Slang

The word "nigger" has acquired so many meanings and different usages over the years that sometimes it's rather difficult to tell if it's being used offensively or not. It can change its simply based on the tone of the person using it, or become horribly offensive it certain people use it. The word, as we use it today, originated as a bastardized version of the Spanish word "negro", whish is a descendent of the Latin word "niger", referring to the colour black.
In 1619, African slaves being shipped to the Virginia colony were described as "negars" by John Rolfe, thus creating the racially offensive use of the word. Since then, the word has centrally been used as an offensive way of referring to African Americans. The term "nigga, please" first appeared in the 1970s, being used by comedians such as Paul Mooney. Since then, its use has become increasingly prevalent in African American comedy routines. Chris Rock once had a routine called "Niggas vs. Black People" in which he distinguishes between the uses of the term by saying that "there's, like, a civil war going on with black people, and there's two sides. There's black people, and there's niggas. And the niggas have to go!" The terms widespread use in the comedy circuit is largely thought to be a result of the influence of the hip-hop or rap culture. Artists like N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude), Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg use the word quite frequently in their songs, thus contributing to the ever-growing use of "nigger".
Though the word seems to have been reclaimed by the African American culture (an act know as reappropriation), it is still widely considered a social taboo to use it. Furthermore, the word has a massive double standard behind who can use it and who can't. For instance, it's use has become popular with younger generations of African Americans, often being used to refer to ones companions (like "bros" or "dudes"), but if used by someone of a different ethnicity or race, can be viewed as a hostile or racist remark, even if it wasn't intended to be. Because of how delicately this word must be used, it would be much easier if people just stopped using it all together.