Only African-Americans are allowed to use "nigger" ironically, as they are the objects of the slur. Maher thinking that he is entitled to use the word that way was very bad. But I'm not sure the word should have become unmentionable and unprintable--but I'm white, so I admit that what I think doesn't really count.

Myself, I'd be behind you and rmrd 100% in preaching to black hip-hop artists who make money off selling that word (along with other offensive words like "hos" and "bitches") to all races around the world, to stop using that word. I would be 100% behind you preaching to the buyers around the world that they should not buy hip hop music with such lyrics..

But I feel I need to support ocean-kat's arguments here, fighting the good fight of nuance all alone. Along these lines: there's an incredibly strong argument you lost this fight long ago! Because: people making this argument like you are not considered cool, but black hip hop artists are considered cool. Worldwide. They won the money game on this, an Afro-American genre and its language, including the word, is now one of the most popular in the world. For more than a decade, probably two decades or more. You don't just have to change white American kids' minds, you've got to change the minds of kids in Japan and African and Holland and Africa itself. They all think that the word was ok IN THIS CONTEXT, the same context that Afro-American artists use it:

see wikipedia for Nigga:

Usage:

In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context.[1] Presently, the word nigga is used more liberally among younger members of all races and ethnicities in the United States.[2] In addition to African Americans, other ethnic groups have adopted the term as part of their vernacular.[3][4]

There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any meaningful difference between nigga and nigger as a spoken term.[5] Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the use of nigga both in and outside black communities remains controversial.[6] H. Lewis Smith, author of Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Affair with the N-word, believes that "replacing the 'er' with an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation"[7] and the African American Registry notes, "Brother (Brotha) and Sister (Sistah or Sista) are terms of endearment. Nigger was and still is a word of disrespect."[8] The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.[5]

Some African-Americans only consider nigga offensive when used by people of other races,[5] its use outside a defined social group being an unwelcome cultural appropriation. Used by blacks, the term may indicate "solidarity or affection",[9] similar to the usage of the words dude, homeboy, and bro. Others consider "nigga" non-offensive except when directed from a non-African-American towards an African-American. Yet others have derided this as hypocritical and harmful, enabling white racists to use the word and confusing the issue over nigger.[3]

Non-rhotic English-speakers, such as speakers of many British dialects and African American Vernacular English, pronounce "nigger" and "nigga" identically and do not distinguish between the two words.

Language and culture are living, constantly changing thing, words come and go in acceptance, meanings change, etc. And being a crowd-sourced encyclopedia, I'd be willing to say that Wikipedia is more accurate on where the language is at on any word than more old-timey "official" sources.

And yes, I do think that most using get it that it's rooted in hatred. That's the point: they use it in art that is expressing anger or hatred or the feeling of wanting to put somebody down.

By saying: stop using it, you are saying: this art you make and use is offensive, stop doing it. Good luck with that, Sometimes it works when people want to censor art. But it's incredibly late in the scheme of things to try to do that now, it's popular and been for a long time:

Again, from wikipedia:

Cultural influence

The term "nigga, please", first used in the 1970s by comics such as Paul Mooney as "a funny punctuation in jokes about Blacks,"[10] is now heard routinely in comedy routines by African Americans. The growing use of the term is often attributed to its ubiquity in modern American hip hop music.[11][12] Examples include:

• Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A)
• A Tribe Called Quest's "Sucka Nigga"
• Notorious B.I.G.'s "The Realest Niggaz"
• Jay-Z's "Jigga That Nigga" and "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)"
• Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Niggas in Paris"
• DJ Khaled's "I Wish You Would"
• Snoop Dogg's "For All My Niggaz and Bitches"
• Nicki Minaj's "Lookin Ass"
• Kanye West's "All Day"
• YG's "My Nigga"
• Bobby Shmurda's "Hot Nigga"

One of the earliest uses of the term in a popular song was the 1983 song New York New York by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, although it had featured in some very early hip hop recordings such as Scoopy Rap and Family Rap, both from 1979. Ol' Dirty Bastard uses the term 76 times in his Nigga Please album (not including repetitions in choruses).[12]

Comedian Chris Rock's routine "Niggas vs. Black People" distinguishes a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having motherfucker", from a "black person". In contrast, Tupac Shakur distinguished between nigger and nigga: "Niggers was the ones on the rope, hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with gold ropes, hanging out at clubs."[13] Tupac, who has been credited with legitimizing the term, said his song N.I.G.G.A. stood for "Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished."[14]

There's some awfully complex linguistic that have developed here. Yeah, sure rooted in hatred, "the kids" get that, that's how they use it: rooted in hatred but in the process of changing its meaning.  I really doubt they are going to listen to older folks preaching that they should stop using the word in all its various usages and meanings at this late date.

Oh and how popular is the N.A.A.C.P. with the young people these days? Speaking of the changing meaning of words. "Colored People."  Ever notice how young folks instantly read someone who calls a person a "colored" as an old fart racist?