two meanings of the word are not very far apart. One is highly complementary the other is simply an acknowledgment of the person being in the black tradition.
Our president must be understood as half black. He has not spent enough time in his life in the black community to ever qualify as a N----r. So when somebody calls him one you know they don't know what they're talking about.